INPERSON
All About Art
Shaler ’ s Kelly Cross wins a National Medal in the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards . By Nicole Tafe
Shaler ’ s Kelly Cross was born to be an artist . Creating works of art in all mediums for the past several years , she is now being honored for her artistic talent at the national level .
Cross , 18 , is the daughter or Karen and William Cross . She has four sisters — Jennifer , Lauren , Maria and Katie . She just finished her senior year at Shaler Area High School , graduating with the class of 2018 .
While at Shaler Area , Cross was a part of the National Art Honor Society and attended A . W . Beattie Career Center as part of the Pastry Arts Program . There she was president of Family Career and Community Leaders of American ( FCCLA ).
“ My favorite part of the day at A . W . Beattie Career Center is art class because I have the freedom to express myself , and the room is my safe haven ,” she says . “ Mr . Boyles , my art teacher , is definitely my favorite high school teacher and I have really enjoyed his classes .”
Cross ’ favorite medium to work in is gouache — a mixture between watercolor and acrylic . “ I like it because it ’ s good to use to add layers to your piece and a little bit goes a long way ,” she says .
Cross won a National Medal in the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards , presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers , and was awarded a Silver Key for her artwork depicting a peacock .
Her artwork is an etching . “ First I took a picture and a piece of plexiglass and I scratched the picture into the glass , taking me a while because I had to put in every detail ,” she explains . “ Then I took in and smeared it in the glass , taking Qtips to put in all the highlights and lowlights into the ink . I then took a piece of wet paper and carefully placed it on this the glass , rolling it through a press where it reverse printed the picture on the paper .”
Her work was selected by creative professionals as the most accomplished in the nation . This year , nearly 350,000 works of art and writing were submitted . Less than onepercent were recognized at the national level .
As one of the students receiving a top award , Cross was invited to attend a ceremony at the world-famous Carnegie Hall on June 7 to participate in showcase events at Parsons School for Design at The New School and Pratt Institute ’ s Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York City .
Cross ’ artwork advanced for adjudication at the national level after receiving the Gold Key in the competition ’ s Northeast Regionals . Close to 19,600 works earned regional Gold Keys and advanced to national adjudication in New York City .
Cross is unsure as to where her future will take her . “ I hope to get a job in the pastry field , or a job at the Pittsburgh Zoo working with animals ,” she says . “ Regardless of where life takes me , I ’ ll always keep making art .” n
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