Fort Mill High students dominate art competition

Art students at Fort Mill High School stood out at the 2016 Congressional District Art Competition for the Fifth District.

Seven of the 11 winners were FMHS students. Winners had their work displayed at a showcase at the Arts Council in downtown Rock Hill until April 24. The top pieces of art will be sent to Washington, D.C., where they will be displayed in a tunnel that leads from the offices of the House of Representatives to the Capitol building.

Dist. 5 Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) said it's a rare chance for students to get lots of eyes on their work.

“Several hundreds of thousands of people go through that tunnel every year,” he said.

The competition does not require a specific theme or have any specific entry requirements. Students can submit as many pieces as they want and don't have to have teacher approval first. Fort Mill High art teacher Jessica Calloway has many of the winning students in her classes. She said the competition is a good opportunity for budding artists to show off their talent past the local level.

“It is very rewarding as a teacher to see your students recognized for their hard work,” Calloway said.

“They come in the classroom day in and day out and bare their soul on a canvas or through a lens and it's very exciting to see others take note of their talent and their ability.”

Students in Mulvaney’s district, which includes Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Indian Land and the cities of Lancaster and Rock Hill, submitted a record-setting 272 entries this year. Event coordinator Marcia Buike of Tega Cay said she takes a grassroots approach to growing the competition.

“I find the key to success is to develop a relationship with the art teachers,” she said.

Buike also finds sponsors for the competition who will offer awards and prize money to the top winners.

“I believe the students should have award money,” she said. “They have art that rivals many professional artists. It's just not enough to give a certificate.”

The competition has a first through third place winner, and this year there were five honorable mentions. The submissions are judged by professional artists from the community. This year the second and third place winners both came from FMHS.

Katelyn Namowicz, a 12th grader, said her second place submission “Lumiere et al” was a color pencil drawing that was inspired by a candelabra she found at an antique store.

“I get inspiration from old things like antiques and Victorian architecture,” she said.

It took her about a week and a half to complete the piece. It was one of 11 she submitted to the competition. She said it felt great to know she had won.

“I was happy to get something and know that my hard work had paid off,” she said.

Mulvaney also selects his favorite piece each year and gives the artist his “Mick's Pick” award. Mulvaney agreed that the work the students produce is terrific, so much so that this year he couldn't decide on one favorite. He awarded two “Mick's Pick” awards, both went to FMHS students.

“I cheated this year and had to pick two winners,” he joked, “I'm in charge, so I don't have to decide... who's going to veto me on that?”

Mulvaney also said he was struck by another piece.

“There was a picture of a South Carolina flag taken at a really cool angle and I thought, 'Wouldn't that be cool to give out to people when they come to our office?'” he said.

That photograph was submitted by FMHS 11th grade student Corbitt Davis. She took the photo on the campus of Clemson University.

“I saw the flag blowing so I laid on the ground next to the flag pole,” she said.

Mulvaney loved it so much that it inspired him to create a new award: The Palmetto Pride Award.

“It's something we can use each year to reflect high school artists from South Carolina,” he said.

Davis, who also won an Honorable Mention for a photograph she submitted called “Can I Be Surfing Yet?” said winning both prizes really motivates her.

“I have such a heart for photography and being able to be recognized makes me inspired to take more photos and try to get better and improve myself as much as I can,” she said.

That is exactly the seed that everyone involved in putting together the competition hoped to plant.

“The fact that it is out in the public and someone has said they like it and they find it to be of value really allows the student to gain that sense of accomplishment and joy that they're sharing their work with others,” Calloway said.

Mulvaney said when he first took office the competition only had a few dozen entries each year, and during the past five years it's really grown to become something special just for the students.

“I hope it's a big deal for them because it's a big deal for us,” he said.

To see all 272 submissions to this year's competition, visit 5thdistrictart.com/ and click on “2016 entries.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Fort Mill High students dominate art competition."