VAPA Wins 164 Scholastic Awards!
Many of our seniors entered portfolios to compete with 8 artworks. We took the most awards of any institution in the Los Angeles Area. Congratulations to all of the winners!
Art Portfolio
Maria Elizabeth Reyes-Garza Gold Key Photography
Jose Flores Silver Key
Alejandro Mejia Silver Key
Sabrina Wagner Silver Key
Sydney Agnew Honorable Mention
Bonnie Cho Honorable Mention
Aaron Estrada Honorable Mention
Kevin Espinoza Honorable Mention
Fabian Pablo Honorable Mention
Kert Pan Honorable Mention
Maria Elizabeth Reyes-Garza Honorable Mention
Ellena Rodriguez-Davey Honorable Mention
Penelope Uribe-Abee Honorable Mention
Individual Awards
Michael Adragna
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Sydney Agnew
Honorable Mention in Comic Art
Janine Alburo
Silver Key in Ceramics & Glass
Alexxa Anzures
Honorable Mention in Mixed Media
Christian Aranda
Honorable Mention in Design
Jackson Beyda
Gold Key in Design
Silver Key in Design
2 Honorable Mentions in Film & Animation and Painting
Miracle Boldon
3 Honorable Mentions in Design and Drawing
Elizabeth Bowen
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Elizabeth Brook
2 Honorable Mentions in Photography
Guadalupe Cazares
3 Honorable Mentions in Mixed Media
Bonnie Cho
2 Honorable Mentions in Painting
Maya Chambers
Silver Key in Design
Jaxon Demme
Gold Key in Mixed Media
Carlos Domingo
Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Kellyn Elias
Honorable Mention in Photography
Kevin Espinoza
3 Honorable Mentions in Mixed Media
Aaron Estrada
Gold Key in Ceramics & Glass
6 Silver Key in Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Printmaking, and Ceramics & Glass 9 Honorable Mentions in Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Printmaking, Ceramics & Glass, and Sculpture
Martha Fernandez
Silver Key in Mixed Media
4 Honorable Mentions in Drawing, Mixed Media and Printmaking
Jose Flores
2 Gold Key in Painting
3 Honorable Mentions in Painting
Lola Gaines
Honorable Mention in Photography
Ricardo Garcia
Honorable Mention in Sculpture
Gustavo Gonzalez-Ramos
Silver Key in Drawing
Isabella Granados
2 Honorable Mentions in Painting and Sculpture
Charles Green
Honorable Mention in Mixed Media
Zane Gutierrez
6 Honorable Mentions in Drawing, Film & Animation, and Photography
Ixchel Hernandez
Honorable Mention in Mixed Media
Sarah Hobin
Honorable Mention in Photography
Annie Huangq
Honorable Mention in Design
Kiriko Kajiwara
3 Honorable Mentions in Drawing
Shai Kim
Honorable Mention in Design
Milca Lara
Honorable Mention in Ceramics & Glass
Julian Lee
Honorable Mention in Architecture
Jessica Lima
Honorable Mention in Sculpture
Silver Key in Sculpture
Andre Lopez
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Josue Lopez
Honorable Mention in Photography
Maritza Lopez
Silver Key in Design
Ben McNatt
2 Honorable Mentions in Photography
Alejandro Mejia
Silver Key Digital Art
2 Honorable Mentions in Digital Art
Jordann Melrose-luzod
2 Honorable Mentions in Photography
Genesy Mendez
Silver Key in Photography
Maynor Montalvo
Gold Key in Design
3 Honorable Mentions in Design
Graciela Moreno
Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Aya Morishita
2 Honorable Mentions in Drawing
Ana Olvera
Honorable Mention in Ceramics & Glass
Jasmin Ortega
Honorable Mention in Mixed Media
Oxlaj Santos
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Fabian Pablo
3 Silver Key in Drawing
9 Honorable Mentions in Design, Drawing, Painting and Photography
Mateo Pettyjohn
3 Honorable Mentions in Mixed Media
Rosaura Pila
2 Honorable Mentions in Drawing
Rex Platero
Gold Key in Architecture
3 Honorable Mentions in Design and Ceramics & Glass
Maria Elizabeth Reyes-Garza
Silver Key in Photography
4 Honorable Mentions in Photography
Rachel Ritter
Honorable Mention in Sculpture
Fidel Rodriguez
2 Honorable Mentions in Photography
Jacqueline Rosas
Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Xiomara Sanchez
Honorable Mention in Printmaking
Yaari Sanderson
Honorable Mention in Sculpture
David Schaefer
2 Honorable Mentions in Mixed Media
Florence Tolbert
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Penelope Uribe-Abee
Silver Key in Digital Art
Jannah Ustaris
Honorable Mention in Drawing
Ruby Valencia
Silver Key in Digital Art
2 Honorable Mentions in Digital Art
Chloe Van Ranzow
Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Enrique Vargas
Silver Key in Drawing
2 Honorable Mentions in Ceramics & Glass and Drawing
Alejandra Velasco
Honorable Mention in Printmaking
Sabrina Wagner
Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Process over Product Feb 27-March 8, 2013
Visual Arts Winter Exhibition focusing on the process of creating artwork. Visual Arts Hallway and V318
Phenomenal Civil Rights Artwork March 1-2
Theater Lobby Exhibition in conjunction with the Phenomenal Gala Fundraiser
Loteria Party and Art Auction May 23, 2013
Fundraisier Party and Art Auction, Theater Lobby 6-8pm
Art on Cloud 9 Exhibition May 22 - June 3
Visual Arts Hallway and V318, Reception and awards ceremony May 23, 4-6pm
