student spotlight

Fine Art Finalist

Pickerington North student’s art places among top 25 pieces in the state

After hundreds of works of art were submitted by Pickerington area artists to the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, Pickerington North High School student Sophia Peck couldn’t have imagined that her work would be chosen as one of 25 recipients of the Governor’s Award of Excellence.

On top of the hundreds of works from Peck’s region, she had to compete with thousands more from the other 14 regions in the state. The exhibition, held in April, took place when Sophia was a sophomore. With no expectations, Peck didn’t submit her pieces, Food POV and Hands, until the submission deadline day.

“It was just a casual submission I wasn’t expecting to get in,” Peck says. “Then I did … and I was just blown away.”

The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition is an annual event open to all 1,112 public and private high schools in Ohio. It’s chartered by the Ohio Department of Education, and strives to highlight exceptional student work in visual arts.

Both Food POV and Hands were selected to be part of the showcase.

Peck says Food POV was a bit of an accident: She was given an assignment to recreate an image of a mouth, but then added her own flair on top of it.

“I did this weird perspective of my chapped lips,” she says. “Then it kind of looked like the point of view of what food

Sophia Peck stands outside the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition in downtown Columbus.

sees and I said, ‘That would be funny,’ and went from there.” Hands stems from Peck’s fascination with our most used appendage. “I think hands are really beautiful,” she says. “I think they tell a story that words can’t.” The Youth Art Exhibition also connects post-secondary schools with prospective students. Colleges often reward students who finish in the top 25 with scholarships or opportunities to participate in summer programs. Following the April exhibition, Peck received two scholarship offers to take summer classes at different universities. She chose to take a figure drawing class at Ohio University in the summer and had her tuition fees covered. Peck says she previously hadn’t really considered attending college, but her experience at OU may have changed that. “I didn’t even think I would really want to go to college,” she says. “I just had it for a week and I had loads of fun so I think it’s definitely something I’d be interested in.” She’s sure now, more than ever, that she wants to pursue a career in visual art. “People ask you, ‘What do you like to do, what are your hobbies?’” she says. “And it’s always been art and I think it will always be art.” Peck’s mother, Aimee, has always been her biggest supporter. It was at Aimee’s encouragement that Peck submitted her work to the Youth Exhibition. “My mom encourPeck’s depiction of her mother, Aimee, whom she says is always encouraging. ages me to really get my name out there and to

Peck’s award-winning Hands, which she made with colored pencil.

Peck’s award-winning Food POV, which was made with acrylic paint.

make it as an artist,” Peck says. “I feel like a lot of artists’ parents are like, ‘Oh, well, that’s not a real job.’ But my mom isn’t like that at all. She encouraged me.”

Peck is passionate about visual art and the impact it can have on arts patrons.

“I think it’s just awesome to have people all looking at the same thing but thinking something different,” she says, “and someone made that, and I just want to be that. I want to make that experience for people.”

Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@ cityscenemediagroup.com.

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