2024 Shooting Stars Digital Showcase

SHOOTING STARS

Two-Dimensional Art Finalists

AJ BETTES

HONEY BROWN

PAYTON BUTLER

EMMA CLEMENT

LEO CONNELLY

SIENNA COX

DANNY FISHER

OWEN HAMER

AUDREY HART

LILLIA KLEINOW

ABBY LEE

GEORGE NEWHAM

NOAH PANJADA

RHEA SADAGOPAN

ANDREA SANTAMARIA

MALLORY TERRELL

SAMANTHA WOODS

KATE WREN

Shawnee Mission West High School

nominated by Douglas Catloth

AJ Bettes

Self Portrait

}This piece is very raw to me, I am not used to painting myself and for the most part, always see each piece as ugly. This piece was made as a way to create more self-love for myself. To appreciate my hair, with color that has faded and grown out, to accept that my hands aren't dainty and slim, but rather thick and strong, to appreciate the shape of my eyebrows and how my cheeks are full and wide. I look back at this piece and see my younger self in it. I'm still learning to love myself, and this painting marks the beginning of it.

Honey Brown Gardner Edgerton High School

nominated by Toni Britt

Painting Roses Red | 20" x 11" | Sharpie

Painting Roses Red

I have put many hours and effort into this piece as I put details in every single leaf, rose, and skeleton with colored sharpies. I use a stippling technique in both the skeleton and the foliage. I shaped and planned the image to surround the skeleton with the occasional bleeding roses dripping on the skeleton, and then it looks up and spreads its arms in embrace of the red shower. This piece holds thousands of feelings for me, but every hour was worth every small detail of this simple yet complex feeling this piece was for me.

Payton Butler

Olathe East High School

nominated by Melissa Sellers

Fine Liner, White Gel Pen

Battle Against the Clock

This piece was submitted to the Kemper Teen's Once Upon a Teen online art exhibition where it placed third. It was meant to portray the villain of my personal story. The dragon-inspired clock monsters were an allusion to the classical battles seen in mythology and folktales, attaching my own struggles with time and properly managing it to their epic conflicts.

Emma Clement Mill Valley High School

nominated by Erica Maytak

The Right Play

In "The Right Play" my 10-year-old sister, Kate, and I are depicted playing our favorite card game, James Bond. It is one of our favorite things to do together as it involves quick decisions and could result in either of us winning any round. This piece shows a glimpse into a round of the game. I am holding three cards and Kate is preparing to switch out her cards with ones in the middle. She is sure of her move, but I'm still considering what mine will be. This game represents my college decision. 2024, being my graduation year, lies in the middle, untouched and daunting. Kate, sure of her play, readies the five of hearts, which represents us five siblings and my love for them. Kate hopes I stay near them for college, despite my lifelong dream of going to school on the East coast. I am holding the five of hearts, six of hearts and nine of spade, which represent my family, my best friend and my love of learning, respectively. These are the factors I am considering when making my post-high school choice. Despite 18 years of preparation, I still can't seem to figure out the right play.

Leo Connelly

Blue Valley Southwest High School

nominated by Emily Patterson

Eve

}This piece was created to represent Eve from the Bible indulging in the forbidden fruit. I found fascination with this story in particular because there are many perspectives on who was to blame. I picture the fruit to be a pomegranate which is what she is eating, and she is clothed in wool as she feasts. I attempted to show guilt through her eyes making direct contact with the viewer as she ate. I personally haven’t had a close relationship with religion and wanted to explore the ideas through this piece.

Sienna Cox Saint James Academy

nominated by Terra Henderson

Made You Look

}This is a freehand drawing in the ProCreate platform, using an Apple Pencil and drawn on my iPad. This is another original character inspired by a gaming franchise with an art style I admire. This strong, independent woman shuns the typical all-black design and instead, features hot pink. While as an artist pink isn't usually my favorite color to use, I wanted to try to embrace it and believe this piece has changed my mind.

