Sonoma student wins congressional art award

A SVHS senior won this year!|

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) has announced Sonoma Valley High School senior Sarah Martinez has won the District 5 level of the 2017 Congressional Art Competition.

High school students from across the district (primarily Sonoma County) submitted their artwork for consideration. The annual competition starts at the local level and showcases the artistic talents of students in all 50 states. Winning pieces are displayed in Washington D.C.

“The Congressional Art Competition gives our students the opportunity to showcase their work on the national stage,” said Thompson. “Every year, I am blown away by the talent, creativity, and passion of our young artists.”

Martinez said that her art teacher at SVHS, Aaron Anderson, encouraged her to apply.

“He told me he thought that a political piece like mine might have a good chance,” she said. “So I started working on it immediately.”

“I tried to make an impressionistic sort of piece that outlined different ecological terrors such as fracking, oil drilling and poor waste management practices,” Martinez said. “I was utterly dumbfounded to learn I had won first place in Sonoma County.” The Congressional art contest was her first art contest.

Martinez hopes to major in English and art in college, and she will begin at Santa Rosa Junior College in the fall.

“I would love one day to have a chance to teach art at SVHS,” she said.

Since 1982, the Congressional Art Competition has given members of Congress the opportunity to encourage the artistic talents of young constituents. Each Congressional representative hosts a competition among high school students in his or her district.

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