MADISON – Work by art students at James Clemens High School has been admitted into the 2014 Biennial Southeastern High School Artist Competition at Birmingham-Southern College.

Kayla Jackson’s “Manipulation.” (CONTRIBUTED)

“Birmingham-Southern has an exemplary art program,” Vaughn said. “Their curriculum is rigorous. Their students have opportunities to travel the globe.”

To enter, high school students in participating states applied with a high quality photo of their work, Elizabeth Vaughn said. Vaughn teaches art 1-4 and advanced art.

Teachers could submit 10 pieces maximum. Alabama alone had more than 200 entries. Show officials accepted eight of ten pieces from James Clemens.

Becky Odum’s “Caged Hysteria” uses “unusual color paired with an intense facial expression (for) a mood of panic and distress. Broken panels drive that feeling,” Vaughn said. For “The Human Condition,” Dylan Neal uses charred images of the human anatomy; a deconstructed human head shows good/evil sides of human nature.

Kayla Jackson’s “Manipulation” reflects chaos that teenagers feel. “Klayton Riley’s ‘Flowing Colors’ is an experimentation in color, value and media (with) loud, primary colors,” Vaughn said.

In “Diverse Suppression,” Klifton Riley studies skin tones, mediums and cultures with a young Caucasian woman and an elderly African man. Maddy Corron combined graphic design and traditional painting using tape-blocking for “Directionality.”

Olivia Gonzalez’s “Halves” is a diptych self-portrait on natural wood in trompe l’oeil technique, Vaughn said. Paul Yoo’s “Hidden Fire” uses abstract ink sketches “to convey a sense of warmth despite a black-and-white scheme.”

“James Clemens art students take ownership of their art program. They have spent this year writing unit plans, including academic and artistic goals. Their portfolios show (their) hard work,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn acknowledged James Clemens administration for supporting artistic pursuits. “James Clemens students are some of the most driven students with whom I’ve had the pleasure to work.”

Awards will be announced at Birmingham-Southern on Jan. 5 in the Norton Campus Center, followed by a reception in the Doris Wainwright Kennedy Art Centre.