Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, was a significant accomplishment for four Amarillo High students. 

Devin Bianco, Siba Kreidi, Camry Bartlett and Elanna Weber placed in the top 10%, advancing them to the state competition in San Marcos, Texas in April. With regards to the art pieces, Bianco created a 3D sculpture from recycled materials, Kreidi carved a large ceramic vase, Bartlett made two ceramic pieces and Weber created a 3D artwork. Each student worked on their own art piece for months before they were completed, showcasing their dedication and hard work. 

“I want to say at least 100 hours,” Weber said. “I started on building this project in mid-late November and I worked on it whenever I had the free time to work on it over the next three to four months.” 

Each and every one of these pieces holds a special meaning that proves difficult for most artists to convey to their audience. However, these students did so with their own sense of style. 

“My mom was the root of my inspiration,” Kreidi said. “All the memories of playing in the garden every day, running after butterflies and planting flowers. All those memories were made by my mom. I wanted to make something for her as thanks for the happy memories I get to have now.”

The artworks not only represent the artists’ creativity but also their beliefs and views on different aspects of life. Each piece contains a story to tell and a  point of view to share.

“I really wanted to convey how every person is unique and different, yet we all fit together and are the same in the sense that we are all human,” Weber said. “Each piece is shaped differently, looks different, functions differently, is built differently out of different materials, yet they all fit together to make one whole picture.”

These four students outshined the artwork of 645 other competitors and constructed an atmosphere of achievement for themselves and their peers around them. 

“I was thinking I had a chance of placing but it was not 100%,” Bianco said. “But when I did place I was still very excited and surprised because this was the first time I ever really got to go to VASE in person. I am still amazed I got to place in state for VASE.”