AP Art students, Jack Glover and Elena Grant, juniors, were recently recognized on a national level for excellence in the visual arts.

As recipients of the Silver Key awards, the two artists were congratulated at a ceremony hosted at Blake High School on March 24, as well as having received numerous letters and emails in support. The event itself, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, aims to “[recognize] the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and [provide] opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated.”

“It’s a national award and it’s important for them to see themselves in the context of their peers at such a large scale (event),” Stacy Rosende, AP Art teacher said.

Over 330, 000 original works of art were submitted, Glover and Grant rising to the top one percent to receive such an honor.

Presented by the Alliance of Young Artists and Writers, this competition is open to all students grades 7-12 across America with 29 categories of art and writing to apply too. The judges also hold up multiple elements when critiquing.

“Well, they have to break it down into how the person does it, or how the techniques you use, visually, how well it looks, and then craftsmanship and just pretty much how you completed the whole scope of the project,” Glover said.

Grant, her work titled “Distance”, describes her artistic process as one that involves multiple elements.

“I think for a lot of people it’s different, but definitely there’s a lot of empathy between you and your subject of what you’re drawing. I love to do portraits from observation, so I just feel like there’s a connection sometimes between me and what I’m drawing,” Grant said.

Glover feels a similar connection to his work; his piece, titled “Smoking Man”, as well as Grant’s reflect the artists’ joint appreciation of the objective form.   

“Everyone thinks about things in life, and we all kind of think of people, about things and places, and we are inspired by things and people, so we kind of draw off of that and kind of build our work off of it,” Glover said.

Silver Key award status presents an exciting opportunity for the both of them.

“It opens up doors for schools to give you scholarships. It’s something really good to have under your belt if you want to get a career in art or even just going to a school that isn’t for art,” Grant said. “It definitely shows you, it gives you something that’s like ‘Okay, I am good enough. If I’m good enough for this, I know I can be good enough to get higher things and I know I can make a career out of it.”

Specifically, this National Award can provide Glover and Grant with collegiate opportunities.

“When they apply for college, these national awards are recognized as prestigious awards throughout the nation because everybody’s participating in this,” Rosende said. “It’s not just a local thing it’s a big deal.”

Both Glover and Grant plan to continue in their pursuit of the arts as they finalize submissions for their AP Art portfolios.

“They were in the top one percent of over 300,000 entries, and I believe that they are hardworking students, they are deserving, and I am immensely proud of them,” Rosende said.