The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Local students take top honors in 'Reflections' PTA art contest

By Barbara Doheny

Anyone who's ambled over the nearby hills would recognize the picture: a lacework of low, wind-twisted trees pinned along the shoulder of a dry hillside. Storm clouds hang uncertainly above the desiccated landscape.

"Thirst Before a Storm" is one of 222 works of photography, art, music and literature created this year by students in the Fremont Union High School District and the Cupertino Union School District for the Reflections art competition, sponsored by local Parent-Teacher Association councils.

Five of those students earned first-place awards at the district level and will go on to compete statewide and perhaps nationally.

"The goal is to challenge students to use their critical-thinking skills as well as their creative talents," Ilana Tepman said of the contest. Tepman and Maya Gyger co-chaired the Cupertino-Fremont Council's competition, which was run by volunteers.

This year's contest theme was "Wouldn't It Be Great If . . ." and elicited some thoughtful art from students. Students drew pictures of mermaids, frogs, dinosaurs and spaceships to convey themes like caring for the planet, making peace and making money.

"If they use their senses, they can come up with pretty wonderful ideas. I like to see this naive, original thought from a kid," said Tepman, referring to one student's work called "The Cure." The piece offers a distorted close-up of hooded researchers raising a vial to the light. The vibrant yellow, lime, and sterile blue relay a sense of illness, artificiality and light dispelling darkness. "It comes directly from their heart," she continued.

Local first-place winners included Sophia Chan of Collins Elementary School, Rosemary Deguara of Fremont High School and Nick Tsobanakis of Monta Vista High School. First-place winners received a savings bond.

Some students incorporated both Asian and American artistic styles. In one drawing, "The Moon Lady" floated in graceful long robes above a family campfire.

A few students offered stunning presentations of life lessons. One teenager drew a bright cardinal against a small halo of blue in a dull urban landscape. The bird surmounts a wall of thick colorless buildings.

"Wouldn't it be great if no matter how bleak or boring our life was," this young person wrote, "there was always a touch of hope, adventure or mystery?"

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 4, 1998.
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