Dist. 214 students win art, writing awards
A pair of Rolling Meadows High School students and another from Elk Grove High School earned first-place honors from the Daily Herald Art and Writing Contest, awarded Wednesday at Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights.
Rolling Meadows seniors Abigail Horan and Jane Trunk, both of Arlington Heights, saw their assignments for a creative writing class take first place in the contest, held in tandem with Northwest Suburban High School District 214’s Arts Unlimited festival.
Nancy Deters of Elk Grove High School won the art portion of the contest with her haunting photo of a figure covered in duct tape.
Elizabeth Schrenk, who judged the category, described it as “technically beautiful and conceptually engaging.”
Buffalo Grove High School student Justyna Babinska took second for her painting done in oil pastels called “Cranium,” while Elk Grove High School junior Patrick Glennon placed third for his sketch in graphite of a wood planer.
“I liked that the machine was made of wood and metal,” Glennon said. “I really like drawing things with high contrast and value change, and this was a perfect opportunity.”
For the first time, every winner in the Daily Herald contest was a high school student. Typically, the competition draws adults from the community as well as teens.
“I’m shocked,” said Bill Leece, a retired English teacher from Rolling Meadows High School who judged the prose entries. “We had no way of knowing they were all students. They were that good.”
Horan’s award-winning prose piece, “You Should Know,” took the voice of a 5-year old girl who discovers a shocking family death.
“It’s not that sad,” Horan said. “It’s taken from the little girl’s interpretation.”
Breanna Lucas, a Prospect High School student, took second place for her prose piece, “Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear,” while Buffalo Grove High School student Bradley Panzarella placed third for his composition, “By the Banks of the Lake.”
Trunk led the poetry division with her tightly scripted poem, “Screwdriver.” She wrote it immediately after playing a word association game in her creative writing class, she said, using the tool as a medium to explore time travel.
“I wrote it really fast and turned it in,” Trunk said. “That’s why I’m so shocked that it won.”
Jeffrey Arena, who judged the poetry contest, described the entries as “full of self-reflection, inventive imagery and meaningful metaphor.”
Steven Reyes of Arlington Heights took second for his poem, “Seventeen,” while Monica Stark of Wheeling placed third for hers titled “Potatoes and Peas.” Both are Buffalo Grove High School students.