Overall Grand Prize
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Title: Empty After
Artist: Sae Teasley, 12th grade Quote from Artist: "My piece, “Empty After”, is meant to be a reflection on the consequences of teen drinking culture. Statewide, more 12th graders who drink alcohol report seriously considering suicide compared to those who don’t drink, according to the 2023 Healthy Youth Survey. This statistic disputes the common perception of alcohol as harmless, or even a natural part of teenage social life. While parties are often seen as carefree and fun and essential for teenage experience, my piece focuses on what lingers after; the emotional aftermath that is rarely acknowledged." |
First Place Video
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Title: Devour
Artist: Nina Foley, 8th grade |
First Place 2D Art
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Title: Redirection
Artist: Aditi Rao, 8th grade Quote from Artist: "This piece, “Redirection,” shows the contrast between positive and negative life choices, especially when it comes to substance use and your community. The artwork is divided into two sides. On one side, the environment is darker, with broken objects (trash), a gated fence, and unhealthy habits representing poor decisions and road block. |
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On the other side, the environment is brighter and more open, with clean space, light, and supportive friendships, and an ongoing pathway representing a healthier lifestyle and showing you can achieve more than you think."
First Place Middle School Submission
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Title: Sinking
Artist: Hyein Ah, 8th grade Quote from Artist: “'Sinking' is the title of my art piece. In this world, everyone possesses a boat. The boat symbolizes the positive and structural elements of life. But there is a vessel in the middle. This one look like it will break soon. And if you see closely, there’s alcohol onboard perhaps signifying that the boat owner, the girl, had been using it. This represents the 2% alcohol use rate from the 8th grade charts (Issaquah District 2023 Health Youth Survey). " |
First Place High School Submission
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Title: Say No Artist: Zachary Na, 10th grade Quote from Artist: "My 2-D artwork is a public service announcement aimed to put light on the consequences of underage drinking. I made a mechanical heart out of broken tech and trash and put that on top of spilled alcohol. It shows how alcohol can kill the heart, which symbolizes life. A single heartbeat flows through the heart, further underscoring how damaging alcohol can be. I oriented the position of the heart and the use of red alcohol so that it becomes the visual focal point/hook to draw viewers. |
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The main text says, “Can you hear it? Me neither.” It is a bit of a rhetorical question, as obviously you cannot hear the poster, aiming to emphasize the reality of a stopped/ damaged heart and connect directly to the imagery. I further split the poster so that on one side, the data “Up to 51% of students get alcohol from friends” is placed beneath “Can you hear it?” to encourage viewers to “listen” and become aware of how normalized underage drinking can be. It highlights the role of peer influence, which shows how common it is for teens to access alcohol through social circles."
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
Special Recognition: Drawing/Painting
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Title: The Cliff
Artist: Sherry Cao, 6th grade Quote from Artist: "I want my 2D art to show that substance use can be prevented and that loved ones play a huge part in helping. They can influence or pull you away. And in my drawing it shows a man on the tip reaching for the substance and all of his loved ones trying to pull him away. The shadows show how dark substances can make the world look and I hope it will influence lots of people, to just don't start on substances." |
Special Recognition: Creative 2D Art
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Title: Drugs Make You a Helpless Puppet
Artist: STELTY THEMES aka Darius Englund, 6th grade Quote from Artist: "Life offers so many joyful and exciting activities, such as walks in nature, social gatherings, watching a movie with friends, riding a bicycle or creating art. There’s an abundance of opportunity to feel good and self-empowered. But there is also a lurking danger. This danger is an illusion suggesting that substances can be a quick fix for a pressing problem, that they can make your troubles disappear and bring you “high.” People think they can escape their pain and feel better than they do in normal life when they use a substance. Or maybe they think it’s cool and exciting, that they can become more creative, happier. Really, substances can only offer relief for a moment, at best. Over time they will very likely create an uncontrollable addiction, bringing isolation and harm, self-destruction and even death. A person seeking the freedom of feeling good in truth becomes a puppet to the substances they use and abuse. They become controlled by their cravings and need for something outside of themselves, like lifeless puppets on strings." |
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Special Recognition: Video Production Skills
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Title: What I Didn't Do
Artists: Julia Keyes, Lauryn Brown, & Taylor Crumpacker, 11th grade |
Special Recognition: Strong Voice
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Title: The Complexity of Today Makes the Stability of Tomorrow
Artists: Lily Patel & Myan Duong, 9th grade |
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Special Recognition: Best Use of Data
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Title: Is It Worth It?
Artist: Seyeon Kim, 8th grade Quote from Artist: "My artwork depicts the unhealthy substances that are used by teens. The substances include a phone, a bottle of alcohol, and a drug pill. Inside a few of the larger substances are insets of what you lose when you use the substance. For example, inside the phone is a clock that represents you’re losing time. Moreover, the alcohol bottle has a letter grade “A” which conveys good grades going away. The cigarette box has a hand breaking free from a chain; showing that your losing self-dependence. My poster shows multiple insets which encourage viewers to question whether their valuables are worth sacrificing for one temporary moment. The fact I used for my artwork was “Statewide, more 8th graders who use illegal drugs report lower grades in school |
compared to those who don’t use.” This fact didn’t really shock me because it was obvious to me and I want it to be clear to others too. This fact influenced me to create a piece that shows future high school students the consequences of using these substances. The purpose of this poster is to help reduce the number of students using harmful substances. By illustrating what can be lost, I want students to know the impact of their decisions. The message I want to send is “Your decisions affect what matters most to you” and “Control your needs from your wants”. I also hope my artwork will encourage students to think carefully about their choices and to protect the people, goals, and opportunities that matter most in their lives."