2011 Grandparent Portrait Show Awards
The 2011 Grandparent Portrait Show, designed to connect students with their family roots and instill pride, attracted nearly 535 entries. Of these, 157 finalists were exhibited at the Faulkner Gallery. Twelve student artists whose submissions were judged to be outstanding were given cash awards and Ribbons of Merit. This year, we also conducted interviews with the winning artists, and you can read about the inspiration for their pieces below.
Best of Show Award
Santa Barbara Art Association
Artist: Yibing Zhang
Media: Colored Pencil
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Diane Hemsley
For the first seven years of her life, Yibing Zhang lived with her grandparents in Weihei, China while her parents were studying in Germany. “I always knew that the plan was for me to join my parents in the United States. My grandparents taught me to speak and read and write in Mandarin and I still call them every week. I visited them after sixth grade and I’ll visit again when I graduate this year.” Sixteen-year-old Yibing’s double portrait in colored pencil, created in Diana Hemsley’s Dos Pueblos class, shows a finely detailed drawing of her grandmother’s face on one side. A red scarf flows and turns into petals that cross a gap to the portrait of Yibing as a little girl on the other side. “When we first came here I was crying every day. I wrote a letter to my Lao-Lao but I didn’t mail it.” That letter is written in Mandarin behind the portrait of the grandmother and again in English behind the portrait of Yibing. Her grandmother will finally receive the letter when Yibing mails her the double portrait after the exhibit.
Goleta Valley Art Association Award
Artist: Kelsey Whittaker
Media: Ceramic Sculpture
School: Carpinteria High School
Teacher: Lorie Stout
Kelsey Whittaker, a 17 year old junior at Carpinteria High School, created a sculptural bust of her grandfather, Ken Nack, who was a well-known artist and art professor at Santa Barbara City College until he died a few years ago. Kelsey said that her Ceramics teacher Lori Stout showed them a video that helped them work from a 2 dimensional photograph to create a 3 dimensional sculpture. Kelsey’s grandfather was a painter and Kelsey’s primary love is dancing. “But, said Kelsey, I’m really glad I got to do a portrait of my Umpa. He would have liked it.”.
The Montecito Bank & Trust Award
Artist: Natalie Wyss
Media: Acrylic Painting
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Diana Hemsley
Natalie Wyss’s portrait of her Grandfather is entitled “Charles Dodsley Walker”. However the picture shows a little boy painted in bright acrylic with a yellow shirt and bold purple background. “I chose a photo of my 91 year old grandpa when he was ‘Charlie’, not Charles.” Natalie painted the portrait in Diana Hemsley’s Dos Pueblos painting class. “I like strong colors and I wanted to accentuate the pattern of shadows and the shine on his hair.” Natalie’s grandfather lives in Manhattan. “He’s still driving and he’s got a dry sense of humor. He tells stories from his life about events that I’m reading about in my history class. He was an organist for the army during the war and he played with military bands.”
The Acquiesse Award
Artist: Brianna Rocha
Media: Pencil Drawing
School: Carpinteria High School
Teacher: Sarah Rochlitzer
Brianna Rocha, a 17-year-old junior at Carpinteria High School, did a pencil drawing of her grandparents but decided it needed something more. She asked her grandmother what her favorite flower is and added orchids to her drawing. Her grandfather told her that his favorite growing thing was a “healthy green pine tree”. Then she asked her grandfather to say something about his wife and he answered, “Estoy muy feliz con mi esposa y eso es la verdad.” (I am very happy with my wife and that is the truth.) This statement is proudly declaimed across the portrait like an emblem in an award ceremony. Brianna is enjoying taking art in Ms. Rochweitzer’s class and hopes to continue with more classes.
The Bonnie Hill Award
Artist: Emma Patterson
Media: Acrylic Painting
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Kevin Gleason
Emma Patterson painted a wide acrylic double portrait of her godparents Tom and Beulah, who have been friends and neighbors most of her life. “I asked to take their photos and they just stood there, straight forward, not smiling, very natural. And I thought that’s just how they are – honest, natural, and very comfortable with each other.” Emma decided to paint the space between their faces in the warm earth tones of the dessert landscape they love to visit, and she abstracted the space to add her own personal element.
An 18-year-old Dos Pueblos student in Kevin Gleason’s International Baccalaureate Art Class, Emma is a painter, singer, and guitarist. Her goal is to use these skills in the ministry.
The Sullivan Goss Award
Artist: Emma Steinkellner
Media: Digital Portrait
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Kevin Gleason
Emma Steinkellner never knew her great grandmother Elsie before she had a stroke. “When I knew her all she could say was ‘No wonder’ and ‘No way’.” Emma is a 16-year-old junior in Kevin Gleason’s International Baccalaureate Art Class and is interested in a career in animation and digital art. Her portrait is a digital composition. Emma had always heard that her grandmother was a lot like her. “They said she was always busy and kind of loud – sort of like me.” So Emma chose a photograph of her grandmother when she was Emma’s age. In her digital portrait, a young girl in a hat from the 40’s has a concerned look on her face. Behind her are the repeated words “No wonder, No way.”
