Big Spring High School's Austin Hinojosa shows off his pencil sketch that qualified for the Texas Art Educators' Association Visual Art Scholastic Exhibit this year. The sketch is one he did of his dog, Sparky. (Courtesy photo)
 

Seniors Allison Ward and Austin Hinojosa achieved state and national recognition for their artwork — Ward placed first in the annual Congressional Art Competition for the 19th District of Texas, while Hinojosa's efforts qualified for the Texas Art Educators' Association State Visual Arts Scholastic Exhibit in Houston in April.

Ward's work, a pencil and pastel on matte board effort titled “Cowboy Boots,” was judged best overall in the Congressional competition, sponsored by U.S. Congressman Randy Neugebaur. Contest entries were received from schools throughout Neugebaur's district.

She said winning the award could be described as a happy accident.

“I was a first-year art student this year, but due to a schedule conflict, I was put in the advanced art class. I really shouldn't have been there,” said the daughter of Billy and Sheila Ward. “I've always done some art on the side ... but I had to take an art class this year to graduate, so I did.”

“She's been a treasure,” BSHS art teacher Judy Tereletsky said of Ward. “She's just very talented and willing to try anything you throw at her.”

Ward, who has always been interested in Western art, did her painting as part of a class project and Tereletsky liked it so much she entered it in the Congressional contest.

“I wasn't expecting it to win,” Ward said. “I had entered it in (University Interscholastic League) competition and the judges were pretty critical of it.”

Ward is the first BSHS student to have a winning entry in the Congressional contest.

“I was so surprised I just yelled for joy in the classroom when I found out,” Tereletsky said. “It's not that I didn't think her work deserved to win; it's just that we'd never had a finalist before.”

Her unexpected success has led Ward to consider a future in an art-related profession.

“I plan on attending Howard College to get my nursing degree,” she said. “But now I'm looking possibly at interior decorating. This definitely caught me off-guard.”

Unlike Ward, Hinojosa has taken a much more serious approach to art.

“He's very meticulous, very precise in his artwork,” Tereletsky said. “I'm not surprised he qualified for the state contest.”

“I've been doing this all my life, pretty much,” Hinojosa said. “I've been doing this since I was a little boy ... I've taken art all through high school. It's something that makes me feel good. Artists just make the world a more beautiful place.”

Hinojosa, the son of Sarah Kinman, found inspiration for his prize-winning effort close to home.

“It's a pencil sketch of my dog, Sparky,” he said. “I took a picture of him one day and liked it, so I did the sketch.”

 To qualify for the state contest, Hinojosa first had to medal at the regional TAEA contest in Odessa earlier this year. Then, he had to survive a further winnowing process before being accepted at the state level.

“There were 17,000 students state-wide who medaled at the regional level,” Tereletsky said. “Out of that number, only 10 percent qualified for the the state contest.”

“I didn't really think it would qualify for the state contest,” Hinojosa said. “There was some very, very good competition at that level.”

Hinojosa barely missed out on a medal at the state VASE contest, receiving a “high excellent” rating from the judges.

Medal or no medal, he plans on a future in art.

“I want to be a graphic artist or illustrator,” he said.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it