Sophomore Jennifer Dowden received first place in the 2017 Congressional Art Competition with her digital piece, “Beautiful Day.” Her work will hang in the Cannon Tunnel of the White House for a year along with the winning pieces of the competition from every other congressional district.
“Beautiful Day” depicts a stormy landscape, but through a pair of glasses in the center of the piece, the sky is seen as clear and sunny.
“The theme was based off of the U2 song ‘Beautiful Day,’” Dowden said. “Just taking a different perspective on a day and seeing the good.”
Dowden originally made this piece for another competition but ended up submitting it for the Congressional Art Competition as well.
“It was for a different competition actually,” Dowden said. “There was one earlier in the year, which was the scholastic competition. I submitted it because I felt like it was one of the best pieces I had drawn, and I had already won the other competition with it, so I thought that they might like it too.”
Dowden was surprised with a phone call with the news of her winning the competition.
“It was a phone call, and it was during colorguard practice actually,” Dowden said. “I missed the call, so I listened to the voicemail after practice and I was like, ‘Whoa, what?’”
According to Dowden, winning the competition came as a shock to her.
“I was surprised; I did not expect that,” Dowden said. “And then I was also really surprised, because I didn’t know the prize. I didn’t know that I’d get to go to D.C., and I didn’t know my art would be in the capital, so that was really surprising and exciting.”
Apart from having her artwork displayed in the White House, Dowden’s rewards also include two scholarships to art schools if she chooses to apply for them.
“I think I’ll apply, but I don’t think I’ll end up going to a full arts school, because I also want to either double major or minor in math,” Dowden said.
Visual Arts teacher Leslie Burwell first told Dowden about the Congressional Art Competition, and when Dowden won first place, she was very proud.
“I was thrilled for Jennifer, because it was a beautiful piece of work,” Burwell said. “So that was thrilling to know that a student who is excelling in the arts gets recognized…. For Northwood High School, that’s a big opportunity to put us in the spotlight.”
Upon winning the competition, Dowden was met with pride and support from her family and friends.
“I was so happy for her, because she just works so hard, and she’s just really talented,” said sophomore Anna Pickens, a Visual Arts II classmate of Dowden. “I feel like she has not had an opportunity for people to see exactly how amazing she is, and also, this shows her that she really is as good as everybody tells her she is.”
Pickens says that Dowden is successful in art not only from her natural artistic talents, but from her dedication as an art student and her time management.
“She’s just a really good student, and she’s just so good at balancing everything; she’s kind of one of those people who does it all and does everything really well,” Pickens said. “And she still manages to make lots of time for art, which is something that I feel like a lot of kids who are in art don’t really do… but she’s really made it a priority.”
Burwell also says that Dowden’s effort and attention to her art class is a reason that Dowden is a talented artist.
“She’s talented, she’s gifted,” Burwell said. “She’s just one of those people that is always taking [her artwork] home and making it the best it can be. It’s not about a class for her, it’s about presenting her work the best it can be, and so she works very meticulously.”
One of Dowden’s favorite parts of winning this competition is being able to do more competitions like this before she graduates high school.
“It made me feel good that it was early in my high school career, so maybe I can do it again later,” Dowden said. “The fact that it was early on made me excited, [and there are] more opportunities ahead.”
– By Carolyn Hammond
