Senior wins silver in National Scholastic Art competition

Senior Isabella Bonner was awarded a Silver Medal in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition for her exceptional work in ceramics.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is the biggest and most prestigious recognition initiative for creative students in grades 7-12 and the largest source of scholarships for young artists and writers in the nation. Isabella won a Gold Key in the regional competition which qualified her for the national competition.

“The piece I submitted is a bark textured 16” coiled vase with Chicken of the Woods mushrooms wrapped around the neck of the vase and a few lichens scattered around the body. The hardest part of the process was trying to figure out how to make a realistic bark texture without it looking like a repetitive pattern and having the patience to keep at it,” Isabella said.

Isabella describes herself as “a thinker and a dreamer but a perfectionist to a fault” which gives her the ability to work, chisel, and chip away at a project and concept until she brings a thought into reality. “One of the coolest things to do as an artist,” Isabella said, “is to show people a fathomable object or piece that couldn’t be imagined until that point.”

Isabella added, “My art courses at McNick have helped me push my creativity in both quality and concept, but they have also helped me be confident enough to create what I see and want to create...I am more comfortable in expressing myself and my thoughts for what they are instead of editing them and myself for others.”

Click to view the regional exhibition or to view the national exhibition showcasing Isabella and the other winners.

“My art courses at McNick have helped me push my creativity in both quality and concept, but they have also helped me be confident enough to create what I see and want to create...I am more comfortable in expressing myself and my thoughts for what they are instead of editing them and myself for others.”

Isabella Bonner '21