Pair of NISD art students earn top awards

Two Northwest ISD student artists have been awarded for their exceptional talent and dedication. Read below to find out more about Alyssa Tallman from Northwest High School and Ariana Yaelis Vasquez Rosete from Steele Early College High School.

Alyssa Tallman - Northwest High School (Sophomore)
Alyssa was one of 13 NISD artists to qualify for TAEA’s State Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) competition in San Marcos. In fact, she had two pieces ("Aussie" and "Colors of an Angel")  of art qualify, and she came away with a Gold Seal for each piece.

A State VASE Gold Seal is the highest individual honor awarded to high school student artwork in Texas. The award recognizes exceptional technical skill, originality, and craftsmanship. 

To enter the VASE competition, students create artworks and write about their creative processes and understanding of visual art. At the regional competition, students articulate information about their artwork during an interview with a VASE juror, who evaluates their work using a standards-based rubric.

At the state competition, jurors score the pieces, and those earning a Rating IV (Exemplary) are named All-State Artists and receive a state medallion. Out of over 30,000 regional entries, only a small fraction are chosen to advance to the state competition, and this year only 150 earned the Gold Seal. Alyssa was one of just four students in the state to earn multiple Gold Seals.

Ariana Yaelis Vasquez Rosete - Steele Early College High School (Freshman)
Ariana has been named a finalist for the ARTEFFECT annual competition, organized by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. Ariana is one of just 149 finalists that represent 32 U.S. states and 16 countries.

Students chose one of 130 unsung heroes from history, then created artwork to honor them and wrote an impact paper. She now advanced to the next level of the competition for a potential of up to $7,000.

All finalists and winners will be featured on the ARTEFFECT website and receive a certificate. Selected award-winning projects will be showcased in exhibitions at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas and the ARTEFFECT Gallery at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C.

Winners of the final round will be announced June 1.
 
A submission to the ARTEFFECT competition is an accomplishment unto itself. All participating students took on the challenge of developing their visual storytelling, creative thinking, and research skills. The projects, each with an original artwork and impact statement, champion the stories of Unsung Heroes as role models who made a profound and lasting impact on the lives of others. These projects demonstrate how visual arts education empowers young artists to change the way we look at history—and how they can shape the future.