The late, great photographer Richard Avedon counted his win in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards as the first milestone in his long career.

“The defining moment in my life was when I was 17 and was honored by Scholastic,” he once recalled. “Being recognized by Scholastic meant that little pat on the back, that little sense of confidence that made me feel the doors were opening, and I could enter a life that I loved, and I had somebody behind me saying ‘This is OK.'”

A handful of young Lawrence artists are following in Avedon’s footsteps. Fifteen students from Lawrence and Free State high schools received awards at the regional level of this year’s Scholastic awards. Five of those students went on to garner recognition at the national level.

LHS senior Kyle Morgison won the lone local national Gold Award for his drawing, “Pears,” which will be displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from July 1- Aug. 6.

“It’s actually quite an honor to receive,” Morgison says of the award. “I didn’t think that any such piece of mine that I created in Drawing 1 was going to get anywhere further than the school display case. I really had no thoughts or inspiration behind my piece, I really just wanted to create a piece that I’d be satisfied with and that I could say I gave it my all.”

Morgison will attend Johnson County Community College in the fall on an athletic scholarship and intends to continue studying art there.

Craig Stucky and Simone Harrison, both LHS seniors, and Boning Zhang, a FSHS senior, received Silver Portfolio Awards. They were among just 322 students to nab the recognition out of 9,000 art, writing and photography portfolios submitted by seniors throughout the country. Next year, Stucky plans to attend the California College of Art, in Oakland, Calif.; Simone Harrison plans to attend Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, in Milwaukee, Wis.; and Boning plans to attend Washington University in St. Louis.

In addition, FSHS senior Laura Kelly received a national Silver Key Award for “Collage Self-Portrait,” a mixed media work. Some 1,200 artists received this honor.

In the regional competition, the following students snagged Gold Key awards on individual pieces or a portfolio, which consists of eight works:

¢ Lily Boyce, LHS junior, “Orchard Shed,” drawing (pastel landscape)

¢ Simone Harrison LHS senior, art portfolio

¢ David Hughes-Pfeifer, LHS senior, art portfolio

¢ Jennifer Hunt, LHS senior, art portfolio

¢ Alex Kim, LHS sophomore, “Me,” drawing (Prismacolor self-portrait)

¢ Courtney Knight, LHS sophomore, self-portrait, drawing (pastel)

¢ Darcy McDonough, LHS sophomore, “Cowboy Hat,” drawing (pastel self-portrait)

¢ Kyle Morgison, LHS senior, “Pears,” drawing (pastel still-life)

¢ Abhi Sandal, LHS junior, “It’s Me,” drawing (pastel self-portrait)

¢ Craig Stucky, LHS senior, art portfolio AND “Morpheus’s Dreams,” mixed media

¢ Laura Kelly, FSHS senior, “Collage Self-Portrait,” mixed media

¢ Alison King, FSHS senior, art portfolio

¢ Emily Knight, FSHS senior, “Number,” computer art

¢ Elizabeth “Libby” McClure, FSHS senior, “Self-Portrait” AND “Dandelion,” computer Art

¢ Boning Zhang, FSHS senior, “Oil Self-Portrait,” painting; AND “Pipes,” drawing; AND art portfolio

All the winners are students of LHS art teacher Wendy Vertacnik and FSHS art teacher Carolyn Berry.