By Brittany Whitley

Published: May 7, 2008

Cliff Williams | Opelika-Auburn News
Tevin Drake, left, Rivers Plasketes, Holly Elkins, Lindsey Fuson, Emily Littlelon and Callie Fleming pose for a picture holding some of thier artwork in MainStreet at Opelika High School Wednesday.

A 10th grade student at Opelika High School has been awarded first place in the prestigious Congressional Art Competition “An Artistic Discovery” for the second year in a row.

Tevin Drake is the first student in the competition’s 27-year history to win two consecutive years.

Drake received $250, a roundtrip airline ticket to Washington D.C. for himself and a guardian, hotel accommodations in the nation’s capitol and a scholarship to Savannah School of Art and Design (SACD) in Savannah, Ga. Drake’s drawing will hang in Washington D.C. for the next year in the walkway from the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol. The artwork will then be returned to Drake.
“It was pretty great,” Drake said, adding that he’s proud of the accomplishment.

Along with the congressional win, art students at Opelika High School won a plethora of other awards this school year.

The Alabama State Council of the Arts, an independent art council in Alabama, showcased the work of Alabama student artists in Montgomery in the “2008 Visual Arts Achievement Program.”

For the District, Rivers Plasketes won best of show for 3-D sculpture, Lindsay Fuson won Best Mixed Media artwork, Drake won for best drawing, Callie Fleming won third place for a collage and Emily Littleton received an honorable mention for a mixed media piece.

For the state level in the same competition, Rivers Plasketes won Best 3-D Sculpture for District II, Fuson won for Best in State Classification Mixed Media and Drake won for Best in State Classification in Drawing.

In the State Superintendent’s Visual Arts Exhibit in Montgomery, Plasketes placed first, Drake placed third and Fuson received an honorable mention.

Conway said students need three things to be successful in his art program. First, students have to be willing to work hard. Second, the artists have to be passionate about their work. And third, the students must be able to accept criticism, he said.

It was rewarding, said Plasketes, a 10th grade student.

“I was real excited,” he said. “I worked really hard on all of them (his art pieces).”

Art students at Opelika High School work in a variety of media including sculpture, 3-D art, drawing and painting.

“What’s so fun about what we do is we get to play with so many mediums,” Conway said. “(It is a) challenge for a lot of these kids to think that way.”

“Really what we teach is visual communication,” he said. “They’re learning a new language.”

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