In past months student artists at the high school have been hard at work, preparing for the Highland art show and competition that occurred April 18. The show itself featured 2D and 3D art, including photography, sculptures, ceramics, and more. For Audyn Deterding, 11, they entered a total of three works, two of which being watercolor paintings. 

Deterding won the “best in show” ribbon on both of their watercolor works. The paintings impressed the judges with the realism achieved with watercolor; one featured a fountain and the other a girl sitting in a stairwell. The ribbons

came as a surprise, this being Deterding’s first ever show. 

“I felt so cool [when I got the ribbons]; I was really proud of myself. I’ve been painting for a while and people have told me I’m good at painting quite a lot, but it never felt real. It was nice to have something tangible to prove I’m doing a good job.” 

Spring Hill ended up successful, winning first place overall. The high school faced competition against over forty schools; the art that was displayed showed immense talent from both Spring Hill and other high schools.

“Once I got there it was like ‘wow’…they were all good in different ways. They weren’t comparable to mine on a level of good vs bad. They were just different stylistically and there was no way of comparing them,” Deterding said. 

Looking at the work exhibited by other schools gave Deterding inspiration in terms of concept and individuality. 

“It’s not often that I get to see artwork made by people my own age. A lot of the time when I see art it’s either art made by other people at school or art famous made by famous artists, as much as famous artists are famous for a reason, I think that the art that can been seen [shows] is a lot more unique because people are trying harder to experiment and push the boundaries of what can be done with art.” 

When the day met its end, Deterding took away valuable lessons from the experience. 

“I learned that as much as it is a competition…it is really about expression and that people can do whatever they want with art and it’s always going to be cool…you don’t have to be able to make a crazy realistic portrait to make something that means something to you and you are proud of.”