By Lisa Carolin
The Chelsea High School Art Department is bursting with pride, celebrating the newly announced 2018 SE Michigan Regional Scholastic Art Awards.
Art Teachers Laura Naar and Georgina Rutherford are pleased to share that both Olivia Maldonado and Michael Govaere were best in show winners in oil painting and digital art, respectively.
Other Chelsea winners were Liliana Imboden, Julia Schachinger, Jacqueline Taylor, Julia van Reesema, Raechel Zeller.
Maldonado, who works primarily in oil paint but also has done several large-scale murals in acrylic paint, says that painting is very therapeutic for her.
“I first got interested in art in middle school and I was really inspired by women and how underrepresented female artists are in art museums, and I wanted to create art for women,” said Maldonado.
She says that the sole reason she’s gotten anywhere with her art is thanks to her two art teachers at the high school Naar and Rutherford.
“I would love to emphasize the fact that my successes are entirely based upon the hours of tireless support and kindness these two wonder women have shown me,” she said.
“They spend so much time and resources inspiring and influencing kids to reach their maximum potential. Most high schools never get best in show portfolios at Scholastic, and Chelsea has gotten three in the last three years – that is astonishing. I would implore readers to donate to the severely underfunded art department and attend the art show in spring. You can donate by making a check or sending cash to the high school under Chelsea Art Department.”
