On Jan 20., the Pinecrest Gardens Avian Avatars: Birds Exhibition 10th Annual Environmental Arts Contest was held. Senior Ani Hernandez-Namoff won first place for grades 9-12, and helped our school receive $1,000.00 to put towards an environmental or art project on campus.
Two more MAST seniors participated in this contest: Thomas Green and Natalia Antonetti.
Hernandez first heard about the competition because she goes to Pinecrest Gardens often and she saw flyers for the contest, “When I noticed the flyer it really caught my eye, and the prize for first place is one thousand dollars, and I thought that might be a good way to help out Mr. Lacayo and MAST Academy.”
She already had the drawing, so entering into the competition was easy. When asked about how she got the inspiration she said,
“I love nature, that’s a big reason I’m always at the gardens, and I love animals. They’ve always been my favorite subject.”
Hernandez has been drawing for almost seven years, ever since her early middle school years. Her interest in drawing was sparked by her love for animals as a young girl and her friends help keep her motivated to draw and to keep moving forward.
Along with Hernandez’s artwork, the top 50 entries from each grade category will be asked to showcase their physical pieces during the Art & Design Fair.
