Artwork by area teens was recognized May 20 at “A Show of Hands,” Sweet Briar College’s first-ever regional high school art competition. The exhibit includes work by more than 260 students from 13 Central Virginia high schools and will be on display May 18 through 27 in the Anne Gary Pannell Gallery.

This drawing by AHS student Danielle Everton won top honors.Danielle Everton, a sophomore at Appomattox High School, was awarded $200 and the President’s Award for her mixed media drawing, “When Books Come to Life.” The award – the highest honor given in the competition – was presented by Sweet Briar College President Elisabeth S. Muhlenfeld.

Appomattox High School’s art department was presented the Distinguished Art Department Award and a $200 gift of art supplies from The Art Box in Lynchburg. The award was presented to the school with the highest quality of entries.

The following awards also were presented:

• Amherst County High School senior Ryan Johnson was presented the Dean’s Award and a $100 prize for his sculpture “Tiger.”


• Albemarle High School junior Lauren Chilton won the Admissions Office Award and a $100 cash prize for the graphite drawing, “Noir.”


• Josie Justice, a senior at Charlottesville High School, was presented the Co-Curricular Life Award and $100 for her watercolor “David Whiteside.”


• Millie Coleman, a senior at E.C. Glass High School, won $50 and the Sweet Briar College Friends of Art Award for “Shoes,” a monoprint.


• James Hobson, a senior at E.C. Glass, received the Art Gallery Award for his oil painting, “A Day to Remember.” He also was presented a $50 cash award.


• James Wellbeloved-Stone, a junior at Charlottesville High School, received $50 and the Art History Department Award for his Photoshop piece, “War Briefing.”

Anne Gary Pannell Art Awards and $25 went to the following area students:

• Ashley Cheatham, an 11th grader from Amherst County, for her black-and-white photograph, “Double Trouble.”


• Leslie Christian, a freshman at Buckingham County High School, for “Initials,” a cardboard relief print.


• Catherine Coppola, an eleventh grader at New Vistas School for her papier mache, “Luna.”


• Nicholas Corbell, a senior at Murray High School, for “A Grown Up Wish,” a tempera on paper.


• Kerry Cowart, a senior at Rustburg High School, for “Sassy,” an acrylic on canvas.


• Michael Hodnett, a sophomore at Fray Educational Center, for his graphite drawing, “American Paranoid.”


• Sina Krauss, a junior at Virginia Episcopal School, for “Bottle,” a piece constructed of cut paper.


• Albemarle High School senior Austin Laverty for “Equilibrium,” a digital vector drawing.


• Minna Mattila, a junior at Holy Cross Regional School, for “Pathway,” an acrylic on canvas.


• Nelson County High School senior Cody Mowrer for his charcoal/watercolor “Paristan.”


• Gabrielle Testu, a senior at E.C. Glass, for “Fish,” a collograph and collage.


• Alison Thompson, a sophomore at Charlottesville High, for “The Turtle,” a marker drawing.

SBC sophomore Carolanne Bonanno, art galleries director Rebecca Lane and studio art professor Laura Pharis, judged the competition. “I had a wonderful time jurying this exhibition,” Bonanno, an entrepreneurial arts major, said in her juror’s statement.

“I walked into the gallery … and saw all the art spread around the room, school-by-school, and it made me ridiculously happy. It brought back a lot of memories about high school, which really wasn’t that long ago.”

In her statement, Pharis praised the quality of the exhibit and said she and the other judges did not have an easy time making their selections.

“In this show, there could have been six or seven different sets of awards and judging is always subjective to the point of being arbitrary,” she said. “The work was of an impressively high standard and it was difficult to make decisions. Everyone in the show is a winner and I encourage all of you to keep making art!”

– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer