Jay student's art work among the best

Jay High School graduate Jamie Harrison won second runner-up in the U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz's First Congressional District Virtual 2020 Congressional Art Competition and will have her artwork displayed in the congressman's Pensacola office for one year.

The theme of Harrison's work was 'Scenes from Northwest Florida'.

Harrison's scratch-art work, entitled 'Equestrian Elegance', was entered in the contest by Harrison's senior year art teacher, Teresa Dobson. Harrison said she found out about the contest from Dobson, when Dobson told her she wanted to enter the piece into the contest. Scratch art involves carving and scratching off a black substance in lines and shapes from a special surface to reveal white underneath.

"Mrs. Dobson entered it into another contest prior to this one and it placed in the top 20 in Santa Rosa County," said Harrison.

When asked why she chose a horse as subject for the piece, Harrison said she loves horses.

"Mrs. Dobson has us look up real photos and draw from there," said Harrison. "I started drawing my eighth grade year. I'm self-taught, but my senior year, I took an art class. I joined the art club at Jay High School and became vice-president. And then I joined National Art Honors Society."

Harrison, who just graduated this year, says she plans to attend Coastal Alabama Community College, where she has not yet decided whether she wants to pursue nursing or become a high school art teacher herself.

"That's a really big honor to me, to have my art hang in the congressman's office for a year," said Harrison. "I kept second-guessing myself when I was working on it. I asked friends if it looked OK and they said it looked fine, but I felt like it wasn't going to get anywhere."

Harrison said she will frame her winning piece and put it in a shadow box.

The announcement was made on Facebook live Monday, June 1, and Harrison said she forgot until about 40 minutes after and her Facebook started blowing up with people congratulating her.

"It wasn't second place, but it was something," said Harrison. "It's an honor."

Harrison said the piece took about 15 hours to complete, working an hour each day in class for about three weeks.

"I love acrylic painting and I do it at home," said Harrison. "I'd look at a picture and go from there. I look at different shapes and colors and try to make the same on the canvas."

Harrison feels honored to be recognized, but said she would like all of the art in the contest to be recognized, if she had her way.

"I want to congratulate all the other people who won too," said Harrison. "There's got to be so much good work that nobody saw. There had to be a lot of work put into it and I feel like they should be acknowledged too."

Harrison's work was judged against work from across the First Congressional District that includes Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Escambia, Walton and portions of Holmes County. Awards were given for the top three and three runners-up.