Both Katie Todd and Keira Johnston stood nervously amongst Wendi Sparks’ art closet. Not afraid to express themselves on paper, both were initially reluctant to speak about themselves. But as they have done so well putting thoughts into relatable artwork, both of the Fairfield seniors eventually became comfortable explaining themselves.
Todd and Johnston, along with classmate Lee Rodman, were among some outstanding artists recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing judges as major winners this year in the annual contest. Todd was the first-ever Fairfield student to win both a Gold and Silver Key in the Portfolio category, and was joined by Rodman in the Gold Key Portfolio category, also the first time Fairfield has had multiple winners in portfolio. Johnston was actually the most recognized of any Fairfield student as an overall art submitter, having 14 of her works get Gold, Silver or Honorable Mention status. Todd was right behind with 13, highlighted by an incredible eight Golds, and Rodman had six award nods, highlighted by the portfolio.
“I’m a self-taught artist so whatever I’m working on, I go in the direction that I feel best suits my style and what my heart tells me,” Johnston said. “I’ve always followed what I find interesting and what I like to draw. Characters, animals, comics.”
The historical value alone of what Sparks and Kim Amor’s art classes accomplished this year with their submissions to the Scholastic contest is mind-blowing. The old record for Fairfield awards was set in 2023, and that was 53. That number seems paltry in comparison to where Fairfield reached this year, which was a whopping 104 awards. Sparks was blown away by the total, offering at the time, “This year I have an incredible group of creative, talented and hardworking students. We have had our hands and minds busy creating quality work for Scholastics.”
In all, 28 different students were recognized with at least an Honorable Mention, something Johnston mentioned as an inspiration having so much creativity flowing around her. Johnston shared her biggest efforts went into her comic series, which adds both the artistic component as well as the written component. Assuring she wasn’t pandering to the judges of an art and writing showcase, Johnston hopes to continue her love for comics into the next phase of her education.
“It begins with Howie and he explains to his wife, Layla, about his invention that he has an idea where you can go back in time and view any time in history, whether mundane or historical moments,” explained Johnston, who added the journey then has the two investigating their own journey together and how that shapes the two as a couple. “As he tells her all these things, you see in the present day, in a more cool color palette, you see that she actually dies in the future. At the end of the comic, you see in these warm colors, it was a memory. He watches the memory as he told her. It was actually a piece I wrote on grief.”
Todd’s explanation of her artwork was a little more tranquil. Not nearly as gregarious as Johnston was about her comic layout, Todd instead detailed her work the same way she details her art, with thoughtful pause and purpose.
“I was looking at a portfolio from the beginning, it was an idea that changed, but directed to a central concept that incorporated each piece,” Todd said. “I started looking at how each piece worked into the next and the narrative I was trying to tell, which was totally new to me. I tried to stretch that through the full portfolio to tell a full story, and that was a real challenge for me.”
Todd’s portfolio, ‘Triadic Sisterhood’, involves herself and her two sisters and them growing up together, but how their lives change from childhood to adolescence. “The Silver was a lot of different styles - pencil, digital, some painting. The Gold was mostly mixed media. A new thing for me. Digital, cardboard, collage, a lot of styles.”
Rodman, on the other hand, is used to a little pomp and circumstance. As a member of the Fairfield Marching Pride and the Fairfield music programs in general, Rodman was part of the fourth-place finish at ISSMA State this past November. It was a moment Rodman and her bandmates will never forget, total elation of executing their performance exactly the way they wanted, and sharing and celebrating those moments in an unfiltered and jovial way shortly after the performance.
Having been part of the ‘Speak’ movement with the band in the fall, Rodman already knew art had a voice, yet still experienced a level of emotion when she received the Gold Key Portfolio.
“I wanted this to be something I relate to,” offered Rodman. “The more you relate to the art, the better it’s going to be and it’ll look better in the end. I chose music, which is a department that I am very involved with and something that means a lot to me.”
So what does this all mean for Fairfield? For the girls who were interviewed about their artwork, it adds validation to their artistic speech and emotion in a variety of means and expressions. It also adds a little bit of extracurricular attention they may not be seeking, but are likely going to get with the level of work they’ve put forth. Their classmate, Aislin Hunsberger, knows about the process after being selected as a 2023 national finalist in the same contest, Hunsberger one of 15 Fairfield artists in 2024 to garner a Gold Key to have their work be among the chosen.
The Gold Key winners will have their work on display at the South Bend Museum of Art from March 2 - April 14, of which judges in New York will begin the process of judging the national finalists.
For artists like Rodman, a New York trip simply from creating from the heart is a wild proposition.
“I don’t think I’ve fully taken any of this in yet. I don’t understand it,” Rodman said. “My art, when I first make it, it’s mine. I don’t want to share it with anybody. Now that it’s on this big scale and is celebrated, that feels kind of crazy.”