The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Talent on display
Southview Middle School student honored in art show
A Lorain middle school student has earned a place among the young artists exhibiting in a regional art show. Mya Cordova, 14, an eighth-grade student at Southview Middle School, will have her work in the Lorain County Region Scholastic Art Awards’ Gold Key Awards Ceremony on Feb. 10. Lorain City Schools announced the honor Feb. 4. Five of Mya’s portraits were chosen in the Scholastic Art Awards program and are on display at Lorain County Community College’s Beth K. Stocker Gallery, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria. Mya, an aspiring psychologist, said she is honored by the recognition for her passion of drawing people, according to the report from Lorain Schools. “I’m excited, but shocked that I was selected,” she said. “It’s cool that other people liked them.” The Scholastic Art Awards program is the largest annual art competition in the country. Students in public and private schools, across the United States and Canada, create 150,000 entries each year. Of the more than 1,700 entries, only 550 were selected to be placed on display during the annual Lorain County Region Scholastic Art Exhibition, which includes works of students from Erie and Huron counties, according to Lorain Schools. Stefanie Cook, visual arts instructor at Southview Middle School and Mya’s teacher for two years, says her student is the epitome of natural talent. “As an artist, she is incredibly self-directed,” Cook said. “It’s incredibly interesting to have a natural-born artist in the class. “She is a model for other students, because she shows them what the ability-range is for someone her age. Everything that she does is her own. I give her some feedback, some inspiration and a lot of motivation, and then she runs with it.” Mya’s art earned the scholar a third place “Honorable Mention” recognition and four, first place “Gold Key” recognition among artwork submitted from 12 junior high schools across the three counties. She will be honored at the Gold Key Awards Ceremony from 1-3 p.m., Feb. 10, in the Stocker Center Hall and Gallery. The program’s 2019 exhibition is on display at LCCC’s Beth K. Stocker gallery. The exhibit is sponsored by the Nordson Corporation, with additional funding from the C. Paul Stocker Arts Foundation and LCCC. The exhibit runs through Feb. 22 and is open to the public. Beth K. Stocker Gallery hours are 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday to Friday; 4-6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and 1-3 p.m. Sundays. The gallery also is open during all Stocker Center main stage events at the Hoke Theater.