by Jasmine Embrick
V.A.S.E. (Visual Arts Scholastic Event) is a high school competition that encourages young, aspiring artists to express themselves in multiple ways: sculpting, painting, drawing, etc. One can enter under a sponsor, and even homeschooled children can compete.
The contest is relatively simple; one must submit a piece of original art and complete an interview with a juror while several, minor, annually updated plagiarism rules apply. After everyone’s art is judged, the jurors present the highest rated art (4), and then decide which pieces deserve to be taken to the state level version of the V.A.S.E. competition.
Ellison has multiple art teachers, and each took a group of creative and ambitious individuals to V.A.S.E. on February 16th at Harker Heights High School. Many received gold medals and qualified for state, while others were able to experience the competitive atmosphere and learn from the jurors and fellow participants. V.A.S.E. tends to be a rather important experience for those wishing to follow an artistic path in their future, as it lets students see peer expectations and skills, areas needing improvement, and how to speak in interviews.
The competition also typically includes other activities and commodities to occupy students’ time while the results are still being processed, such as food concessions stands, miniature drawing contests, and vendors. For the past two years, they have sold coffee, candy, chips, hot dogs, large pickles, soda, and a lot more. This year, there were some selling interesting t-shirts and hoodies featuring the V.A.S.E. logo, and multiple vendors selling art supplies at a rather cheap price. They sold Prismacolor coloured pencils at a much better price than usual, as a twenty-four pack can routinely be found sold for $20 or more.
For those wanting to participate in next year’s V.A.S.E., just approach an art teacher in the beginning of the year, and they will give whatever information available at the moment. For artists with schedules too busy for an actual art class, the teachers will still sponsor them. The competition usually happens sometime in February, every year.