Student work of Great Bend High School art teachers Sergio Ramirez and Brian Hutchinson showed very well at the BCC Vortex Juried Exhibition 2017.
GBHS students won 10 of the 29 awards given at the show, Ramirez reported, including Sarah Bullard Nelson’s Best of Show 3-D.
“We have talented students at GBHS who have earned recognition against some tough local competition,” Ramirez said. “I also wanted to personally thank and congratulate Brian Hutchinson for his leadership. With his help we were able to bring home six awards within the 3-D and Printmaking/Scratchboard areas, compared to one last year.”
The art department’s next showing will be on April 19 at the Fort Hays State University High School Art Day where they hope to add to the awards.
Six schools participated in the exhibition: Ellinwood, Great Bend, Hoisington, Larned, Solomon and Stafford. Art was exhibited at the Shafer Art Gallery on the Barton Community College campus April 2-6. Students were invited to attend Vortex Art Day on April 6. The day is designed to stimulate and enhance students’ interest and excitement in the fine arts, according to Dave Barnes, director of the gallery. They had the opportunity to meet each other and to partake in the day’s planned activities dedicated to the visual arts. Students attended hands-on mini-sessions and demonstrations.

GBHS awards
Sarah Bullard Nelson’s “Self Portrait” won Best of Show 3-D. Nelson also won first place in the sculpture category with “Metamorphosis.”
Other GBHS students who won first-place place awards were: Antonio Chavez, color media, for “Un Mariachi”; and Deontre Hardiman, printmaking/scratchboard, “King Me.”
Taylor Hoffman had the second-place sculpture, “Dragon.”
Third-place winners were Mayra Reyes, ceramics-functional, “Lantern”; Katelyn Scherer, drawing, “Wind”; Annie Mills, printmaking/scratchboard, “Eye of the Beholder”; and Tielè Stephens, painting (acrylic & oil), “Orbit.”
Kira Cook’s watercolor, “Amygdalin,” received an honorable mention.