Pine View artists swept the competition at the annual Venice Art Festival on Nov. 1 and 2.
Thirty-six Pine View high school students entered in the competition, winning 10 of the 14 awards offered. “We always do very well at the Venice Art Festival, but that was exceptional,” said high school art instructor Retsy Lauer. “That was a whole lot to win, I was really surprised.”
Twelfth-grader Elisabeth Cai-Pippin, the festival’s best-in-show winner, credits the large number of Pine View winners to the art department’s strength. “I was really excited when I won,” Cai-Pippin said. “I had spent 10 hours working on it, with a lot of feedback from my peers.”
Cai-Pippin won $100 for her pen and ink drawing, entitled “Armadillo Xylophone.”
Ninth-grader Zoe Heil won first place in her category with her still-life drawing of a dear skull. “It was really nice and unexpected,” said Heil. “I didn’t know there were prizes, so when I did win, I was like, ‘Hey, look, 20 dollars.’”
According to Lauer, Pine View students have traditionally done well at the festival. “I think it was the third year in a row we’ve got best in show,” she said.
Artwork was judged by grade level, with separate awards for photography and sculpture. The following students took home awards from the competition:
- Elisabeth Cai-Pippin, twelfth grade, best in show
- Jenny Li, eleventh grade, second place
- Ally Malta, eighth grade, first place
- Zoe Heil, ninth grade, first place
- Anabeth Koopman, ninth grade, second place
- Rachel Galindo, ninth grade, first place
- Elizabeth King, eleventh grade, first place
- Melanie Gasparoni, eleventh grade, second place
- Anneliese Hardman, twelfth grade, second place
- Mallori Johnson, eleventh grade, first place