Art in the classroom

It could be said that Hannah Morata attends fourth grade at Jo Mackey Elementary School in North Las Vegas with visions of the Philippines dancing in her head, at least when she's in art class. Some months ago, she used her etching and drawing talents to translate one such image onto her own paper equivalent of an artist's canvas.

Morata called it her masterpiece, or rather, she referred to the illustration as her "first best" among anything she's ever done. She wanted to craft her own personal vision of the city of Manila, her parents' birthplace.

Since Morata took first place for the effort in the Nevada Housing Division's 2007 Where I Live housing art contest, the words "first best" applied to Morata's self-acclaimed oil pastel masterpiece in more ways than one.

"I'm proud of it in that it has lots of color, and it has technique in it because I used etching," she said. And after Morata discovered that she won first place, she recalled, "I was surprised. I thought I might have won a different place.

"I felt like jumping up and down, but then my teacher would get mad at me," she added, drawing a chuckle from those around her, including her art teacher Sharon McClinton, who described Morata as a "quiet" girl whose artwork was "phenomenal."

Morata's effort bagged top honors in the contest, presented by the Nevada Department of Business & Industry Housing Division and the Clark County School District School-Community Partnership Program. The event featured 3,600-plus submissions from 52 area elementary schools, ranging from the kindergarten level on up, while contest sponsor Pardee Homes awarded Morata a $300 savings bond. The second- and third-place winners received $150 and $100 savings bonds, respectively, from Pardee and the three top placers -- along with the judges' choice, honorable mentions, and runners'-up artwork -- will be featured in the division's 2008 wall calendar.

Pardee also awarded a $50 bond to the judges' choice winner, and the runners-up received $25 savings bonds.

On Jan. 24, 160 contest entries "juried for exhibition" will be showcased in a 600-person ballroom at The Venetian Resort & Casino. According to Jean Norton, a public information officer at the division, the contest has been steadily burgeoning since 1996, the year of its inception.

"We've been doing the same thing for 12 years, and each year, the contest keeps growing," Norton said, also mentioning the 3,300 total entries from last year's contest. "Every year, there seems to be a little change in the artwork, in that more teachers are offering architectural classes as far as their curriculum. As a result, I think we're seeing more straight lines to signify the 'look' of a house.

"The quality of the work of the kids improved because the kids and teachers have grown together. The children are beginning to notice the differences in the styles of housing. Thanks to the teachers offering architectural classes, the children are starting to notice specific houses in other subdivisions, and other places too. This is all part of the contest's awareness factor -- in the past, they've drawn fantasy types of housing, such as starships, candy houses and kiddie houses; now, they're concentrating more on realistic types of houses."

Such was the case with Erik Barajas, a fourth-grader at Sunrise Acres, when he illustrated his cousin's house in Oregon, one he visited while he and his family were on vacation. Using acrylic paints, Barajas fashioned a chocolate-brown, black-roofed image of the two-story structure to take second place in the contest, while relying on transparent and opaque colors as well.

Barajas, who already has a savings bond, plans to save the $150 bond he won for a "rainy day."

He plans to attend art college someday, so his award-winning picture could be the very first baby step in someday realizing his vocational dream as an architect. Coincidentally, fourth-grade teacher Gail Trower said the other students in her class look to Barajas for artistic inspiration and guidance.

"I changed it a little bit -- I repeated a lot of shapes to make it look unique," Barajas said of how he altered the image of his cousin's residence. "I like drawing houses because my dad draws plans out of them, and then he goes to the house and then he marks them."

Alia Armstrong, a fifth-grader at Wasden Elementary, also had her father in mind when she came up with her third-place-winning artwork, saying that he "designs roads." Armstrong employed the use of a ruler to design a strikingly authentic rendering of a lemon-yellow, two-story home with two A-frames.

"I just started drawing lines, and I started with a picture in a magazine," Armstrong said. "I looked at it, and then I saw all these different lines that go through the house. So, I drew the lines that go through the house and then I just started putting different features on it, like the rocks and the driveway ... it kind of looked realistic."

Armstrong recalled that her classmates doubted she drew the residence, instead believing her parents did. But she also remembered the step-by-step process she followed when she sought the "big old fat" drafting pens she needed at home belonging to her dad, as well as the yellowish appearance she chose in order to duplicate the color of the remodeled kitchen in her own home.

Armstrong plans to save the $100 bond for college, and she is going to "think" about attending art class at that level.

Tessa DeJong, a fifth-grader at The Meadows School, earned judges' choice standing with her unique interpretation of a castle-type home in front of a vast Red Rock Canyon background. The reddish stripes representing various layers of sandstone are well in evidence, and for DeJong, they meant more than just a random picturesque background with a blue sky.

"I can see Red Rock from my house and I like to draw. So, I picked Red Rock because it's a part of Las Vegas," she said. "I think it's very special because we spend a lot of family time there and we take our dogs up there and go on hikes."

DeJong won a $50 savings bond, and like the other winners and runners-up, is anticipating seeing her work on display at the Jan. 24 presentation in the Lido Ballroom, in which the art exhibit, program and reception will be sponsored by The Venetian Foundation. Nevada First Lady Dawn Gibbons will be mistress of ceremonies at the proceedings.

Norton said the 600-plus capacity of the venue represents how the contest has increased in popularity over the years.

"All the pieces are detailed, fine-lined and we're seeing bolder colors and 'easier to the eye' kinds of pictures," Norton said.

"The children also know that they have to be creative and they have to come up with their own work. So, we're getting more diversity and different kinds of looks in the entries every year.

"I think a lot of difference from past years is the growth here in the community, because the children and the teachers are coming here from different areas. And it's all due to our county's growth, and that accounts for the difference from what we saw 11 years ago, and what we're seeing today."