Nicolet Students' Artwork Recognized Regionally and Nationally

Hours and hours spent taking photos from varying angles, sweating over a hot torch to melt metals, or swishing and swooping a brush until just the right colors combine can be tedious.

What makes someone want to labor so long over their art projects? Ask these students from , who've won the most number of gold and silver keys combined in Nicolet history from the Scholastic Art Awards. 

The awards are a program of the Alliance of Young Artists and Writers, a national non-profit organization that seeks to identify talented artists. Past winners include Truman Capote, Robert Redford and Andy Warhol.

Gold and silver keys are awarded on the regional level, and gold key award winners are submitted to the national competition.

Leo Purman is the only Nicolet student to earn a national honor. He won a gold medal and an American Vision Award, after earing two gold keys at the regional level.

"It's something I can release myself in, express myself," Purman said. "I feel guilty if I'm not taking photos."

Rachel Arnow is the first student at Nicolet to earn four gold keys. Her pieces were created in sculpture, jewelry and drawing. Her final gold key was for her entire portfolio. She also won the Wisconsin Art Education Association award, which is a $250 cash prize and a Wisconsin Art Education Association membership.

"I discovered the wide world of metals and now I'm happy as a clam leaning over torches," she said.

One of the key pieces she created was a teapot. Arnow said it took more than 100 hours to construct the metal masterpiece, and the toughest part was shipping it off to be judged by Scholastic. Here's a complete list of the Gold Key winners.

Along with Arnow, Darya Dobrinina and Sadie Teper won gold keys for their portfolios. They will each compete nationally for a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship.

Artwork juried into the exhibit was entered by Nicolet art department teachers Patricia Leeson, Becky Schmidt and Amanda Rumpf.