APA students win state Scholastic Art Showcase

 Arendell Parrott Academy’s Ava Haddad received an award for the best piece of artwork in the NCASA Scholastic Art Showcase on Saturday. Overall, Parrott placed first overall. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

Arendell Parrott Academy has some of the best artists in the state — and they have the hardware to prove it.

A group of students, led by APA teacher Jana Miller, placed first overall in the NCASA Scholastic Art Showcase at Northwest Guilford in Greensboro on Saturday. The participants were tested in seven different categories — painting, drawing, sculpture, computer-generated, mixed media, photography and collage — with Parrott getting first in three (painting, drawing, sculpture).

Miller said she was proud of her students’ work, especially against a tough field.

“We competed against 41 different schools, both public and private,” Miller said. “It feels great to know we were able to compete against some strong high schools and exciting for the students to finish best in the state.”

Arendell Parrott Academy’s Nastia Hnatov participated in the mixed media portion of the NCASA Scholastic Art Showcase at Northwest Guilford in Greensboro on Saturday. Overall, the team finished first. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

Nastia Hnatov, a freshman at Parrott, participated in the mixed media portion of the event in accordance to the theme of the showcase — ”Selfie, No Filter.”

“The topic was selfies and I started thinking about social media,” Hnatov said. “Sometimes, people take a picture and want to be like someone else, so I did a before and after of a girl posting pictures and eventually transforming into a completely different person.

The best piece of artwork according to the judges came from APA senior Ava Haddad, who submitted a drawing of her boyfriend’s eye.

“One afternoon, I took a picture of his face as the sunlight was hitting it,” Haddad said. “His eye looked cool and I just drew it because I liked the contrast.”