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Rep. Napolitano Honors Local Students at 2011 Congressional Art Contest

April 11, 2011

(Washington D.C.)- On Saturday, April 9, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano held a ceremony honoring the winners of the 2011 38th Congressional District Art Contest, “An Artistic Discovery,” at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights.

Napolitano was not able to attend the ceremony because of voting in Washington, D.C., but she was able to view the works of art and sent her congratulations to the young art students in the competition.

“Our area has a tremendous number of talented young artists,” Napolitano said. “We need to continue to give these promising youngsters academic programs and scholarships to help them succeed. I congratulate our students and I am proud to have their artwork represent our district.”

Kevin Shen of Los Altos High School won first place with his work “Beautiful,” which he said was inspired by different ideas about beauty.

“I started thinking about the different cultures,” Shen said, “and I wanted show how each culture has its own beauty.”

For the next year, Shen’s work will hang in the halls of Congress alongside other winning works of art from across the country.

Janet Flores of Montebello High School won second place with a still-life, “My Whole World,” and Teresa Jeanne La Brecque of El Rancho High School won third place with “Christina Taylor-Green,” a portrait of the young girl who was slain in the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona.

“It was very inspiring to me that at her age she wanted to learn and get involved in government,” Flores said. “I wanted to take an actual event that was tragic in our society and be able to put it on canvas to show the beauty of an individual.”

Winners:

First place: Kevin Shen, Los Altos High School, “Beautiful.”

Second place: Janet Flores, Montebello High School, “My Whole World.”

Third place: Teresa Jeanne La Brecque, El Rancho High School, “Christina Taylor-Green.”

Judges’ Choice: Erwin Arechiga, El Rancho High School, “Natural Beauty.”

Judges’ Choice: Michael Baltierra, Village Academy, “Forbidden City.”

Judges’ Choice: David Thai, Los Altos High School, “Mark Hoppus.”

Honorable Mention: Winnie Huang, Los Altos High School, “Imagination Explode.”

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Garcia, Garey High School, “Midnight Snack.”

Honorable Mention: Alejandra Nacar, Montebello High School, “Self Portrait.”

Honorable Mention: Dennis Balmaceda, Garey High School, “Blue Birds.”

Honorable Mention: Ruby Mejia, Montebello High School, “Self Portrait.”

Honorable Mention: Ashley Solis, La Puente High School, “Midnight Sky.”

The Congressional Art Competition is held every year to give young artists an opportunity to display their talent on a local and potentially national level. First place winners are selected from each of the participating Congressional Districts, and their artwork is put on display for a year at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. High school students interested in entering the contest next year should talk to their art teacher.

PHOTOS:

A gallery of images can be found at www.facebook.com/RepGraceNapolitano. High-res images can be found below:

Picture of Ceremony: www.napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/images/ceremony.jpg

FROM LEFT: Jay Chen, Board President for Hacienda La-Puente School District, Teresa Jeanne La Brecque, Rep. Napolitano District Director Ben Cardenas, the Venerable Miao Hsi of the Hsi Lai Temple, Kevin Shen, Janet Flores

First place: www.napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/images/1st_Place.JPG

Second place: www.napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/images/2nd_Place.JPG

Third Place: www.napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/images/3rd_Place.JPG

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