The Worldview Picturies Award
Artist: Shane Williams
Media: Photography
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Jacqueline Kelemen
Shane Williams took double photographic portraits of his grandfather looking away and his grandmother looking towards the viewer. “I took tons of pictures of both of them and these are the two that related best compositionally.” The interesting thing about this pair is that the grandfather is Shane’s dad’s father who lives in Sacramento, and the grandmother is his mom’s mother who lives in Santa Barbara.
Shane, a 17-year-old junior in Jacqueline Kelemen’s Photography class at Dos Pueblos High School, has been interested in photography for several years. He also takes videos for the Dos Pueblos High School news station.
The Santa Barbara Printmaker’s Award
Artist: Izzy Savage
Media: Digitally Enhanced Photography
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Claire d’Anthe
Izzy Savage is headed for art school. She’s a Senior at Dos Pueblos High School and doesn’t know which school she’ll go to next year, but art is her passion. Izzy submitted two pieces in different media and both were accepted into the Grandparent Portrait Show. The first received the Santa Barbara Printmaker’s Award. A photo of a boisterous family sitting under a skewed painting on the wall shows Izzy’s father as a baby in his mother’s lap with his siblings and grinning dad. The figures are in black and white with a grainy 50’s photographic texture. Izzy, a student in Claire d’Anthe’s photography class, has photo-shopped colored details into the photo that she found on the web. “They were images of dolls and toys and fabric, and decorations that I captured and pasted over the black and white images in the original photo.” The colored images, including a tiny photo of Izzy’s great grandmother on the book case, are all from the 50’s, so they fit perfectly into the scene, but their glaring color turns the image into an amusing contemporary commentary. The idea came from the style of a cartoon show Izzy remembers seeing as a child. “I never knew my grandpa and I only knew my grandmother after she had a stroke and could only say ‘yes, no, and Nuts!’ My mother has told me lots of stories about how my grandma was the perfect mother. And her senior photo looks just like me.”
The Channel City Camera Club
Award in Photography
Artist: Lauren Ferrel
Media: Photography
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Jacqueline Kelemen
Lauren Ferrell’s grandfather holds a tiny kitten and he beams with pleasure in his photographic portrait. Lauren’s family, her Grandpa Jack and her aunt had all lost beloved cats in the same year. When they visited him in Bishop, CA there was an ad for new kittens and all three families got a new kitten on the same day. “I take photos all the time and I wanted to capture that moment,” said Lauren. “He had been hesitant about getting another cat, but when he picked up that kitten, his face lit up.” Lauren says her grandpa is 82 and fun loving. “Age hasn’t hit him yet.” Lauren, a 16-year-old junior in Jacqueline Kelemen’s Photography class at Dos Pueblos High School, got a Canon camera a year ago and has been an avid photographer ever since. She doesn’t think it will be her career, but she believes photography will always be a passion.
The Prigge Family Award
Artist: Conner Dale
Media: Pen and Ink Drawing
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Kevin Gleason
White haired “Plaid Man”, with hand on his trusty tool belt, looks ready to leap from a tall building. Conner Dale’s pen and ink portrait shows his grandfather as the helping hero in Conner’s young life. “Whenever he came to visit he helped me build projects and he taught me how to use woodworking tools.” Conner, a 17-year-old Junior in Kevin Gleason’s International Baccalaureate Art class, is interested in illustration as a career. Currently he is working on a comic book and is enjoying pen and ink, though he also enjoys painting as a media.
DeSha Family Award
Artist: Fabrice Tay
Media: Charcoal Drawing
School: Santa Barbara Junior High School
Teacher: John Houchin
Fabrice Tay, a twelve-year-old 8th grader in John Houchin’s class at Santa Barbara Junior High School, drew a portrait of his grandpa in charcoal. He looked through some photos and chose one where he looked “nice and young and handsome.” His grandfather lives with the family. He sings in the church choir and loves music. Fabrice’s family came to Santa Barbara from Togo in West Africa when he was one year old. Fabrice loves art and has been influenced by his family’s friendship with Santa Barbara artist Marcia Burtt.
Tom and Willa Mann Award
Artist: Collin Clarke
Media: Painting
School: Dos Pueblos High School
Teacher: Kevin Gleason
Collin decided to paint his Nana Carol Clarke as if she were in a classroom where slides were being shown. “She went to college in her 50’s and I think she was more appreciative of her education that most of the younger students. I wanted to show her curiosity and enthusiasm.” He used a photograph of his grandmother taken in sunlight and painted it in red tones as if her face were lit from below. Collin, an 18 year old Senior in Kevin Gleason’s International Baccalaureate class at Dos Pueblos High School, is serious about a career in art and has been accepted to several art schools. His grandmother began painting later in her life and Collin grew up painting with her. He chose water color as the medium for his portrait because she first introduced him to the medium. “She is a big influence in my decision to go into art.”