Each year, Scholastic Art and Writing holds awards where artwork and stories can be submitted. then judged, and awards are given for the best work. Teens in grades seven through twelve can submit their work into 29 different art and writing categories. Some categories students can submit to may include fashion, jewelry, design or photography for art and poetry, humor, journalism, or critical essay for writing. These are only a few of the many available categories. Last year, there were more than 300,000 submissions of works of art and writing.

This year, of the students that submitted their work at Fossil Ridge High School, four were given awards. These included senior Amanda Henninger winning a silver key for her photograph “Sea of Feathers”, junior Nathan Doty winning a Gold Key for his digital artwork “Among the Flowers”, freshman Bridger Moore for his photograph “The Other Side” and junior Cami Campbell with her painting “The Clearing”. 

According to the Scholastics Art and Writing Awards, the Silver Key is awarded for “stand-out works submitted to local programs that demonstrate exceptional ability”. The Gold Key is awarded for “the very best works submitted to local programs. Gold Key works are automatically considered for national-level recognition”.

When asked about her painting, Campbell said, “with watercolor, it takes a lot of layers in order for the paper to not become soggy”. She explained that the colors need to be saturated with water, which takes time. Inspired by a picture she took of a river during a trip to Oregon, Campbell spent about eight hours working on this painting. She spent time both during and outside of class at her home working. For Campbell, being awarded the Gold Key is “a huge honor”. She added that she is “thankful for Klyczek” for recommending she should submit it to scholastic. 

The submission process is done mostly by the teacher with help from the artist/writer. For each category students can submit to, there are special instructions to follow. Though many of the steps are similar like selecting the correct category of work and naming the piece being submitted. The 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards submissions open in September of 2020. Winners are announced in January or 2021.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, Nathan Doty, Cami Campell, Bridger Moore, and Amanda Henninger for their amazing work!