Most students involved in fine arts, athletics and other clubs want to be recognized for their hard work and talent.  For several AP art and photography students this desire came true when their art was chosen to be put on display is the Dallas Museum of Art.The invitation to showcase student art in the DMA is rare opportunity.

“We are really proud of our kids, whether they made it or not,” art teacher Brice McCasland said. “We are also really proud of our program. All the hard work is paying off.”

For the student artists, getting a piece chosen to be displayed at the DMA is not an easy task. To be considered, students had to send in their art piece to a judge who is a professional artist. Over 550 pieces were submitted from 13 different schools including McKinney Boyd HS, Booker T. Washington, and Berkner HS. After the first round of judging, 148 were selected for the second round. Of the 148 students that moved on, 17 were Lovejoy. The following moved on to the second round:

Kaitlyn Boyer- photo

Joe Brands- photo

Preston Durham- photo

Chandler Durrow- photo

Jordan Kirkpatrick- photo

Jonathan McInnes- photo

Taylor Kilpatrick- 3D

Kelse Pedigo- 3D

Grant Woodruff- 3D

Cassidy Fuller- 2D

Riley Hess- drawing

Shelby Johnson- 2D

Kelse Pedigo- drawing

Kate Smith- drawing

Elle Traweek

Amanda Woodruff- 2D

Molly Irwin- art history

“It was really interesting because I didn’t really expect [being picked for the DMA],” Woodruff said. “My piece stood out because odd and unique. Its not something the judges expected.”

After the 148 pieces were judged, 54 were chosen to be on display in the DMA. Of the 54, six are from Lovejoy. The following students will have art hanging in the DMA starting in February:

Joe Brands- The Forgotten Way, digital photography

Preston Durham- Overwhelmed, digital photography

Kelse Pedigo- Irony of the Set, mixed media

Kate Smith- Deer in Red, collagraph

Elle Traweek- Pet Store, mixed media

Grant Woodruff- Beside Creep, wood

“This is really amazing,” Pedigo said. “I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have my work displayed in public. Especially at the DMA.”

The student’s art is professionally displayed and allows the work to be shown to large amounts of people.

“They have the DMA’s framer frame all the work with name plates,” McCasland said.  “A publication also goes out with all the art. People of all walks of life get to come in and see the student’s work.”

Even though countless hours and hard work was put into the pieces, the payoff is rewarding.

“To be able to see your artwork then to walk around a corner and see Picasso is pretty surreal,” art teacher Jeff Seidel said.