OLD FORGE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Kids often discover art by coloring with crayons, but there is something else about art that they discover along the way, their creativity.
For one local teen, that creativity is gaining her national recognition.
17-year-old Rhianna Kupetz seems right at home inside the art room at Old Forge Junior/Senior High School. She is familiar with several art mediums, including batik, by using soy wax and cheesecloth.
She also dabbles in linoleum printing under the watchful eye of Old Forge Jr./Sr. High school art teacher Anne Guida.
"She just takes it to the next level, and it's amazing. It's great to see," said Guida.
"Yeah, she does really push me, and I feel like a lot of the projects are very different than stuff that I would normally do at home," said Rhianna.
You would have a hard time finding a form of art that Rihanna is not adept at, but if you ask what her favorite art medium is, she would tell you…
"Probably painting. I think painting with acrylics," said Rhianna.
Acrylic painting is the medium Rhianna chose to make a gift for her mother. Inspired by an unusual find in her mom's garden.
"She grows her own vegetables and stuff, and she found a potato that was shaped like a heart, so I thought it would be really cute to paint and give it to her for Christmas," explained Rhianna.
After taking a photo of her mother holding the heart-shaped potato, Rhianna got to work.
"I began tracing it out on canvas and then, like, building out different layers and painting it on," explained Rhianna.
The labor of love took about a month to make. After giving her mom the painting, you'd have a hard time "drawing up" what happened next.
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"It's insane to think about. I never thought that would happen, like, especially so young. It's mind-boggling," said Rhianna.
Ms. Guida saw the painting's potential. She encouraged Rihanna to submit it for the annual congressional art competition. The painting, now called "Potato Heart", was chosen to represent the 8th congressional district.
A ceremony was held in April at the Everhart Museum in Scranton before Rihanna's artwork made its way to Washington, D.C. It is being displayed in the Halls of Congress with other award-winning works of students nationwide.
"I can't imagine how many people are going to see this artwork that she created. I can't imagine how many people are going to walk through those halls and look at that and say 'Oh'. Maybe it will remind them of northeast Pennsylvania, and that's what goes on here because I think it captures it perfectly," said Donna Kupetz, Rhianna's mother.
For her achievement, Rihanna received a certificate from the Old Forge School Board and District.
"To have your artwork recognized as an artist it's, it's what you hope for, and just all of her hard work and all of her dedication, and to see that recognition, it's great," said Guida.
Rhianna has served as president of her school's drama club. She has also served as secretary of the Leo Club, the student version of the Lions Club. And now she serves as something else: a congressional art competition winner.
"Yeah, that's crazy. I don't know. I'm just so shocked," said Rhianna.
Rhianna says she will attend West Chester University to study studio arts. In the meantime, she plans to go to Washington, D.C., next week to see her painting, "Potato Heart" on display at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Here's to you, Rhianna.
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