Art has always been a part of her life. She gets her passion from her mother’s side of the family. Her uncle draws, although he never took it up as a career. Her sister takes Pre-AP Art and her cousin took art classes as well. According to her, art runs in her blood.
When AP Studio Art Drawing student senior Elisabeth Maley wasn’t chosen for the Young Masters Art Competition last year, she refused to be let down.
“To me it wasn’t a big deal,” Maley said. “I just tend to push myself and move on.”
Maley was in AP 2D Design and had to create an art portfolio. She had chosen animal patterns and chose to draw a giraffe as one of her pieces. Maley went to the Dallas Zoo and took pictures of some of the giraffes to find her inspiration.
“It was really fun to visit and take pictures of them, so I could copy and draw them,” Maley said. “We went to the giraffe exhibit where you get to pet them and I thought they had really pretty patterns and colors. I think I have an eye for things like that.”
She decided to submit her painting called ‘Giraffe Portrait’ for this year’s Young Masters’ competition, a competition that gives young artists a chance to have their work showcased. With her giraffe-inspired piece, Maley won a spot as finalist.
“I don’t even think I was going to get into this one until I got an email from my art teacher saying ‘Congratulations’ and telling me that I was participating in the final judging,” Maley said.
The Young Master’s Art Competition also features a separate essay contest. AP Art History student, junior Macy Huang entered an essay on Japanese culture called “Harmony with the Earth and Sky,” which was also picked for the final judging.
“There was this painting in the Dallas Museum of Art that was on Japanese culture and that really fascinated me,” Huang said. “I found it kind of relatable because I do have a similar culture.”
Huang has taken part in other visual art competitions, but to her the Young Masters Competition is the biggest one yet.
“I wasn’t able to make a significant headway in those competitions,” Huang said. “None of them were as big of a deal as this and it really is an honor to be in something like this, because there is a semblance of professionalism involved, which is really a wonderful experience.”
Huang’s passion is to create artistic pieces and to learn about art in general.
“Whenever I create art I feel calm and at peace,” Huang said. “It’s just a way for me to get away from a lot of tension and stress in high school.”
After entering her essay in the competition, Huang received some criticism. She received a letter saying that her essay was good and it only needed some grammatical corrections and some changes in format.
“I didn’t really get that much feedback except for that letter,” Huang said. “It’s not much to correct and I’m pretty happy about it.
At the same time, Maley got a positive response on her art piece.
“We just showed it to the class and talked about it,” Maley said. “My teacher really liked it and my grandmother was really supportive of me as well. I really look up to her because she is the person that always talks to me about my art.”
No matter what the ultimate outcome of the competition is, Maley is happy with the work she has done.
“It is a major competition but I never felt pressured about it,” Maley said. “I’m just really excited and my friends are also super happy for me. I have all the support I need.”
The Young Masters Exhibition will be held Dec. 22, 2012 through Feb.17, 2013 at the Dallas Museum of Art.