Danny Fisher

Olathe Northwest High School

nominated by Allison Mangold

Life Lives On

Life Lives On is meant to represent punkrock themes of death. The skeleton is posed in a fetus position. It portrays the idea that one would be reborn the way they wanted to be when they were alive. They wanted to know that when they are recreated by the Earth, they would understand that what they want will come true. A story of rebirth and reincarnated.

nominated by Sheila Wilkins

Owen Hamer

De Soto High School

New Faces in the Library

}I was working in the library and doing some studies of statues in my sketchbook and started to think about what it would be like if everyone was replaced by a statue bust. To create a piece as I see in my mind, I wanted to make the statues interact with the library in a way and include many little details like the ones I notice in my everyday experiences. Creating this piece helped to show some of the many scenarios that I imagine while out in public with friends, family, as well as by myself. To create this piece I sketched out the library with all of the small details, then on top of that I used a layering technique with watercolor and colored pencil to create the library. For the statues themselves I drew them out and added shadows with watercolor on a separate sheet of paper and then cut them out using tape to place them in their library.

Audrey Hart

Blue Valley High School

nominated by Mark Mosier

Edges of Beauty

}I made this piece to capture the beauty and complexity of a deer's skull, and further, the minds that are held by skulls of all organisms. I wanted to allude to the fact that no matter the animal, there is a mind so beyond the surface level that the world will truly never know. The bending nature that the fragments of magazine strips hold is to symbolize how strange this mind is, and how foreign it is to species even when united; the individual mind is beautiful.

Lillia Kleinow

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

nominated by Melissa Terryberry

Paragon

}Paragon is one of the first paintings I have completed entirely with oil paints. I knew when I started planning out this painting, I wanted it to be a showing of my current best technical painting skills, and I believe I succeeded in doing just that I drew my artistic inspiration from Maria Guimaraes, as well as the Art Nouveau movement. The name Paragon meaning 'perfection' is meant to convey that at the time of its creation, it was perfect, to me. I plan to do a series of these "perfect" paintings hopefully every year. Each year putting my all into an artwork that pushes my technical skill, as well as reflects a movement or style that best summarizes my art for that year.

nominated by Adam Finkelston

Abby Lee

Shawnee Mission East High School

Vivid Eruptions

"Vivid Eruptions" captures the feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed, like your mind is about to explode. The piece includes a vivid colorful explosion consuming the light around it, leaving a black background. I created the piece to encapsulate the feeling of anxiety into a visual form, where you feel as if it takes over your mind, causing you to erupt.

nominated by Michael Albrechtsen

George Newham

Olathe North High School

Measure

Measure Up

}I am my own worst critic. It’s helpful when driving myself towards a goal, but as I show in my piece, my lesser skilled past self covers up the full image of myself in the present. A feeling of not measuring up is a recurring issue that continues as I progress, especially with me constantly comparing my own achievements to myself. It can be frustrating, but in a way I have it to thank for how far I have come as an artist, even though I end up going through a cycle of losing confidence in my work. I made this drawing to have a greater understanding of my relationship with productivity, and to have a piece of work others can identify with, because everyone is critical of themselves in some sort of way.

nominated by Stephanie Dalley

Noah Panjada

Shawnee Mission North High School

Hollow

Created at the Kansas City Art Institute, this acrylic painting explores the motif of human bones, reflecting my personal journey after treatment for my eating disorder. The piece delves into the darkness of depression and how it affected my ability to create art.

Despite the struggles, it marks my newfound appreciation for art and serves as a reminder of the cold and dark moments.

nominated by Chris LaValley

Lee Rea Blue Valley Northwest High School

The doors open

}"The doors open" is something many people go through. A feeling of being trapped and that want of escape of freedom is a universal human emotion. For me it is being my own captor, trapped inside my own cage and mind. Someone who gives up and shut down even in the face of freedom. Despite the path being opened and it being easy to obtain, the fear of failure and the aftermath keeps my locked away.

nominated by Thomas Holland

Rhea Sadagopan

Blue Valley North High School

November

}This piece is about the specific exhaustion attributed to academic stress and the manner in which it manifests itself in a physical fashion. The contrast of vibrant colors represents the overstimulation that comes with overexertion of one's mind. This piece is a self-portrait, allowing me to have an enhanced connection to my work. I have drawn on personal experience, observation, and further study to produce a comprehensive piece that fully displays the fact that the overdose of expectation thrust on teenagers causes them to wish for the return of their childhood.

