Inspiration and imagination can be expressed in many mediums, especially in the world of art. Roa Lee, a sixth-grader form Loma Linda, California, explored her imagination to craft her vision of the future of human spaceflight and created a grand-prize winning work for NASA’s Langley Research Center’s annual Student Art Contest.
“I was inspired by the theme of exploration because I imagined what it would be like for someone like me to become an astronaut,” she said. “I thought it would be really cool and exciting to go up into space and see the different planets, the stars, and Earth from thousands of miles away.”
Roa, who attends Cope Middle School in Redlands, California, was a first-time entrant in the annual competition. Before she learned about this contest, she said didn’t really have much interest in space because she never really learned that much about it in school.
“However, as I was doing research to figure out what kind of artwork to make, I became more interested in learning about space,” she said. “I think it would be really cool to visit space one day and explore different planets outside of Earth. There is so much to learn that we haven’t even discovered yet!”
There were 764 entries that were submitted from hundreds of children in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with 13 students earning first-place honors in grade levels K-12 and the opportunity to be considered for the grand prize, said Kristina Cors, Langley Student Art Contest coordinator.
“This year’s entries were our best yet,” she said. “The detail and imagination that each student put into their artwork was fantastic!”
This year’s art contest theme, “Explore,” was intended to get the students to explore the furthest reaches of the unknown and illustrate their vision of the future in aeronautics, space exploration and Earth science, Cors said.
“Each piece, from kindergarten to 12th grade, was absolutely wonderful,” she said.
Roa’s work, which depicts a young girl dreaming about being an astronaut while doing schoolwork, used different kinds of materials like pencils, watercolor, ripped newspaper clippings, color pencils, acrylic paint, markers and glue.
Roa said that people always think of space with math and science, but they don’t always connect it to art.
“However, I think art is important when it comes to space as well because you need to be creative in order to think of new ways to help make discoveries while you explore,” she said. “Therefore, it’s important to have all kinds of knowledge and keep on dreaming of your goals, so they can become a reality someday.”
Roa will continue to explore her thoughts using art, as it is both fun and a creative expressive outlet for her. She also bakes cupcakes and makes slime as other creative hobbies.
“Because I am shy, I have a hard time expressing myself by talking to others, but art gives me a chance to show what I am thinking without having to use words, and I think that is really great,” she said.
For her grand-prize victory, Roa received a custom plaque, and a NASA Exploration Package of posters, pens, stickers, patches and lapel pins. Her artwork will be displayed at the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, Virginia.
The second-place overall winner was Viva Rathod, a fourth-grade student from Skillman, New Jersey, whose artwork depicts a stylized evolution of humankind from the stone age to the space age and beyond. The third-place overall winner was Keyi Chen, a seventh-grade student from Etiwanda, California, whose artwork shows an astronaut in space gathering planets and the stars in a shopping cart.
The 13 grade-level winners were selected by a panel of five judges from the Hampton Roads art community, and the grand champion was picked by more than 500 Langley employees. Each piece was evaluated on originality, interpretation of subject matter/theme, creative techniques, composition and overall art appearance.
- To view a gallery of the art contest entries, click here.
Eric Gillard
NASA Langley Research Center