A drawing that took middle school student Sunday Vu a couple of months to complete is making its rounds for public display.
Etched and drawn completely in pencil, the rising eighth-grader from the Westminster School District drew a black and white image of a cat looking up intently at a monarch butterfly. Sunday named this piece “Ray of Hope.”
Sunday’s drawing is one of more than 200 pieces that are currently on display at the 90th Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach within the Junior Art Exhibit. Each piece of artwork was carefully selected by art authorities from thousands of submissions representing K-12 schools throughout Orange County.
The Junior Art Exhibit is produced in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education.
“Celebrating student creativity through events like this is critical to student well-being and their sense of connectedness to the community,” said Scott Fitzpatrick, OCDE’s visual and performing arts coordinator. “This year’s showcase has been a resounding success, and we are grateful to Festival of Arts for their ongoing partnership and their leadership in spotlighting student artwork from public, private, home and charter schools in Orange County.”
Before “Ray of Hope” appeared in Laguna Beach, it spent some time at a reception in South Coast Plaza’s Crystal Court and Orange Coast College.
“We are proud to present the fine artwork chosen from thousands of submissions,” said Dave Perry, president of the Festival of Arts Board. “The Junior Art Exhibit highlights the value and importance of arts education.”
Also featured in the Laguna Beach festival is an art piece created by incoming seventh-grader Dylan Nguyen. His colorful drawing, titled “Ostrich Size Comparison,” was nominated to be shown at the festival by VSA Orange County, which is led by OCDE.
Dylan is enrolled in the Westminster School District’s special education program. He is passionate about art and loves to draw ostriches and other animals from Africa.
“We are grateful for continuing this partnership with Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts and for their inclusion of artwork by students with disabilities,” said Marleena Barber, the director of VSA Orange County. “Their pieces were so seamlessly integrated into their overall Junior Art Exhibit. This is a true example of inclusion.”
There are 23 pieces of art created by students with disabilities that were selected for display at the festival.
The Junior Art Exhibit premiered in July and will continue through Sept. 2.