Medomak Valley High School senior Hillia Aho was named as a runner-up for the 2nd Congressional District’s 2012 Congressional Art Competition.
Aho’s 26- by 20-inch oil painting, “Chicken of Responsibility,” was based on a photograph.
“This particular chicken has always had a big personality,” Aho wrote about her work. “We call him Tracker because he insists on following us wherever we go. I was hoping to capture his quirky nature in this picture.”
Aho said in an interview that Tracker’s unusual expression caught her eye and that she chose the chicken painting because she thought it represented Maine.
Winning students are selected by two juries assembled by the Maine Arts Commission for their expertise in the field of visual arts.
“There is a sense of human emotion conveyed through this animal, an unusual sitter,” the jury wrote in its decision. “Evident technical skill and a unique sense of portraiture give the painting strength. The artist shows exceptional attention to detail and makes excellent use of texture, particularly in the aged wood grain and in the grass.”
The winning students and runners up were invited to a Blaine House reception where First Lady LePage, U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine), and a representative from U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) presented them with certificates.
The president of the Maine College of Art was in attendance to offer the winning students scholarships if they wished to attend MECA. For runners up such as Aho, scholarships were awarded in the amount of $6000 per year for four years, totaling $24,000.
Tuition at MECA is $28,000 per year. A spokesman for the college said recipients would also be eligible for additional support, should they choose to attend the art school in Portland.
Aho, whose primary medium is photography, is taking a gap year between high school and college. She said she hoped to spend some of that time in Europe and may take courses at MECA as well.
For the present, she said she was focusing on directing the dessert theater production at MVHS. “Web of Murder” opening Fri., May 18 at 7 p.m. and playing Sat., May 19 at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Ronald Dolloff Auditorium at 320 Manktown Rd. in Waldoboro.
“It has trap doors, grumpy old women in wheelchairs, spiders and a mystery,” Aho said.
According to the website at mainearts.maine.gov, the annual Congressional Art Competition is sponsored by U.S. House of Representatives to recognize “the importance of student art on a grand scale.”
First place winning entries from high school students in every congressional district will be displayed in an exhibition in the U.S. Capitol for a year, beginning in June.
Along with the winners, runners-up from each congressional district will have their work displayed in the State Capitol Complex.
The Congressional Art Competition was created in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, more than 700,000 high school students have competed for the honor of having their work shown in the U.S. Capitol.
For information about any of the Maine Arts Commission’s Arts in Education funding opportunities or programs, contact Meagan Mattingly at 287-2790, or through email at meagan.mattingly@maine.gov.