Talent shines through in art awards

Scarborough’s Jasper Rogers loves everything about the ocean, so it’s fitting that his entry in this year’s Moreton Bay Youth Art Awards earned him the top gong in the 3D category for students in Prep-Year 3.

He spent days creating Under the Sea, a colourful, interactive piece made up of nine sea creatures.

With fish, a shark, a seahorse, turtle and starfish, Under the Sea posed many challenges for the talented artist.

Jasper, who is home-schooled, says while he is no stranger to two-dimensional art, he has only recently started creating three-dimensional pieces.

New to 3D art

“It’s my first year doing 3D – I have always done 2D,” the seven-year-old says.

Along the way, Jasper says he discovered many challenges.

With the creatures mounted on sticks, Jasper says he worked hard to figure out the right height to display each piece to convey a story.

“The shark and the seahorse were the hardest because they are really heavy,” he says.

Jasper made each piece by drawing a template on cardboard before layering clay to make it three-dimensional and finally painting it.

“I had to draw about 15 seahorses to get the correct size and shape,” Jasper says.

Each sea creature is able to rotate on its stick, allowing Under the Sea to change to create different stories.

So much talent

Moreton Bay Region Mayor Peter Flannery says he was blown away by the level of talent on display at the awards exhibition.

“From Bribie Island to Samford, we had over 200 children enter works this year, and as always, their artwork was colourful, thought-provoking, expressive and creative,” he says.

“Through these annual art awards, we hope to encourage young people to continue with their creative talents into the future.

“As we all know, art is a great outlet for the mind and the soul, especially given the difficult year our children have had with disruptions to school learning and not being able to play outdoors.”

Other winners

Warner’s Lucas Drysdale won the Grade 7-10 3D prize with Adrift, while Stephanie McBean of Eatons Hill won the Year 11-12 3D section with Layered Memories and Yahli Oddy from Mount Nebo’s Shark took out the Grade 4-6 3D prize.

In the 2D category, Mac Mellor of Lawnton won the Prep-3 section with Self Portrait with Green Cobra and Black Holes in my Hair, Ishmael Sommer from Mount Glorious took first in Grade 4-6 with Back Stab and Grace Smith of Ferny Hills won for Year 11-12 with Quantitative Hydration.

Ashleigh Willis from Eatons Hill won the Year 7-10 section, for Cailin and Brooklyn Young took out the People’s Choice Award with Shooketh.

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