Melissa Woodbridge, a 2011 graduate of McIntosh High School, entered the Creative Self-Expression Show contest, The Great Frame Up’s art competition last year and was one of the two finalists.
As one of the two winners, Woodbridge won a $2,000 scholarship and a trip to Santa Monica to meet Jane Seymour, the official spokesperson of the competition, earlier this summer.
Her piece “Surreal Self-Portrait” was done earlier in the school year as part of a project for the students in AP Studio Art and 2-D design to express themselves. Woodbridge chose to do something more abstract and depict the creative side of her life. She was the finalist selected from the school and from the local level, which sent her to compete against close to 350 pieces at the national level.
Woodbridge and the other finalist, Jennifer Smasne from East Valley High School in Newman Lake, Wash., got to meet Jane Seymour, paint with her and go out to dinner.
“We met Mr. Brainwash (a street artist and filmmaker) from the film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ at the restaurant,” Woodbridge said, describing the trip to Santa Monica and Los Angeles as awesome.
The win in the national contest was just one of many awards. She also received scholarships from the National Art Honor Society of Georgia and the Old Courthouse Art Show among others.
Woodbridge credited her art teacher, Bob Petersen, with directing her and other students to some of the scholarships that were available to them.
Woodbridge has headed off to the University of Georgia where she will major in Art.
“Eventually, I would like to double major in International Affairs and minor in Chinese,” Woodbridge said.
Her winning piece was framed by The Great Frame Up and was the first piece selected for McIntosh’s student gallery.
