DCD Student Isabella Collins Wins Prestigious Art Award

Dedham Country Day Seventh Grader Isabella Collins has won two Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards. She received a prestigious Gold Key award in the sculpture category for her rustic bench and an Honorable Mention in the jewelry category for her hammered silver pendant and earring set.

She made the award-winning bench in a Middle School woodworking class in rustic furniture taught by Gerry Clifford. The course included a week of instruction with visiting artist Alison Ospina of Ireland, who is well known for her “green” wood furniture. 

The awards ceremonies for this year’s Massachusetts winners will be held on Sunday, Mar. 3, 2013, at John Hancock Hall in Boston, where works by Gold Key and Silver Key award winners is now on display until Friday, Apr. 19, 2013. The exhibit is open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including holidays, and on weekends, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Along with other Gold Key winners from across the country, Isabella will go on to compete in her category in New York, where the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are administered by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Inc.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have an impressive legacy dating back to 1923 and a noteworthy roster of past winners including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, and Joyce Carol Oates. They continue to be the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S.

The awards are an important opportunity for students in grades 7 through 12 to be recognized for their creative talents and to have their works exhibited or published. Submissions in 28 different categories are juried by a panel of luminaries in the visual and literary arts who look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.