Although Waimea High School junior Hector Perez became a semi-finalist for the Second Congressional District of Hawai‘i, Monday, in the 27th annual Congressional Art Competition, his art teacher wasn’t sure he would even finish his pencil-drawn portrait of Albert Einstein.
Although Waimea High School junior Hector Perez became a semi-finalist for the Second Congressional District of Hawai‘i, Monday, in the 27th annual Congressional Art Competition, his art teacher wasn’t sure he would even finish his pencil-drawn portrait of Albert Einstein.
“He was sick with the flu,” Monica Adams-Hansen said. “I let him take it home to work on while he was on his deathbed. He told me working on it would make him get well.”
Adams-Hansen said she was constantly calling Perez, making sure he had enough supplies, such as pencils and art gum erasers.
In Monday’s Kaua‘i County Awards ceremony, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono congratulated art students from Kaua‘i High School, Waimea High School and Island School.
“As a lover of the arts, I appreciate the creative process,” Hirono said. “I am proud of all who participated. These works are interesting, intriguing and challenging.”
Tim Rokohl, a senior from Kaua‘i High School, won second place with his close-up black and white photo of a drinking fountain. Madeline Letninger, also a senior at Kaua‘i High School, received third place with her close-up black and white photo of a shell on a sandy beach.
All of the students received a certificate and gift bag for participating in the competition.
As part of the Congressional Art Contest, semi-finalists from Kaua‘i will compete with winners from other counties in the Second Congressional District. The semi-finalists will display their art at the final awards ceremony on O‘ahu where the first-, second- and third-place winners will be selected and announced.
The first place winner will represent Hawai‘i’s Second Congressional District at the national exhibit in Washington, D.C.
The second-place winner will have his/her art displayed in Hirono’s D.C. office, while the art from the third-place winner be displayed in Hirono’s Honolulu office.
Artwork from each congressional district in the nation will be displayed in the Cannon House Office Building walkway to the U.S. Capitol for one year.
The Congressional Art Competition was launched in 1982 by the Congressional Arts Caucus. The Caucus is an organization of members from the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate interested in supporting the arts.
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
