Wylie junior Caitlin Farr became the second student in Wylie High School history to earn a Gold Seal at the Texas Visual Arts Scholastic Event State (VASE) state competition on April 25. Her horse sculpture, made through MIG and stick welding (the use of electric arc to melt metal)
and random pieces of metal, was one of 151 art pieces to earn the coveted Gold Seal.
WHS art teacher Alexis Hughes said at the onset of this year’s VASE competition more than 32,000 students entered art with only 2,154 art pieces advancing to compete at the state-level.
“So, she is in the top seven percent of artists in Texas to receive this achievement for her talent,” said Hughes.
Farr said the idea for her sculpture came from a combination of a desire to create something out of the ordinary and but also something very familiar to her.
“I knew from the start of the year I wanted to do something different than what’s usually viewed at VASE, and naturally, I chose a horse because growing up around them I understood their anatomy the best,” said Farr. “I also love western art.”
Farr completed most of the welding at home, but with WHS Ag Mechanics teacher Cody Smith’s support, she was able to access tools she didn’t have at home and add the skill of stick welding to her repertoire.
“I learned MIG at home, but thanks to Mr. Smith, I also picked up stick,” said Farr. “He even let me use the plasma cutter for pieces of the neck; the rest of the horse was made at home.”
Outside of the sheet metal, Farr collected the rest of the metal materials from around her house.
“The sheet metal used on the neck and ears was from the Ag shop and the rest I found around our horse barn…some of the pieces are a long shank snaffle bit for the jaw, a short high port spade bit (inside the head), as well as a wrecking bar, horse shoes, nuts and washers, a hoe, as well as an old metal stirrup for the base of the neck.”
This was Farr’s second year to compete at VASE, so she was familiar with the level of talents she would be competing among, which made receiving the Gold Seal even sweeter.
“At first, I was blown away,” said Farr. Going to VASE the year before, a ‘Gold Seal’ just kind of seemed out of reach for me, and I was okay with that. But when Mrs. Camp told me I got it, all I could do was smile – knowing that I was capable of working on a piece worthy of that kind of recognition. Once I found I was only the second person [in Wylie history] to receive the award, I was ecstatic!”