Nine students will compete in the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) state competition April 28 at James Madison High School in San Antonio.

“I think we are going to do well,” art teacher Jennifer Russell said. “We usually do place really well. I’m nervous because they [the judges] are trying to change up the rules a little bit, but I think we are going to do really well.”

Senior Sue Jin Park has been competing in VASE since middle school. She has advanced to state every year she has competed and won a gold seal her sophomore year.

“I’m submitting a self portrait with two masks, one is white and one is red,” Park said. “I wanted to talk about how one person has two sides, a good side and a bad side. The masks could represent that your hiding the truth behind it.”

Russell and her students start preparing for VASE in December by evaluating if the pieces being submitting needed to be redone or scrapped completely.

“I’m really confident in everyone’s pieces,” Russell said. “We just hope that our students’ talent gets showcased in the piece they brought. As much as it is skill, it’s also based on the judges and how far they’re willing to go and what their aesthetic is.”