Concordia’s Art team earned their best finish in school history as TAPPS 6A State Runners-Up at the State Art Competition held in the middle of April 2023 in Waco. The team had previously finished 3rd at State for the previous six years.
The competition included 20 different categories of visual art, photography, digital art, physical art, multimedia, and art history. Concordia had at least one member of the Art team place in 13 of the 20 different categories. Awards were given for the top 8 placements in each category with 1st place earning 10 points, 2nd place with 8 points, and 3rd through 8th with 6-1 points respectively.
Concordia was blessed with talented artists who competed in several different categories with many top 8 placements. Under the direction of Mrs. Heather Vogel, upper-level art teacher and Art department chair, and Mr. Brian Zimont, Art 1 teacher, the Crusaders wowed the judges with 25 of their 31 entries placing in the top 8, earning valuable points for the team. Several of these pieces/projects from the State Art team will be on display in the “Inspiring Imagination” art gallery at Concordia for everyone to enjoy!
The Crusaders’ 158 points was second only to Plano’s John Paul II’s 214 points. Plano John Paul II’s team featured 46 entries, 15 more than Concordia. Of their 46 entries, 13 did not place, but they did take the top spot in eight of the 20 categories, resulting in 80 of their team’s points. Concordia finished 1st in five categories and 2nd in seven categories, tallying 106 points.
Individually, several Crusader had very strong showings at the State competition:
- Katelyn Hurst ’23 led Concordia by earning 30 individual points and was named TAPPS 6A Co-Top Art Student of the Year with her finishes in Color Seek & Sketch (State Champ), Senior Portfolio (2nd), Fashion Design (2nd), and 2D Drawing Color (5th) categories.
- Soren Petersen ’24 earned 20 points with two individual State Runner-Ups in Photo Color and Short Film Narrative and 5th in another Photo Color submission.
- Ingrid Buchwald ’24 earned 19 points with two State Runner-Ups in Black & White Seek & Sketch and Short Film Narrative and 6th in Sculpture.
- Sierra Muchow ’24 also earned 19 points (second year in a row) for the team with four Top-8 placements that included 2D Mixed Media (3rd), On-Site Drawing (4th), Painting (4th), and 6th in another Painting submission.
- Kaelan McBrayer ’24 earned 18 points with her individual State Title in 2D Drawing Color and then was State Runner-Up in Color Seek & Sketch.
- Rebecca Kralowetz ’24 earned 16 points for the team with her State Runner-Up piece in 2D Mixed Media, and then two 5th place finishes in Drawing Black and White and another 2D Mixed Media submission.
- Cara Shirley ’25 earned 10 points for her Black & White Seek & Sketch which was the 5th individual State Title for the team.
For the second year in a row, Concordia represented well in the TAPPS Short Film portion of the State Art Competition. The three submissions earned 28 valuable points with two individual State Titles and one State Runner-Up.
- Hailey Straub ’23 repeated as the TAPPS State Champion in the Short Film Documentary category for her work, DocumenTarzan, highlighting the Fine Arts Winter Musical, Disney’s Tarzan.
- In the Short Film Narrative category, Joseph Lyons ’24 also repeated as the State Champion with team members Sammy Hamada ’25, Christopher Karim ’25, Ian Snow ’25, and Wells Stucker ’25 for their film “The Heist.”
- Ingrid Buchwald ’24, Kaedn Rhys Mailand ’24, Soren Petersen ’24, Grayson Snyder ’25, and Alberto Vich ’24 teamed up to submit “It’s About Time” which was tabbed as the State Runner-Up for Short Film Narrative.
The three Short Film submissions can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/10342624
A complete list of the Crusaders who earned points toward the 2nd place team finish at the State Art Competition can be viewed below:
- Hurst - 1st Place (Color Seek & Sketch)
- Hamada/Karim/Lyons/Snow/Stucker - 1st Place (Short Film Narrative)
- McBrayer - 1st Place (2D Drawing color)
- Shirley - 1st Place (BW Seek & Sketch)
- Straub - 1st Place (Short Film Documentary)
- Buchwald - 2nd Place (BW Seek & Sketch)
- Buchwald/Mailand/Petersen/Snyder/Vich - 2nd Place (Short Film Narrative)
- Hurst - 2nd Place (Senior Portfolio)
- Hurst - 2nd Place (Fashion Design)
- Kralowetz - 2nd Place (2D Mixed Media)
- McBrayer - 2nd Place (Color Seek & Sketch)
- Petersen - 2nd Place (Photo Color)
- Sarah Chang ’25 - 3rd Place (On-site Drawing)
- Ava Lee ’25 - 3rd Place (Relief)
- Muchow - 3rd Place (2D Mixed Media)
- Muchow - 4th (On-site Drawing)
- Muchow - 4th (Painting)
- Hurst - 5th (2D Drawing Color)
- Kralowetz - 5th (Drawing BW)
- Kralowetz - 5th (2D Mixed Media)
- Petersen 5th - Place (Photo Color)
- Buchwald - 6th Place (Sculpture)
- Muchow - 6th Place (Painting)
- Shelby Hadrick ’23 - 8th Place (Painting)
- Riley Richardson ’24 - 8th Place (Sculpture)