ROCHELLE — Twelve Rochelle Township High School students had artwork selected to compete in the I-8 Conference Art Competition Saturday, March 12. This was the first I-8 Conference Art Competition since 2019 due to COVID-19 cancellations. 

Art teacher Beth Mock said, “It was great to get back to competing in a conference event. It is always an experience for the kids because they get inspiration from their peers’ artwork and can see how their skills stack up against other schools. Our second place finish overall made it all the more special.”

Propelling RTHS to its second place finish as a school were the four first place wins in drawing color by Marlen Hueramo, photo unaltered by Juelianna Lopez, drawing neutral by Alivia Henkel and printmaking by Erin Murphy. Mock said this is a diverse group of winners from all different grade levels, in different classes.  

Hueramo’s piece, “Lunch in the Commons'' was created in AP Art, Lopez’s “Shoes” in Photo II, Henkel’s “Sorry!” in 2D Art L2 and Murphy's “Circular Illusion” in 2D Art L1.  

On top of the four first place finishes, RTHS had two other artworks that placed, both of those coming from the 3D Art L1 class. Ashley Albright’s “The Artist” placed second in ceramics hand built. Antonio Monroy’s “Starburst” sculpture also placed.  Other participants were: Lyric May, Isaac Fulgencio, Emily Montelongo, Marisa Whaley, Faith Lohse and Princess Saxton.

This diverse group of winners is reflective of the wide range of courses the RTHS Art Department’s curriculum offers. The curriculum was updated this year to offer more experiences to students as well as keep on par with college readiness. This update coincided with the addition of a new art teacher Andrea Swofford. 

“As both a first year teacher and artist, it was fabulous to see our students at all levels winning awards,” Swofford said. “The artists recognized in the competition ranged from beginners to seasoned artists. Walking into the exhibition space to see our RTHS artists with ribbons next to their work visualized my teaching philosophy: Art is for everyone! And I am looking forward to the rest of our competition season.”

Be sure you check out the winners and all the other artworks who competed Saturday now on display in the second floor E hall case outside Mrs. Mock’s room.

“The I-8 Conference Show is always a great event and it was an awesome way to kick off the art competition season,” Mock said. “It is always nice to see our art students get recognized for all their hard work.”

Upcoming art competitions include the Kishwaukee Art Invitational and the Congressional Art Competition in April.  

You can check out all competing art works and many more at the annual RTHS Art Show the week of May 9.