Andrea Santamaria Olathe South High School

nominated by Roger Messersmith

Impressionism | 12" x 12" | Acrylic

Impressionism

This painting is inspired by Berthe Morisot's painting of flowers. I did this on a textured board to add to the painting as a whole. I chose to do this painting because I love impressionist art and I wanted to try it out myself. I particularly love Berthe Morisot's art so I chose to do one by her. I did this painting on a canvas where I made fun shapes out of clay and then painted over it with acrylic paint.

Mallory Terrell

Heritage Christian Academy

nominated by Kristin Howard

Bliss | 12" x 9" | Acrylic

This acrylic portrait displays 8 month old me on a California beach enjoying a cookie. The sweet memories spent on the beach from my childhood as well as the beautiful pastel colors in the photo inspired me to create this project. I practiced a blocky painting technique, and I used a pallet knife for the background. The pallet knife added a great effect to the background so that all the colors and shapes are present, but they do not distract from the focal point: the baby. This piece represents my abilities to mix colors, add contrast and shadows, and brush work to maintain a consistent style throughout a project.

nominated by Darby Murdock

Samantha Woods

Blue Valley West High School

Hidden Self

This piece shows my truest and most whole self that I am. On the outside, I can be happy, laughing, and calm, but underneath that layer of clay, my thoughts always lead back to my brother, Tyler, who passed away four years ago. When I made this painting, I wanted to convey that my grief is a part of me and is not something I ever want to overlook because grief is proof that you loved someone and still do. Before I began sketching on the canvas, I knew I would add a butterfly to symbolize my brother because, in a photo my mom took while on vacation, one had landed on his shoulder while he had the goofiest grin I had ever seen. From there, the final idea for this piece began to take form. I used 0/5 brush tips for the smallest details, such as the hair, eyes, and skin texture. I chose to make my hidden self full of color to put the focus on my grief, accepting that it is a part of me. Lastly, I added the cracks to the clay statue to show that I am beginning to break down my mask and find happiness while still experiencing grief at the same time.

nominated by Liz Smith

Kate Wren Notre Dame de Sion High School

Undine Rising

}Undine Rising From the Waters, when viewed from any angle, is one of those works that begs to be admired, surveyed, and sketched. While the angle is in striking opposition to the standard point of view, it gave me a lot to think about while rendering this piece. Nothing that hasn’t been thought about before, of course. But the cliché pertaining to the evolving beauty standard for women doesn’t make the phenomenon any less tragic. In copying this example of classic beauty, I willingly risk becoming intimate with the subject's likeness in order to pinpoint the source of its distinction.

Three-Dimensional Art Finalists

ALEX BERGMAN

ANNABELLE CAVANAUGH

ADRIANA CAZARES

IRIS DOERING

LOGAN FIXSEN

ANAFELY HERNANDEZ-PEREZ

GABRIELLA JORDONOVA

JILLIAM KRAMP

MAEVE MARIEN-MCMANUS

LUCAS NGUYEN

GEREMI ONENTIA

ALEA SHROCK

SAMANTHA SMITH

nominated by Stephanie Kates

Alex Bergman

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

Production Faces

}I wanted to create this piece to be a protection ward. These heads protect an area from dark energies. The startling faces will turn evil away. While I was creating this piece, I was constantly putting my intentions into the clay. When it was finished firing, I put spells and blessed it. It has worked in my home to turn evil away. I was inspired by the head of Medusa used as a symbol of protection for women, and I also drew inspiration from the Greek goddess Hecate. Hecate is the goddess of magic and witchcraft. She is usually depicted as having 3 bodies to represent different stages of life. She is usually depicted as a maiden, mother, and crone. Medusa and Hecate were both huge inspirations to this piece.

nominated by Jennifer Hensley

Annabelle Cavanaugh

Shawnee Mission East High School

Emperor’s Mask

}Insects, as it turns out, are a running theme within my work. Aside from beetles and mantis, moths are my favorite insects, so it was only fitting to make a sculptural mask of one. I chose the emperor moth because of the distinct eye markings on the wings and the royal name its source has. The choice of insect goes deeper than just its wing markings and name. Moths are so often maligned as the ugly counterparts of butterflies, a sentiment that I sympathized with for many years of my adolescence. Despite being sculpted in the image of an emperor moth it is made from commonplace materials; formed over an armature of floral wire and foil with polymer clay and painted to look like the moth it was based on.

