Seamus Mallon

Kale Martin won Regional Scholastic Art Golden Keys for her outstanding art portfolio and for her piece titled “The Elevator Game” in February. Kale also won Silver Keys for two of her other titles, “Bloody Mary” and “The Next Stop”.

Senior AP Art students Kale Martin and Thomas Wattendorf won Regional Scholastic Art Golden Keys for their outstanding art portfolios in February. 

The pair is now being evaluated on the national level for medals and scholarships, the results of which will be announced on March 26. There is also an opportunity for their artwork to be published and exhibited on the regional and national level.

In addition to a Golden Key for her art portfolio, Kale was also awarded an additional Golden Key for one of her art pieces, “The Elevator Game”. She also received accolades for other pieces which included two Silver Keys for her pieces “Bloody Mary” and “The Next Stop”, and an Honorable Mention for “The Black Phone Game”. Kale is ecstatic that she has won these awards because they will help her share her art with a larger audience in the future. 

Kale and Thomas said that time management and meeting deadlines were crucial to their success. Tommy pointed out that as long as you “pull through” and meet those deadlines, the whole process is very rewarding. 

While Wattendorf favors a style heavily influenced by more traditional impressionism, as well as the dystopian works of his idol, the Polish artist and photographer Zdzisław Beksiński; Kale prefers a more vibrant, saturated, and stylized art form, using a mix of realistic and cartoonish elements to evoke more life and emotion in her paintings. 

Both Tommy and Kale are currently in their second year of AP Art.

Tommy was inspired to take his art to the next level by Mrs. Mann, who pushed him to try new things. Kale stated that support from her family, particularly her mother, is what influenced her to delve further and further into art. Tommy intends to pursue further education in college with a major in fine arts. Kale wants to continue art as a hobby and will more than likely pursue something different in the future.

More than 100 years old, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, is a world-wide competition featured in the United States once a year. Among others, the event has seen the likes of Stephen King, Amanda Gorman and Andy Warhol earn recognition in their younger days as well. 

Both Kale and Tommy’s works were also featured in the Tri-County Art Show last year at Montgomery County Community College. Kale and Tommy’s work will be featured locally from May 9-10 at the annual AP Art show in Methacton High School’s library.