Othello art student earns trip to state show

OTHELLO - Othello High School senior Janellie Pruneda's first-ever entry won the regional Student Art Show and is on display at the 39th Annual Superintendent's Art Show in Olympia.

Pruneda won the Southeast regional with her charcoal drawing of a half-human, half-tiger she called "Hybrid." Her favorite subjects are "animals and people. That's why I combined them together," she said. The design was inspired by a music video where one of the performers was wearing a unicorn head, she said.

Janellie said she sent in her entries and thought that would be end of it. "I didn't even know (my entry would win). So it was a surprise."

"She competed with Tri-City-area art students," said teacher Michael Lewis, both in the art show and for a scholarship offered by the Allied Arts Council in Richland. Pruneda won the $375 Allied Arts scholarship as well, and is part of a show that will be up through the end of this week, Lewis said.

Janellie said her interest in art really picked up when she entered Othello High School. "I really got into it, because Mr. Lewis showed me a lot of new techniques."

She learned that she loved art. "When I do art, there's like a glow going through me. You get this energy. You don't know what time it is. You just keep going."

But not all art mediums are created equal. "Pencil is really fun. I've done stained glass, but I really hate it. I've done ceramics, and that's amazing. Photography - no. I don't like photography," she said.

Pruneda said she plans to attend Washington State University next fall. "I want to be a zoologist and an artist." She's taking art classes in addition to the zoology courses, she said.

She wants to continue with art because she's still got a lot to explore, she said. "I feel like I'm barely starting. I haven't even really gotten into it."