SSA Celebrates Its First Scholastic Art Gold Key Winner
Sonoran Science Academy is proud to announce its first Gold Key Art winner at the Region-At-Large Scholastic Art and Writing Awards of 2009. Senior Joseph Reynolds is the recipient of a celebrated Gold Key Award with his self portrait pencil drawing. Since Arizona has no region of its own in which to submit art, the art work is pooled with approximately 3500 art pieces in a Region-At-Large with other cities and states having no regional art center. These pieces are submitted as digital imagery to New York City in early January for the Scholastic Art and Writing Award selection presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. A small percentage of these works were chosen in each of the media categories consisting of sculpture, ceramics, product design, jewelry, fiber arts, photography, drawing, painting and graphic design to receive gold keys for their outstanding artistic merit. Gold Key recipients were notified in March of their awards. The gold key regional winners advance to the National Scholastic Art Competition in New York.
Mrs. Paula Hanson is familiar with the Scholastic Art Competition having entered student art at her former school in this show. “This is the most prestigious student art show in the United States. To have a student receive is gold key award is an event worth celebrating,” she commented. “It is exciting to know that Joseph’s piece is being entered into the National level.” National level judging will occur in April.
In their 86-year history, the Awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated artists and authors when they were teenagers, including: Richard Avedon, Mel Bochner, Truman Capote, Frances Farmer, Robert Indiana, Donald Lipski, Bernard, Malamud, Joyce Maynard, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Phillip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Robert Redford, Andy Warhol, Charles White, and Sherley Anne Williams. We’re proud to count Joseph Reynolds among them and among the next generation of artists and writers.