Adriana Cazares

Olathe East High School

nominated by Lori Ludwig

Encased

Encased Heart

This piece is a sculpture in the round, which I made using the pinch pot method. I used different color paints to create the small details that the heart has. This piece is unique to me because it represents the importance of following your heart and finding what you love and who you love in life. It is wrapped with wire because sometimes it's difficult to find love, or sometimes you get trapped in your feelings and emotions that prevent you from following your heart which is the truth about life, it is something that I have experienced and I wanted this piece to showcase that meaning.

Iris Doering

Olathe Northwest High School

nominated by Tim Barnes

One of my favorite TV shows is a cartoon from Japan and it involves themes such as slavery, racism, corruption, tyranny, genocide, and many more. This show about pirates coming together and forming an unbreakable bond and striving for their goals is an inspiration for me. To never give up on my dreams and stand by those that make me the best version of myself in a world full of bitterness.

De Soto High School

nominated by Sheila Wilkins

Logan Fixsen

Pulled Back | 7" x 9" x 5" | Ceramic

Pulled Back

This piece was created for my AP art portfolio themed around loss. I created this artwork as a way to visually represent how I was feeling after going through some loss personally. The piece is meant to demonstrate the struggle of moving on from losing someone, specifically a partner after a breakup. The foot attempts to keep taking steps forward, but it always seems to find itself stuck to the floor. The stretching skin as well as the visible scars and cuts on the foot are both representative of that pain that comes from leaving someone, and the cool blue color of the foot gives off that same cold feeling of having to leave behind emotion to move forward. Despite these pains, the foot continues to keep taking steps to try and move on. This piece was made by forming out a base shape with clay, hollowing it out, and then adding details like the toes, toenails, cuts, and stretching skin. After being fired, it was painted with acrylic paint.

nominated by Elijah Schraad

Anafely Hernandez-Perez

Shawnee Mission West High School

}This wheel was the death of me, it had taken me 3 weeks to perfect the donut vase. When I had finally completed the vase, it had been almost 5 hours. I had to do so much, like centering five pounds of clay. Within those hours I had thought maybe I'm not made for this just maybe if this doesn't come out, I can just give up and say that I had tried my best. I remember being so consumed with joy when it came out like how I wished. It came out a little crooked because of the spout. So, I decided to add a wave. The glazing process had me so frightened, I thought that it would for sure come out terrible, but it proved me wrong. It's still messing another art piece which would've been a paper mâché fish but maybe I'll have that soon.

nominated by Carly Kimbrough

Gabriella Jordonova

Blue Valley Northwest High School

Midnight Moth

As someone who is fascinated with bugs such as moths and beetles, I wanted to make a unique accessory. Pendants, rings, and earrings tend to be something more traditional that people make, so I sought out something unique and landed on the idea of a hair piece. I was inspired by two kinds of moths, the Campaea Margaritata and the Luna Moth for the shape and color of the art I created. Personally, I have darker hair and gold tends to stand out the most, so I used brass for the form of the moth. I soldered the comb piece on the back as well as cutting out two layers of the moth in order to hold resin. After polishing the metal, I used two shades of green resin to compliment the gold tones of the metal. This piece to me represents the freedom of expression, both because of the unique nature of what I picked (hair piece rather than jewelry) and because it is a fully functional accessory.

nominated by Abbey Thomas

Jillian Kramp

Shawnee Mission South High School

This piece was an experiment with altering the traditional shapes of vessels, I threw each piece trimmed them, and arranged them to give the appearance of the pieces forming together into a hug. They were then slipped and scored together and fired. The glaze colors were picked to emulate a feeling of warmth.

