By Mersades Freelove
Enrique Gutierrez, a Guyer senior, has recently won the VASE Visual Arts Scholastic Event Competition. An art student at Guyer for three years, Gutierrez has spent over 300 hours working on his self portrait to get it ready for competition. He entered the event this year with some encouragement from the art teacher, Mrs. Fitzsimmons. His hard work has paid off as it won him an Exemplary and Gold Medal, as well as being named an All-State Artist.
The VASE Visual Arts Scholastic Event Competition is an event where Students create artworks, write about their creative processes and understanding of visual art, They have to articulate information about their portraits to speak out during an interview with the VASE jurors, who evaluate each piece using a standard-based rubric. The mission of the VASE event is to recognize exemplary student achievement in the Visual Arts by providing high school art students and programs a standard of excellence.
Enrique Gutierrez talked about his experience as an art student “What makes taking art at Guyer amazing is the exceptional teachers, they are nothing but encouraging and just amazing people.”He plans to study electrical engineering at UNT, but intends to continue to pursue art in his spare time.
Throughout the centuries art has been used to express ideas and emotions, and that is still prevalent today within the works of Guyer students like Gutierrez, “What I love most about art is the expression, the ability to convey emotion or to tell a story,” Guiterrez added.
Art education is an important part of high school curriculum. Through the arts, students develop skills like resilience, grit, and a growth mindset to help them master their craft, do well academically, and succeed in life after high school. Multiple studies have found that art is instrumental in the development of students, and has many beneficial effects on the mind.
