Four BHS art students, senior Natalie Beiter, junior Lily Beach, junior Zsofia Nemeth and junior Lindsey Toot were selected to have their work displayed for all to see at the 22nd Annual High School Visual Arts Competition which opened to the public on Dec. 6.

“I’m very proud of all four students that were selected for the show,” art instructor Becky Weaver said. “I think that Natalie’s project that earned an honorable mention was one of her most creative pieces that she’s made in ceramics.”

Beiter received an honorable mention for her piece “Trickle” in the category of 3D art. Judges remarked that her work was “well thought out,” praising its successful overall appearance. There were 1,335 works submitted to the Visual Arts Competition from 24 area high school students and roughly 200 were selected. Each entry was reviewed by two retired art teachers who served as judges.

“I was pleasantly surprised after seeing the talent that was exhibited at the show,” Beiter said. “I was very proud to have the opportunity to be a part of something so abundant in amazing art made by people just like me. It was an honor to be recognized for the hard work I put into the piece.”

Eight Baldwin AP art students made entries to the art show in October and received news that they were accepted in mid-November. A total of 139 high school student artists were accepted with 160 works displayed by the various artists. Out of the 24 that submitted pieces, 19 different high schools were represented in the showcase.

“It was really inspiring to see the variety of works at the show,” Nemeth said. “There was no bias towards a certain type of art, there were realistic and abstract and 2D and 3D works. It was really cool to see that since usually more traditional styles are chosen. I was really honored to be a part of such a talented group of artists.”

The art show is open to the public Dec. 6-29 at the Irene B. French Community Center in Merriam, Kansas.