By Misty DUPLESSIS

Crescenta Valley High School students Christina Padilla, Nicholle Kwon and Xin Yi Ye took the top three places for GUSD in the recent 2011 Tower Art Banner Contest sponsored by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

Over the last four years the Airport Authority has invited high school students in the Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena school districts to enter the annual Bob Hope Tower Banner Art Contest.

This year’s entries interpreted the theme “Up and Away” and were submitted by students in grades nine through 12. The winning artwork from each school district is showcased at the airport where it will be viewed by over a million travelers who make their way through the facility.

The artwork on display will be enlarged to 16 feet by 26 feet and will remain in public showing for about three months in the Terminal B hallway.

The districts were responsible for choosing each school’s top three entries. The Arts and Culture Commission considers the three entries and makes the final selection based on the Authority’s judging criteria.

Over the last four years, CVHS art teacher Sara Wiggins has required all of her advanced students to submit a piece for the contest. Senior Padilla won the first place award for the district; last year she won second place. Wiggins described Padilla as a spontaneous artist.

Second place winner Kwon, also a senior, chose to create a piece that was open and inviting and would calm people as they walked through the airport.

“I wanted to try to create an image that would please a lot of demographics and make it a neutral as possible,” said Kwon of her winning piece adding that she wanted people to look at it and smile.

“Both students are fantastic, I have had both as students for four years and they do beautiful work,” said Wiggins adding that the girls are not new to having their artwork recognized. Both have won past art contests and have been interested in art for a long time.

CV Teacher Ricky Ngai’s Intro to Design student Xin Yi “Cindy” Ye took third place in the contest. Ngai describes her as a very creative person and said that her artistic ability exceeds the introductory level of design.

“Whenever there is down time in class, she would doodle and grab my magazine collections and start practice drawing human figures. She never wastes anytime in class and she is very critical of her own artwork,” Ngai said. He believes that all those qualities make Ye a successful young artist.

  art, cvhs, Tower Banner contest