Main photo: Junior Anh Lu experiments with time exposure for her photography piece, which she hopes to submit into the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE). The Regional Events will be held throughout  February and Area Medal winners will advance to the State Event in April. “It was July 4th; we were waiting for fireworks to come on, and we started messing around with glow sticks,” Lu said. “I want [to use competitions] to receive recognition and a good reputation while I’m in high school. My dream is to work for National Geographic and Photography Today Magazine.”
Top left: Senior Jamie Wells’s acrylic painting is for the Young Arts competition, a program which awards scholarships to students who are talented in the arts. “[This piece] happened while I was watching That’s 70’s Show: I really don’t like Lori—she’s annoying and flirts with every guy on the show, and she’s so skinny!” Wells said. “She needs to eat more and this is how I feed her.” Photo by Jamie Wells.
Top right: Junior Marie Gonzales uses mixed media to create her piece for Culture Shapers, a Houston-based visual arts competition. The deadline to submit pieces is in the fall, and winners will be announced after November. Competitors are also eligible to win Danny Wood’s “Heart in Art” award, given to entrants who have overcome adversity and shown leadership, character, and social skills. “It is about the afterlife; photographs of myself…inside a skull’s mouth,” Gonzales said. “You’re engulfed by death, basically. There’s always an end. I’ve put in a lot of effort in it and…it shows how I feel because I’m not good with words.” Photo by Anh Lu.
Bottom left: Thomas Tran uses charcoal to create his piece, Bam Ram Jam for VASE. “It’s a ram blowing into another ram’s horn; think of like a war horn. I usually don’t know what to do, so I do animal stuff and try to do what no one else does—not a lot of people do rams.” Photo by Jeff Chien.