Art was the main event of the day Feb. 4 at Cedar Ridge High School. Several art pieces of various types were submitted to the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) – which is equivalent to a UIL competition – from McNeil students and other high schools.

Many of the Mavs received a score of four, 11 received a perfect score-receiving the highest points on both the interview and the evaluation on the art, and two, seniors Kali Cunningham and Sharon Yang, qualified for state.

“I was really excited since I got state last year, too,” Cunningham said.

Since several art pieces are submitted, some students submitted one and others submitted more than one, and many ranked a four. Only 10 percent of those ranked four  are considered to advance to state, thus increasing the difficulty in actually qualifying.

“My teacher [Chris Robbins] said that was the first time [qualifying for state two years in a row] has happened at McNeil,” Cunningham said. “It’s senior year, so why not have something cool like that?”

In the judging process of VASE, students submitted their pieces and judges interviewed the students based off a rubric over the pieces. These interviews varied for each person; some would conduct it in the form of a conversation while others asked questions directly from the rubric. Then the judges judged those pieces on a point scale of one to four, four being the highest ranking. Then the pieces ranked with a four were placed in a gallery and the judges walked through the gallery deciding on the best pieces to send to state.

The pieces which qualified will be sent to state, held in San Antonio April 22. The pieces will be again judged but this time, students will not have to participate in an interview. The Mavs are hoping for a gold seal – the highest award an individual can receive for his or her art.

“I am really proud of [the clay bust,]” Cunningham said. “I worked on it for two to three months. It’s one of my favorite pieces.”

Mavs who received a four on their pieces:

Sabika Bharmal, Hari Jeung, Prathi Sevapathi, Hayleigh Pettit, Deevika Sharma, Megan Garcia, Mina Ozawa, Tien Tran, Mackenzie Hoffman, Torrie Hunter, Carissa Deocampo, Ashna Karpe (2 pieces), Ilanah Lattka, Kais Bhandari, Laura Chau, Kimberly Dunnahoo, Cathy Ha, Samia Khan, Hailey Plagge, Yi-Hsiu Wang, Ann Marie Young, Kara Bang, Sarah Choi, Kali Cunningham, Richard Dang, Nick Garza, Celeste Gaudin, Lily Greener, Delaney Hahn, Tyas Hernandez, Victoria Hunter, Katelyn Kalina, Lila Katz, Daniel Kurten, Matt Kurten, Sini Marcks, Yunji Oh, Ryan Panico, Soham Patel, Maddy Picket, Elijah Robbins, Samantha Rodriguez, Nichole Schiller, Ryan Semegran, Angela Spears, Izzy St.John, Anna Terry, Logan Wimmer, Laura Wimmer, Rayvonne Wright, Sharon Yang

Mavs who received a perfect score:
Logan Wimmer, Sharon Yang, Nichole Schiller, Sini Marcks, Daniel Kurten, Delaney Hahn, Kara Bang, Richard Dang, Kimberly Dunnahoo, Yi-Hsiu Wang

Mavs who received a three:
Mary Chen, Gwendolyn Collins, Nathalie Debelle