Millbrook Blazer nominated for American Vision Award

MILLBROOK — It seems like everything that happens lately is done virtually, and the Scholastic Art Awards are no different. The awards program, first implemented in 1919, is a visual arts competition open to students in grades seven through 12; it is a national competition. There is also a portion of the program devoted to literature. 

This program looks to identify students with exceptional artistic talent. The Millbrook Central School District is part of the Hudson Valley Art region. The awards allow students the opportunity for recognition, scholarships and the chance to publicly exhibit their work. Silver and gold medalists also get to show their work at the Rotunda at SUNY New Paltz, but this year there was a virtual showing instead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Gold Key winners will have their work judged nationally. That can lead to a national medal and their art being shown in a national exhibition. That competition originated in 1929, and some very prestigious scholars have competed over the years, including Andy Warhol, Ken Burns and Robert Redford.

Millbrook art teachers Jillian Barnes and Michelle Cring were proud to announce that 11th-grader Callie McGuire’s digital artwork, “Close Up in Nature,” was nominated for the American Vision Award. Thousands of pieces were submitted in the region, and McGuire’s was one of only five to be selected as an American Vision Award nominee. It will be on exhibit until Wednesday, March 17, when the winner will be announced. 

Other Gold Key winners from the Millbrook district were Alexis Anderson, grade 12; Madeline Marchant, grade 11; and Brennan McGuire, grade eight. Silver Key winners were Callie McGuire, grade 11; Anna Bonelli, grade 10; and Madison Krueger, grade eight. There was a virtual ceremony on Friday, Feb. 5 for the winners. All of their artwork can be viewed at www.barnesart.weebly.com/scholastic. The artwork is listed in many different categories: painting; drawing and illustration; digital art; sculpture; fashion; glass and ceramics; cartoons; and several others. 

Callie has studied at the Art Effect in Poughkeepsie, and will be looking at colleges, maybe applying for an art scholarship. She enjoys working in more than one medium, and especially likes working with colored pencils. Her subjects vary, but she really likes doing portraits and drawing animals. 

Her brother, Brennan, who is in eighth grade, also won a Silver Key award with his photography, for a piece entitled, “Balance.”     

Asked if artistic ability runs in her family, Callie mentioned that her grandparents were into crafts, and they were very close to each other. They moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., two years ago, and she recently lost her grandmother to COVID-19. 

Callie said she knows that art is definitely in her future and she will be choosing some type of art as her major in college; she’ll look into studio art, art therapy or possibly illustration.

Callie is also accomplished in sports, and plays on the Varsity Volleyball team at Millbrook High School; she started playing in seventh grade. She likes English, but math, not so much.

Over the summer Callie brightened the days of many of her neighbors during the pandemic by doing paintings on sea shells and leaving them in people’s mailboxes while out riding on her bicycle.

The Millbrook Central School District said it is proud of all those who entered the art competition and congratulated those who won Gold or Silver Keys. It noted those who earned honorable mentions: Isabelle Rubbo, Sadie Krueger and Devin Jarvis. 

Teachers Barnes and Cring said they were very pleased with the efforts of their students, and are very proud of them all.