Coneys Wins First Place in
Suffolk Art Contest
Marie Coneys is a gifted artist. The Huntington High School senior won a first place award in the Suffolk County Art Leaders Association's annual contest for her colorful digital collage. The honor carried with it a $50 stipend.
The SCALA All County & Mary Reay Scholarship Show at the Brookhaven Amphitheatre & Cultural Arts Center at Bald Hill in Farmingville drew hundreds of entries from many of Suffolk's top young artists. Ms. Coneys' work, titled "Deconstructed Human Deluge," clearly impressed the panel of judges
The Huntington senior submitted a digital collage in SCALA's graphics division. "My collage included different elements, such as line patterns, flowers, water and a woman," Ms. Coneys said. "Collage is one of my favorite things to do in my free time, so Ms. [Kasmira] Mohanty encouraged us to try it digitally."
The teenager is enrolled in three art courses this year, including Advanced Placement 2D with Ms. Mohanty, a Huntington High School art teacher. She is also taking Drawing & Painting with teacher Kristin Singer and Advanced Photography with teacher Pam Piffard.
Ms. Coneys has become adept at taking advantage of all the many tools at her disposal. "I use programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to work with different images and experiment," she said.
In less than three months, Ms. Coneys' time at Huntington High School will come to an end. "I will be attending Hunter College on a full scholarship under their new Muse Scholars program," she said. "There are only 30 students accepted per year and although I thought of going to a strictly art school, I liked the idea of expanding to a university setting where I could continue studying both liberal arts and fine arts."
Ms. Coneys plans to major in art or graphic design at Hunter. She is already selling pieces of her work on her website.