Maeve Marien-McManus

Pembroke Hill Upper School

nominated by Jason Lips

Growing Into a Place of Light

}Ittookmeoverayearofthinkingtodecidetomakethispiecea reality.Itdrawsfromoneofmystrongestmemories:inelementary schoolmybestfriendZosiaandIhikeduptoSplitRock LighthouseinDuluth,Minnesota.Westoodatthebaseofthe lighthouseonacliffoverlookingLakeSuperior,bothofus wrappedinparkasandsnowpants,breathlessfromthefreezing windandstunnedbythegraywatermarchingintothedistance untilitmetthehorizon.Ihadneverseenabodyofwatersolarge. ZosiaandIstoodinsilencewhileoursiblingsshovedsnowdown eachother’sjackets,tryingtoabsorbtheenormityofaworldthat hadpreviouslyseemedsosmall.ThelighthouseImadeisrooted inthearchitectureoftheactualSplitRockLighthouse,astructure Iwasintimatelyfamiliarwithaftercreatingapaintingofit,Zosia, andIthepriorspring.Icreatedthebodybythrowingand connecting3discretesections.Thelighthouseisdistinguished bygorgeouslyagedbricks,whichItriedtoemulatebyapplying andspongingoffvariousshadesofochreunderglaze.Ideparted fromthedesignoftheactuallighthousewhencreatingthetop portionwhereabeamoflightwouldusuallyshine,optingto insteadmakedifferentsizedholesreminiscentofthenightsky stars,anotheraspectofDuluththatamazedmyyoungmind.The designscoveringthelighthouseareorganicandbrightlychildlike yethideeyespeeringoutfromflowers.Thewindows,portalsto newperspectives,aredrippinginred;growthisbloody.Zosiaand Ihaveremainedfriends,despitelivinghundredsofmilesapart, andthislampisatestamenttohowourlovepushesustogrow intellectuallyandilluminatestruthswecouldnotfindalone.

nominated by Aimee Price

Lucas Nguyen Blue Valley West High School

Identify with Hobbies | 4.5" x 8.5" x 8.5" | Yarn, Cotton Dyes, Clay, Underglaze, Glaze

Identify with Hobbies

To create the yarn bowl I used the coil method by rolling out coils of clay to create the form of the bowl. Then I would smooth out each coil and cut holes in the clay so I have a place to feed my yarn through. I had fired this piece three times with the bisque, underglaze, and then clear glaze. I did two firings for the glaze because I didn’t want the clear glaze to cause my blue underglaze to move around. But for the design, I wanted to do some traditional Chinese porcelain patterns and bring in my own identity by having it say “Gay Asian’ and “Asian Gay’ to represent I am both. For the yarn, I did a dye bath with the cotton yarn and after it dried I turned them into yarn cakes.

I created this artwork to emphasize the correlation between hobbies and identity. People’s hobbies have a huge impact when it comes to identities and personalities. For me, this artwork represents who I am as a person because I am a Queer Asian American who loves to do fiber art.

Geremi Onentia

Blue Valley High School

nominated by Lisa Hirsch

This silver snake ring was made as a gift for my friend. It is adjustable and has my friend's initials inscribed on the head.

nominated by Michele Foster Lowman

Alea Schrock

Blue Valley Southwest High School

In the End

In the end phrase of end - eventually or on reflection. This piece represents the final stages of working through and processing the abuse I have been through. With a focus on a brighter color scheme compared to the rest of my works, I wanted to focus on the good that can come out of negative experiences. I chose to experiment with a new medium to take advantage of the properties of glass. The transparent and translucent glass alters how the light in the middle is viewed. This symbolizes how my life has changed since, but I also included negative space, which represents how I am still me and my light continues to shine. What I've been through does not define the rest of my life. This medium was very challenging. I hurt myself many times while working on this piece, but in the end, I created something beautiful, which is exactly what I’m doing with my experience with abuse and my story. I specifically incorporated the necks of bottles to represent how I poured myself into art and work after what I went through, how it has helped me heal, and how I share my story.

Samantha Smith

Olathe North High School

nominated by Ashley Garcia

Starry Night

I made this ring because I wanted to create something that was different from any traditional rings that I own. This ring has a more artistic and less functional feel to it, which is what I was going for. I am fascinated by astrology and stars so that is where I drew my inspiration for this piece. First, I made this ring by cutting out the ring out of a flat sheet of brass. Then, I shaped the metal around a ring mandrel, and soldered it together to create a ring. Then, I sanded the ring, cut out all of the pieces to go on the ring and soldered them onto the ring and each other. Finally, I sanded and polished the whole ring to create a shiny, smooth, finished look.

