Upper School Art Students Take Top Prize in FWSSR Art Contest

By Whitney Truax

What started as a creative challenge turned into a big win for FWCD’s Visual Arts Department and students. Hoping to inspire her students, Upper School Art Teacher Holly Clifford gave them the assignment to create a Western-themed slideshow that included items like patterned wallpaper, textures, accessories, something to sit on, the sky, a farm animal, a Texas landscape and wildlife. After completing the slideshow, she asked students to combine two or more ideas creatively. This assignment was part of a warmup exercise leading to some Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Art Contest submissions.

The students’ fresh approach caught the judges’ attention, earning FWCD its first-ever High School Classroom Division win at the FWSSR Art Contest. In addition to a trophy, the students earned the School $5,000 for classroom supplies and an extra $1,000 from Whataburger.

The following students made up the winning entries: Nat Angel ’28 (Cow), Clara Cimo ’28 (Bartholomew the Chicken), Lyle Crumley ’25 (Crazy Chicken), Ben Hatem ’25 (Pablo Guitar), Chloe Nelson ’27 (Pig in Pearls), Cal Neubauer ’26 (Wanted in Cowtown), Julia Pham ’28 (Stained Glass Cow), Anna Schwartz ’26 (Ribbon Run), Emily Simpson ’27 (The Hunt), and Eden Turner ’26 (Dawg at Dusk).

In October 2024, Clifford and several students attended the awards ceremony, where they were honored with flowers, Whatateacher gifts and custom belt buckles. “It felt so gratifying when the judges’ comments acknowledged the students’ efforts and were able to recognize through their artwork that I was trying to challenge my students and support them in a way in which each artist could present their best work by leveraging their vision and skills,” Clifford said.

The winning artists and students in Clifford’s Painting & Drawing class were also awarded a Cowboy Artist of America Workshop with Imagination Fort Worth at the Will Rogers Coliseum. Working with live horses and a longhorn as models, Angel, Cimo, Crumley, Neubauer, Pham, Schwartz, Simpson, Turner and Ashley Ortega ’25 sketched, painted and sculpted under the guidance of professional Western artists who traveled from across Texas and as far as Cody, Wyoming, to guide the students and answer questions about life as a working artist.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime type experience provided by Imagination Fort Worth and the FWSSR Art Contest organizers,” said Clifford. “To stand in the historic building of Will Rogers Arena, to reach out and touch the livestock (subject) as they sculpted and drew under the guidance of some of the best western artists around was an unparalleled opportunity for these young artists. The joy and giddiness on the faces of these art students as they soaked up the rare opportunity to be totally absorbed in their artmaking uninterrupted was a gift. As any artist will confirm, drawing, painting, sculpting from life is incomparable.”

“The FWSSR Art Contest blew me away with their generosity and attention to detail in recognizing these young artists and their teachers. It is not often that the arts are celebrated in such grand fashion.”

This win wasn’t just about a contest – it was about creativity, risk-taking, and the power of a different perspective.