Many high school art pieces are currently on display in the Fine Arts gallery for the UTM Visual Arts Society’s second annual high school art competition.

Seven high schools in the West Tennessee area were represented in the competition including Westview, Dyer County, McNairy Central, West Carroll, Montgomery Central, Dyersburg and the University School of Jackson .

Cash prizes were offered along with a scholarship for the best senior in the show.

The three cateogories judged in the competition were drawing and print making, painting and mixed media and sculpture and 3-D.

The best senior in show scholarship was awarded to Blaire Williams from University School of Jackson (USJ) for her piece titled Bike, a nu-pastel piece.

Williams used a lot of neutral colors to create the feeling that the bike in the piece was dirty and worn out.

Many interesting pieces were showcased in the exhibit. The pieces ranged from various cateogories, but only 68 pieces were selected for the competition.

According to David McBeth, professor of Visual Arts, more than 100 pieces were entered into the competition, but half of the pieces were chosen to be exhibited.

A self-portrait done in oil sticks titled Me, by Jennifer Perry from USJ will catch the attention of most viewers.

In the piece, she shows great detail in her face. Her head rests in her hands with her eyes looking up from the canvas. There is so much detail in her hair. One can notice individual hairs drawn in.

Another interesting piece in the exhibit belongs to Otter Threadgull from McNairy Central High School. Untitled, a piece done in chalk pastels depicts an architectural landscape.

The piece shows vivid colors in the shrubbery and growth surrounding the abandoned building.

Many sculptures were also included in the exhibit. Pots, bowls, jars, a few wire sculptures and a mask were in the competition.

First place in the sculpture category went to Sam Matthews from Montgomery Central High School. His piece was a wire sculpture of a dragon.

“My older brother read books on dinosaurs and drew them,” said Matthews. “It seemed fun and that’s how I got involved in making the wire sculpture of the dragon.”

The high school art exhibit will be on display in the Fine Arts Gallery until April 2.

“All the pieces show very strong work,” said Carol Eckert, assistant professor of Visual Arts. “It was hard to jury out more than half of the pieces entered. The high school art teachers are doing great works with students.”