Photography Finalists

JAI’DEN DIRKS

ELIZABETH FORD

REAGHAN GAFFNEY

JOHN HUDSON

ALEXA OATMAN

SEBESTIAN REYES

ALEX ROBERTSON

RUE SWANSON

CIATLYN TOUBIA

nominated by Kimberly Ruttan

Jai’Den Dirks

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

Powder and Leaves

During the process of taking this photo, I wanted to capture something random in one of the rare times that it was snowing. So I went into a forest and I started to look for objects that looked good in the snow. This is what came out of that random feeling, leaves coated in a bit of snow with the other surrounding nature around the main focus of the image.

nominated by Carla Roberts

Elizabeth Ford

Blue Valley West High School

Vogue | 13" x 11" | Digital

This portrait was created thanks to the opportunity my friend gave me, in allowing me to take pictures of her at her birthday party. Because I knew her outfit and makeup would be very bright and saturated to match the party's location, I thought it would a perfect occasion to photograph her. This specific photo was taken while I was testing to see if I could get any good shots of her in the moment. The title of the piece is based on how I might describe my friend. The word "vogue" refers to something being popular and fashionable, and it is often associated with models and posing. On top of being fashionable, I feel as though my friend has something about her that makes her a truly fantastic model and for me this piece serves as a reminder of that.

Reaghan Gaffney

Pembroke Hill Upper School

nominated by Caro Thomas

Football

In capturing the two football players standing side by side, I aimed to freeze a moment of unspoken teamwork and shared determination. The subtle angle of the shot adds a dynamic touch, avoiding direct confrontation of the players’ eyes with the lens, symbolizing a focus beyond the confines of the photograph. Through the lens, I sought to convey the unique blend of strength, resilience, and unity that defines the spirit of these players, creating a visual narrative that transcends the boundaries of the game.

John Hudson

Blue Valley High School

nominated by Kristin Pickell

Lost (In) My Mind

Shot on black-and-white 35 mm film in an apartment, utilizing an in-camera triple exposure, then developed and printed by hand. The three separate exposures explore a haunted mind-space by juxtaposing the conflicting expressions in each exposure layer while overlapping each one on top of the other. This triple layering evokes a trapped feeling that further dives into the tortured brain, while the varying light levels play out a ghostly dance across the subject's contours.

Alexa Oatman Gardner Edgerton High School

nominated by Mary Schulte

I got the idea for this photoshoot after seeing a trend of projector photos online. Using this as inspiration, I created my own photos with one of my friends, who suffers from anxiety. This photo is one of my favorites I’ve taken and brings awareness to mental health issues, a teen problem that I feel strongly about. I took this photo by using a projector and LED lights.

nominated by Ryane Jewell

Sebastian Reyes

Shawnee Mission West High School

Eclipsed Tower

I took this while on a trip to Louisville, Kentucky. While I was walking around the city I saw one of the many buildings completely blocking out the sun. To create the photo I used Ilford Delta 400 black and white film and printed it on Ilford multigrade paper.

Alex Robertson

Blue Valley North High School

nominated by Emily Hensley

Summer Bubbles

When my niece was younger and the weather was nice, we would often play outside. I took this image of her blowing bubbles on one of those nice days. The image was taken on 35mm black and white film. I chose to embroider this image, bringing back some of the colors that were hidden and some of the joy that filled that moment. In creating a cartoon-like bubble I hope to convey the childlike playfulness and the moments away from busy everyday life. For me, this image reminds me of warm summer days and the small activities that bring so much joy.

Rue Swanson Shawnee Mission East High School

nominated by Adam Finkelston

Troll | 10" x 8" |

Cyanotype

I was wondering around KC with my friends Sam and Tuna and they decided to climb up this building that had this odd staircase. I told Sam to make it look like they were kicking Tuna. I ended with this sick picture I knew I wanted as a cyanotype, But it was missing something. I dragged this image of a troll I found on a copyright free photo website. I spent hours making the photo look cohesive and evening out the values. I added the troll because I thought it would even out the composition and make a more compelling image. But mainly cause its funny, who said art can't be funny.

