Alexa Kelley, a Destrehan High School senior, earned three awards for her original artwork through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a regional competition that recognizes student achievement in 28 art categories, including painting, novel writing, mixed media, poetry, digital art, journalism, and more.
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running educational initiative supporting student achievement in the visual and literary arts.
Kelley’s work received Silver Key Awards in the Drawing and Illustration category and in the Digital Art category. She also received an honorable mention for her digital art titled, “The Start of a Nightmare.”
“In my work, I try to explore different mediums of art and ways to express emotion and personality,” Kelley said. “I don’t like keeping my art limited to only one form, so trying a new form of art has always been fun, even if it requires a lot of energy and dedication to keep going.”
Kelley said she has tried animation, sculpting, digital art, painting and even making a short video game.
“I know I will keep exploring different forms, but what stays the same is my goal to work hard on developing more in-depth stories with my work,” she said. “In the artworks with my characters, I try to work on developing unique and more human personalities so that my art can feel livelier.”
Kelley said when she learned she had received three awards through the competition, she was surprised.
“I had to double check to make sure that I had actually received these awards,” Kelley said.
Kelley said the art courses she has taken at Destrehan High School have inspired a growing dedication to pursue art.
“Going to Destrehan High School was such a big change for me since the previous schools I attended did not have such a variety of art courses,” Kelley said. “In my experience, the courses allowed me to connect to my art in different ways and start to look for deeper meanings for my pieces. Without these, I never would have the creative and imaginative mind I have today.”
Kelley said courses by Jessica Hayes, Brian Gough, and Roch Madere made a big impact.
“As I work on my artwork, I try to take the lessons I learned from each teacher to make my art. If it gets frustrating, I take a break and look at it again,” she said. “If I want to explore my art, I should explore.”
Her art started as a hobby, when she was in the first grade.
“Looking back at my old sketchbooks, which I will never throw away, has made me so amazed at how I grew in different areas,” she said. “I remember back in the pandemic lockdown when school was shut down and we couldn’t go out as much. I spent my time in my room drawing my heart out. Seeing my artwork compared to how I started made me realize that the time I spent developing my work to now was time well spent.”
Kelley said she hopes to go into the field of animation.
“Whether I work on animations for a movie, TV show, or video game, I know that I’m really looking forward to experiencing the world and letting my imagination grow,” she said. “One day I hope to inspire future artists the way that other artists have inspired me.”
