The art department earned four Best of Show awards at the Association of Christian Schools International Art Festival held at Trinity Christian School in Sacramento, April 27.
John Carreon and Brittany Shaffer placed in a three-way tie for Best of Show for grade 12. In addition, Zedekiah Fries won Best of Show for grade 9, and Katie Barisic received Best of Show for grade 8.
The campus submitted 37 entries from grades 7-12, including drawings, paintings, ceramics, quilt squares and scratchboards, among other artworks. Almost 300 total submissions were judged at the festival, according to art teacher Sharon Scharf, who said she has attended the event since 1994.
“I like to offer a wide variety of projects to give the students the opportunity to express their creativity in the way that suits them best,” Scharf said. “Not everybody is turned on by drawing or painting, but they might like another medium.”
A total of seven high schools competed at the festival, including art powerhouses Modesto Christian and Capital Christian, Scharf said. Although a student from Modesto won the overall Best of Show award, Scharf said that she and her classes have “always gone head-to-head with Modesto Christian,” with the award alternating between the two schools.
Each school was asked to bring two judges for the festival. Although Scharf says the quality of the judges lacks at some competitions, she felt they performed well at the ASCI festival.
“I always try to bring quality judges who know what they’re doing,” Scharf said. “There have been some art festivals we’ve been to where it seems the schools ask parents of students to judge, but they [judges] seemed to be really top-notch this time.”
Last year, Carreon entered the festival and won Best of Show for his scratchboard of a cowboy. He continued to compete this year, submitting two scratchboards ? one of an owl and one of a daffodil ? and the judges selected the daffodil scratchboard to tie for Best of Show, although another student’s artwork reigned in the tiebreaker.
“I was really excited, but at the same time, disappointed,” Carreon, who worked on the daffodil scratchboard for six hours, said. “I thought it was strange that they picked the daffodil over the owl, because I thought it [the owl] was better, and so did Mrs. [Sharon] Scharf.”
According to Scharf, art festivals vary in judging techniques, which makes it difficult to predict a winning artwork.
“As an artist, you can win Best of Show at one competition and get dumped in the next,” Scharf said. “Art is very subjective.”
Although the ASCI Art Festival marks the last competition of Carreon’s high school career, he says he intends to continue creating art after he graduates.
“It’s just fun to be able to see something in your head and then put it down on paper, or on scratchboard,” Carreon said.
For more information on art class, visit the Oct. 14, 2008, article, Fair exhibition evaluates student submissions or e-mail Sharon Scharf.