Caitlyn Toubia

Olathe East High School

nominated by Melissa Sellers

Realm of Perspectives

In this image, the essence lies in the profound connectedness we share through visual cues. The interplay of gazes and expressions creates a visual dialogue, forging a shared understanding among individuals. The significance transcends mere physical sight, delving into the realm of shared perspectives. Through what our eyes witness, a subtle but potent bond forms, weaving a tapestry of collective experience and fostering a sense of unity among people who, even in diverse contexts, find common ground through the visual language they collectively embrace.

Literature Finalists

NATHAN ANDERSON

HARRISON JONES

CIL HOCH

NATALIE HOPPER

NATHAN

MONTEMAYOR

ALEXA NEWSOM

JOEY SHONKWILER

Nominated by Kristen Huang

Nathan Anderson Mill Valley High School

Excerpt from “Vistula”

That evening in October seemed like most others. As Antonina walked through the forest, she admired the trees’ surge of color before the inevitable bleakness of the winter. The Vistula River, which ran through the forest, was flowing more quickly than she had ever seen it; there had been a heavy rainstorm the day before. She liked it. The rushing water helped calm her, almost as if it were whispering to her. As she walked along the edge, someone suddenly grabbed her arm. Antonina wrenched her arm away and, without thinking, pushed the assailant into the river. It was a young yet frail-looking woman, she discovered too late. The two made eye contact briefly before the river swept her away. Antonina covered her mouth with her hands in shock; she hadn’t intended to hurt her, but the woman was almost certainly going to die. But there was nothing she could do; Antonina couldn’t even see the woman anymore. She ran back to the estate, filled with regret. All she wanted to do was forget.

That night, she tried to go about her normal routine. However, everything she did reminded her of that poor woman. The water she poured into her glass reminded her of the river. Her white nightgown reminded her of the woman’s dress. The brightly-colored trees, once her source of joy, now only made her think of the blood she had spilled. She laid in bed and covered her head with a pillow, hoping it would drown out her thoughts. As she fell asleep, she could’ve sworn she heard a woman crying.

Nominated by Casey Engel

Harrison Jones

Blue Valley High School

Excerpt from “Leap Year”

It was mid-November, 1983 when James first got sick. It started with a dry cough and exhaustion; in all ten years that Edward had been with him, the occasional affliction was nothing out of the ordinary. James got sick like no one else he had ever known; he’d get chills and shake for nights on end, and then he’d simply go back to work. So, when midNovember, 1983 came around there was still lingering hope that James had just gone and caught another nasty cold. They had heard the rumors, but James never got too sick; he’d take Robitussin for a couple days and then would be fit as he’d ever been.

It wasn’t until Ricky died that Edward started worrying. Ricky who got sick just as often as James, Ricky who had been in the hospital for a few months and slipped away on the cold morning of December 2. He didn’t get worried until he got a call from Ricky’s partner Charlie crying on the phone about how he needed help finding a churchyard that would bury his body. He didn’t get worried until Charlie was the only person standing at the front of Ricky’s wake on December 9, and James had to leave to go cough outside when it was their turn to give their condolences.

They fought about it, of course, and James would soothe him softly and say he’d just taken medicine, it was just a cough, he could still go to work. Like clockwork, James seemed to get better and Edward could stop worrying; they would settle back into their routine. This was broken slowly.

nominated by Amy Anderson

Cil Hoch

Shawnee Mission East High School

Who Are You?

Shot on film, this eerie representation displays the struggle of not knowing who you are, when you’re alone. The obscured face, or mind, in this photo is meant to embody the blur of thoughts and emotions that can feel suffocating. The creation of this shot took a lot of preplanning. What would they be wearing? How would the locations affect the overall feeling? How would their body language impact how they are perceived? And, of course, how can I obscure their face to accomplish the representation of the suffocating feeling of emotions.

Natalie Hopper

Heritage Christian Academy

nominated by Amber McElfresh

Excerpt from “A Bygone Relic”

He tried to shake off his uneasiness by leaning down to relace his boots and simultaneously feeling around for the base of his plasma knife, relieved to find that it was still exactly where he’d placed it. The knife was one of the few uses of technology that he actually admired; it handled well and was far more effective than a normal knife. The blade he sought to attain that day, however, was far less advanced, and yet infinitely more important.

