May 24, 2019 | UHCL Staff
Three talented Houston-area high school art students who participated in this year’s 36th Congressional District’s 2019 Art Competition received scholarships to study art at University of Houston-Clear Lake. This year’s competition followed the theme “Southeast Texas Wildlife.” The winning students’ art will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building for an entire year. The first place prize, a scholarship for $5,000, was awarded Crosby High School sophomore Julian Lopez. The second place, a scholarship for $4,000, was awarded to freshman Ciara Pratt, and the $3,000 third prize went to sophomore Grace Hawley, both of Clear Falls High School in League City.
“I’d like to congratulate Julian Lopez and thank each of the talented students who participated, as well as the art teachers and families that supported them throughout this process,” said U.S. Rep. Brian Babin. “We have so many great artists in TX-36 and I’m extremely proud to show their work to visitors from both our district and different parts of the country when we pass by the national display in the U.S. Capitol.”
Lopez, who won for his charcoal drawing titled, “Ocean Lurker,” said he wasn’t thinking about the scholarship money. “I just wanted to do the drawing,” he said. “I chose to draw a shark because I’m really interested in them. I’ve never drawn one before, and I never used charcoal before, either. Winning was a big surprise to me.”
He said his art teacher, Tyra Baxter, told him about the scholarship and encouraged him to participate. “Students in our district compete in the Congressional Art contest because it’s an amazing opportunity,” Baxter said. “I taught Julian in middle school. When I left and came to teach at Crosby High School, I was excited to have him in class again. This year, I wanted to push Julian to the next level as an Art I student and advised him to participate in the contest with upper level students. He won first place and I am beyond proud of him.”
Lopez said he is considering a career in in art. “I would definitely like to come to UH-Clear Lake,” he said. “I fell in love with drawing a long time ago. It’s my passion.”
Pratt, who is taking Pre-AP Painting II at Clear Falls, titled her piece “Symbiosis.” She said that she liked drawing realism. “I took a picture of a bee and then, with the other plant drawings in the background, I thought that would be a good combination to submit,” she said. “I’ve always liked art because it’s such a good way to express myself. I’d love to study art. My dream job would be storyboarding animations, like for Cartoon Network or Disney Pixar.”
As the daughter of a graphic designer, Hawley, who is taking an AP 2-D Design class at Clear Falls, said she’d grown up being taught lessons in art. “I think I just have art inside me,” she said. “The title of my piece is ‘A Stroll Down Southeast Texas,’ and I drew the wildlife that I always see around, like seagulls and deer. I drew the most common Southeast Texas animals that I always see around.” She added that UHCL was one of the top colleges she was considering, and that she would like to pursue art as a career.
Nina Makepeace, who is both girls’ art teacher at Clear Falls, said that she’d never entered any of her students before. “I just asked the kids if they were interested in participating, and three of them entered. Two of them ended up placing,” she said. “They were really excited but we had no expectations. We were all so happy when we were told we’d placed. It was a very exciting day for them.”
Makepeace added that Hawley had won a gold medal in art this year, and that both girls had made it to the State UIL Competition. “Ninety percent of kids don’t make it to state competition, and they both went and did very well,” she said.
This year’s Congressional Art Competition included over 50 entries from high school art students all over the 36th District.
For more information about UHCL's Bachelor of Fine Arts program, visit www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/departments/communication-studio-arts/art-design/
