Mitchell High School's Brooke Jones earns accolades at Dakota Student Art Exhibition
Apr. 24—ABERDEEN — Mitchell High School placed two artists at its final art competition of the school year.
Brooke Jones, a junior art student at the school, took first place at the Dakota Student Art Exhibition in Aberdeen recently in the other 2D design/2D mixed media category. Her piece, a mosaic titled Face From The Past, features ceramic tiles in the form of a face.
"This is actually my first time doing a mosaic," Jones told the Mitchell Republic. "Usually my preferred medium is drawing and ceramics. I really did like it. It's tedious work, but the end result is always great."
Jones was surprised by the first-place finish, but enjoyed venturing out into new artistic territory with the piece. The mosaic includes tiles in the background done in a Raku technique, a Japanese style that gives the surface color a shifting characteristic.
She estimates the piece took her between six and eight class periods to complete, though she admits she continued to adjust it even after the assignment was due thanks to an extension from her art teacher, Marica Shannon.
"I was not expecting first place at all. It was so surprising to me. I did jump out of my chair," Jones admitted.
Jones developed a love for art at a young age, spending many weekends at her grandmother's house painting. She would reproduce pictures that she liked and would create paintings for friends and family.
As a junior she has another year of high school, but she already has her eye set on her post-graduation plans. She is considering moving to the head of the classroom as an art teacher to bring her own love and experience in several different mediums to the next generation of budding artists.
"I definitely am thinking about being an art teacher. I would like to be well-rounded, but I would like to major in ceramics. I really love pottery," Jones said.
Fellow Mitchell High School art student Cleo Van Meter also did well at the event, placing third in the drawing catagory with a scratch art piece titled Yetti Crab, which features a detailed image of a type of deep-sea crustacean.
Scratch art is created when a black surface film is scratched off the top a white base, creating a stark, high-contrast image.
Shannon said it was exciting to see Jones and Van Meter place high at the event, which is the last art competition of the season her students are participating in.
"This is our last event of the season, and it's exciting to see the students gain recognition for their hard work. They both go above and beyond. They put in the time it takes to do it right instead of rushing it," Shannon said.
The Dakota Student Art Exhibition features the work of art students from grades 7 to 12, and is promoted as an educational experience that brings young people together under the mentorship of professional artists. It features hands-on art workshops and a judge's gallery workshop where conversation about the art is personalized and feedback is given.
The event was first held in 1996 in Groton.
With Jones considering a career as an art teacher and Van Meter on the way to the University of South Dakota to study fine arts, Shannon said she's excited that two more Mitchell High School students will continue to foster their love of the arts into the future.
Whether they embrace the art for art's sake, to share it with their friends or loved ones or to pass their knowledge along to the next generation, art students like Jones and Van Meter are great examples of young people enriching the world with their creations.
"We do need them. There is a big, strong need," Shannon said.