This had to work.

Back to looking, Castor thought to calm the frantic voices in the confines of his head. Everything will be fine.

by Deirdre Zongker

Nathan Montemayor

Olathe North High School

nominated

Excerpt from “The Perfect Picnic”

A strong breeze was in the air, cutting through the fair green trees, rustling the bloom-studded grass, and spelling doom for the picnic. Mandy lifted a hand to keep her hat on as she fretted over the table. The pink porcelain plates were in place, as were the tall glass cups, but she’d had to fold up the checked green tablecloth for fear of it catching in the wind and floating away. Before things had even begun, they were already going wrong.

Mandy was sure Miss Watts would be disappointed by the simplicity of the setup. How could someone like her not be? She was surely used to much finer things than Mandy could provide, what with her grand house and admirable connections. Mandy had thought only of friendship when she’d given her an invitation after church, but she now realized what a mistake that had been.

A flowerpot! If she had only brought a flowerpot for a centerpiece. But she hadn’t even considered something like that. She hadn’t spent nearly enough time planning. Maybe if she had, she’d have thought of the wind, too. Mandy sighed as she ran a hand along the bare tabletop. Her eyes turned to the path running along the edge of her view, but there was no carriage in sight. Perhaps Miss Watts wasn’t even coming. Mandy wasn’t sure if that would be better or worse.

nominated by Kat Buchanan

Alexa Newsom Blue Valley North High School

Excerpt from “The Ghost”

It’s dark when the ghost finally stumbles his way out of the old wooden bar. Only ten minutes from town, the forest here feels alien, secluded. Trees stretch nearly to the sky, as if forming a wall around that wooden bar, so only small slight rays of moonlight manage to land on the metal hoods of three colorful SUVs in the small parking lot beside the bar. The ghost thinks he should be sad, and he tries—squeezing his eyes shut to force a tear—but his cheeks remain dry. He gives up and goes down a stair toward the concrete and his rusted, black sedan in the back corner of the lot. His foot snags on a rogue tree root sticking out of the steps. There’s a weightless feeling, before his hands and knees and chin feel the rough gravel of the parking lot.

“Liam, right? Liam Williams—you forgot your jacket,” a feminine voice calls from somewhere behind him. The ghost ponders just laying messily across the three front steps of the bar and the parking lot. He ponders pulling himself up, and does so, turning on his hands and knees to face the bartender. She stands in the doorway, black coat in hand. “Are you okay?”

Joey Shonkwiler

Kansas City Christian High School

nominated by Anna Hubbard

Excerpt from “Three Hours to Live”

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Cole stared at the clock. Three hours to live. A line of inmates passed his cell, handcuffs clinking as they were led from one activity to another. They were probably bored, as Cole had been during his stay here. Likely they caught themselves staring at the clock, waiting for this purgatory to end.

That was the funny thing about death row: it all seemed so slow until each second actually meant something.

Cole laid in his bed, waiting for the warden, John Timber, to arrive. Naturally, he thought about death. Three men had been killed in cold blood for Cole to earn his spot on death row. If John kept his promise, Cole’s hands would get bloody one last time today.

After a loud metallic sound, the cell door opened. John walked in, put Cole in cuffs, and led him through the prison. He stared at the chains between his wrists. Did he deserve this fate? Probably. But it wasn’t his fault, not really. Every man gets handed dice before they’re born, and he just happened to roll snake eyes. Bad family, bad crowd, bad choices. Nothing he could change. Just the way the world worked.

Production & Design Finalists

ROSE COX

IAN FLYNN

ELLIE PARKS

MICHAEL RATHMAN AINSLEY STEENHARD

LEO STEGER

nominated by Shawnase Holst

Rose Cox

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

nominated by Thomas DeFeo

Ian Flynn

Shawnee Mission East High School

Ellie Parks Gardner Edgerton High School

nominated by Joseph Patterson

nominated by David Hastings

Michael Rathman

Olathe South High School

Ainsley Steenhard

Olathe North High School

nominated by Dustin Pence

Leo Steger

Olathe West High School

nominated by Alisha Morris