You don’t find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM), but here’s a list of skills that young people learn from studying the arts. They serve as a reminder that the arts — while important to study for their intrinsic value — also promote skills seen as important in academic and life success. (That’s why some people talk about changing the current national emphasis on STEM to STEAM.) This was written by Lisa Phillips is an author, blog journalist, arts and leadership educator, speaker and business owner. To learn about Lisa’s book, “The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World,” click here. This appeared on the ARTSblog, a program of Americans for the Arts. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts/
By Lisa Phillips
1. Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.
2. Confidence – The skills developed through theater, not only train you how to convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence you need to take command of the stage. Theater training gives children practice stepping out of their comfort zone and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in rehearsal. This process gives children the confidence to perform in front of large audiences.
3. Problem Solving – Artistic creations are born through the solving of problems. How do I turn this clay into a sculpture? How do I portray a particular emotion through dance? How will my character react in this situation? Without even realizing it kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems. All this practice problem solving develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding. This will help develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career.
4. Perseverance – When a child picks up a violin for the first time, she/he knows that playing Bach right away is not an option; however, when that child practices, learns the skills and techniques and doesn’t give up, that Bach concerto is that much closer. In an increasingly competitive world, where people are being asked to continually develop new skills, perseverance is essential to achieving success.
5. Focus – The ability to focus is a key skill developed through ensemble work. Keeping a balance between listening and contributing involves a great deal of concentration and focus. It requires each participant to not only think about their role, but how their role contributes to the big picture of what is being created. Recent research has shown that participation in the arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.
6. Non-Verbal Communication – Through experiences in theater and dance education, children learn to breakdown the mechanics of body language. They experience different ways of moving and how those movements communicate different emotions. They are then coached in performance skills to ensure they are portraying their character effectively to the audience.
7. Receiving Constructive Feedback – Receiving constructive feedback about a performance or visual art piece is a regular part of any arts instruction. Children learn that feedback is part of learning and it is not something to be offended by or to be taken personally. It is something helpful. The goal is the improvement of skills and evaluation is incorporated at every step of the process. Each arts discipline has built in parameters to ensure that critique is a valuable experience and greatly contributes to the success of the final piece.
8. Collaboration – Most arts disciplines are collaborative in nature. Through the arts, children practice working together, sharing responsibility, and compromising with others to accomplish a common goal. When a child has a part to play in a music ensemble, or a theater or dance production, they begin to understand that their contribution is necessary for the success of the group. Through these experiences children gain confidence and start to learn that their contributions have value even if they don’t have the biggest role.
9. Dedication – When kids get to practice following through with artistic endeavors that result in a finished product or performance, they learn to associate dedication with a feeling of accomplishment. They practice developing healthy work habits of being on time for rehearsals and performances, respecting the contributions of others, and putting effort into the success of the final piece. In the performing arts, the reward for dedication is the warm feeling of an audience’s applause that comes rushing over you, making all your efforts worthwhile.
10. Accountability – When children practice creating something collaboratively they get used to the idea that their actions affect other people. They learn that when they are not prepared or on-time, that other people suffer. Through the arts, children also learn that it is important to admit that you made a mistake and take responsibility for it. Because mistakes are a regular part of the process of learning in the arts, children begin to see that mistakes happen. We acknowledge them, learn from them and move on.
