Graduated senior to hold art show

As the winner of the 2005 Ida F. Haimovicz Visual Arts award, graduated Blair senior Rebecca Sugar will receive $3,000 in scholarship money as well as the privilege of exhibiting her artwork from June 14 to June 30 at the Gudelsky Gallery in Montgomery College's School of Art and Design.

The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) gives scholarship money and an exhibition opportunity to one talented high school senior each year in the memory of Ida Haimovicz. Sugar, who worked on Silver Chips art staff for the last two years, was chosen on May 6 to be this year's award recipient.

Sugar finished hanging her artwork in the Gudelsky Gallery on June 6 and is now anxiously awaiting the unveiling of the exhibition, she said. "The $3,000 scholarship is really nice for college, but the best part of this award is the exhibition. It's a good opportunity to get some work sold," Sugar explained. "There's a point for every artist where you are just anxious to sell your work because you've looked at it for too long and just want to get rid of it."

In order to apply for the Haimovicz award, Sugar prepared 10 slides of her acrylic paintings in March to send to AHCMC for judging. She also had to write about her goals as an artist and her plans for the future to prove her artistic motivation to the judges since, according to the Gazette, the contest only awards scholarships to students who plan to pursue a career in the visual arts. Personally, Sugar wants to be an animation artist because of her long-time passion and experience in drawing comics. She has already published four comic books online.

According to Sugar, the chances of winning the Haimovicz award are relatively high due to the small number of applicants. "This year, there were only about 14 kids who entered. But you should definitely enter if you have a strong body of work and strong ambitions in art," Sugar advised. "But if you don't love art they probably don't want to give you the money either."

As student at the Visual Arts Center at Albert Einstein High School, Sugar learned of the Haimovicz award there through her art teachers. Sugar participated in many other contests over her high school career and her art has earned her many honors, including recognition as a finalist in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts' (NFAA) 2005 Arts Recognition and Talent Search. Sugar recommends the NFAA awards to student artists who are interested in applying for awards because "it is the biggest art contest out there for people our age," she claimed.

This summer, Sugar will be spending her time exploring different styles of design such as pinup art.

For questions about the Haimovicz award, call AHCMC at 301-215-7227 or e-mail grants@creativemoco.com.