Southern Lehigh High School senior Kelly Kirsch received a silver Scholastic Art Awards medal on March 18 for her drawing “Imposing Garden.” There were only four other medals given in the local area. Three students from Parkland also received silver medals. The students will be honored at the National Award Ceremony at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, June 11.

The Scholastic Art Award is the oldest art and writing award in the country. Many famous artists and writers such as Andy Warhol and Truman Capote have also received this prestigious award.

Anyone can send something in as long as it is in professional format and was an assignment from class. Thousands of students submit their work each year. Around ten percent of the entries will make it to regionals and less than one percent will receive awards.

There are multiple sections, such as painting, drawing, and photography in which students can enter their work. A panel of nine to twelve artists that work within the specialty in which a piece is entered vote to finalize winners. Only regional gold key winners move on.

Kirsch’s artwork is a pencil drawing, one inch tall and 18 inches long.

“I think it got so far because of its interesting format,” she said. “It catches people’s eye.”

Her assignment for art class was to draw something creepy. The design started as a doodle during class and slowly turned into an award-winning illustration of a crowd of people staring, and a mosquitoes stinging someone’s eye. Kirsch said she thought of things that scared her and other people. The TV show, “Over the Garden Wall,” which has an imposing garden vibe, influenced a lot of her drawings.

Next year Kirsch will be studying animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York.