Jupiter High students received a total of 67 Scholastic Art Awards: 34 honorable mentions, 18 silver keys, and five gold keys. Those awarded a silver or gold key had the opportunity for their art to be displayed at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach on Feb. 4. 

All of the student artwork was on display in the gallery and they were able to walk up and receive a certificate of achievement. Mia Risolia, a silver key winner, attended the award ceremony.

“It made me feel very accomplished because I worked really hard and the statement of my art piece was being recognized,” Risolia said.

Prior to the ceremony, the students found out they won in a number of ways. 

“I walked into my art class late that day and everyone was looking at me and clapping and I didn’t know why,” Juliet Baltrun, junior, said.

Baltrun soon discovered she had been awarded a gold key for her artwork. She created a photograph which depicted a girl in roller skates and a long draping skirt with a black and white filter. 

“I was walking around in Goodwill when all of the sudden I laid my eyes on a pair of roller skates and I realized they could make an interesting component for a photo,” Baltrun said. 

Other students, like Hunter Hansen, senior, decided to take a different approach by sculpting. In his pottery class he created a coral reef.

“It is basically a really detailed sculpture, and it represents the ocean and how detailed coral reefs are,” Hansen said. 

 Hansen was awarded a silver key for his hard work.

“It took about three months of my time and means a lot to me,” Hansen said. 

Zach Lobel, senior, took a more traditional approach with a painting titled “Share” and received honorable mention. Lobel has been practicing art for ten years. In creating his piece, he said he was pushing his “creative limits.” 

Saturn Johnson, senior, received five awards total: two honorable mentions, two silver keys, and one gold key. She is versatile as her winning pieces consist of a sculpture, a graphite drawing, a painting, an art portfolio and printmaking. 

Johnson’s favorite piece was her graphite drawing because of the amount of detail work she put into it; the inspiration came from a photoshoot done by Risolia. 

“I helped my friend do a photoshoot at the beach and we took a couch onto the beach,” Johnson said. “I was trying to do some figure drawing and ended up using those pictures as reference.”

Sarah Knudtson, the AP 2D, AP Drawing and AICE Digital Media teacher at Jupiter, requires her students in her AP and AICE A Level classes to enter the contest. 

“Mrs. K, ever since I’ve been in her classes, has had us do Scholastics, and this year Kovachik has us do Scholastics too,” Johnson said.  

Knudtson was thrilled to have so many winners this year and stands behind her decision to have her students enter. 

“Art is a discipline in which people are pushed to ask questions and find creative solutions not correct answers,” Knudtson said. “Everyone can benefit from exploring the world through images and ideas.”

Jupiter students can enter art and writing to the Scholastic Art & Writing awards every December in a wide range of genres. Work students are creating now can be eligible for submitting in the next round.

Check out the students’ amazing pieces, in this full gallery! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Zph1VOdSIHU22OtmrMaA0rIffru_3240gJQn_uCx9ZM/edit#slide=id.g10ef26e234a_0_443