The Visual Arts Association of The Villages handed out $10,000 in scholarships Friday afternoon to four very talented young artists at their monthly meeting at La Hacienda Recreation Center. The giving of the scholarships was part of a program that included letting the students display their art work and talk about their art and future plans as they were called up to receive their awards.
“We continue to find students that have art in their hearts. Art education is a lifelong endeavor, a wonderful, joyful journey,” said VAA Chair and retired art teacher Helen Poor.
The students were then called up individually to speak about their art. All of the students are in the AP art program and are currently preparing for a very rigorous competition this summer.
Mount Dora High School senior Steven Pinto standing in front of an acrylic self-portrait surprised the audience when he told them he had just taken up painting in 2016. The self-portrait was his first painting; prior to that he had worked mostly in pen and ink drawings. He thanked his teacher Miss ‘G’ for recognizing and encouraging his painting talent. He will attend the Savannah College of Art and Design and plans to work in animation.
Fabiola Hernandez, one of two recipients from West Port High School in Ocala, will be attending Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Mass She was quoted in her introduction as saying that ‘not a day goes by that she doesn’t produce art.’ She has won first or second place multiple times at Fine Arts Ocala.
Angelica Brown will attend either Flagler College or Valencia East, a college specializing in the arts. Currently a senior at Tavares High School, Brown uses multiple mediums. She began in photography, moved to painting and is now enamored with ceramics. She has work hanging in galleries and runs her own henna art business. The piece she used to talk about was a medium called fluid art. The artists in attendance were so intrigued, they gathered around her display after the program and she explained her process.
The second recipient from West Port High School Jennifer Miller is graduating 13th in a class of more than 550.In addition to being an artist, she is a cellist, has painted a mural on commission in a private home and has written two novels. She will attend the University of South Florida and plans to double major in art and political science.
This is the 10th year the VAA has awarded scholarships. Including the 2017 recipients, presented on Friday, the VAA has given out a total of $106,000. The scholarships are open to high school seniors in the tri-county are a planning to study art. In addition to the scholarship, each student received a large gift bag brimming with supplies and books purchased and donated by members of the VAA.
