ABERDEEN — Drawing on some of her inner fears and utilizing modern art tools, Mitchell High School sophomore Dailyn Kiner made an impression recently at an art competition in Aberdeen.
The 15-year-old earned an honorable mention recognition at the 30th Annual High School Art Workshop and Competition at Northern State University in Aberdeen last week, securing a placing among around 150 high school art students from around South Dakota.
Kiner created the piece “Commander: Death of Many” using digital tools and calling on inspiration from her own personal fears. She took that spark and formed a kind of self-portrait, with her own likeness shown being embraced by a cartoonishly twisted smiling figure behind her.
“I have a fear of monsters and people taking over. I know it’s a little bit of a darker one,” Kiner said. “It’s a nightmare.”
While she admits the subject matter of the art may be a little macabre, the piece still struck a chord with judges at the competition — which was coincidentally held on Halloween — and secured her a solid placing among the other student submissions at the contest.
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Kiner said she has been interested in art since she was about five years old. She grew up among siblings who were also deeply into art, and they encouraged her to follow her own artistic path and embrace her own brand of creativity.
Submitted Artwork
“I’ve been interested in art since I turned five. Of course, I had my older siblings to help me along with that, because they’re also big into art,” Kiner said. “But I’ve been doing it ever since I was little.”
Digital art is a growing medium among artists, and while she enjoys working with other more traditional materials, creating in the digital realm gives her more flexibility that she can then apply to her creations.
“I do a lot of traditional art, as well, but sometimes I just feel it’s easier on digital to put more textures into it,” Kiner said.
Kiner is looking at using her art skills as part of a future career. She said she had actually submitted the “Commander: Death of Many” piece as part of a scholarship application and has thoughts of becoming an art teacher herself.
Marica Shannon, an art teacher at Mitchell High School, said her student did a great job of producing a mature piece at a relatively young age, even among fellow high school students. The honorable mention notice at the contest is testament to that, she said.
“I was excited for her. Her work is outstanding for the age she is, to show the maturity she possesses in that work,” Shannon said. “It’s exciting to see that engagement and growth as she grows into her style and technique. It’s exciting to see that encouragement for her.”
She also noted that Kiner works to perfect her craft on her own time, working independently outside the classroom in addition to her school studies. She also praised the support Kiner receives from family and friends.
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“This is something she does independently in addition to the work she does in the classroom. She has her own studio at home and certainly is supported by her family and friends to pursue the arts,” Shannon said.
Nadya Preszler, an instructor of art at Northern State University who specializes in photography, art education and drawing, said the judges for the competition looked at a number of different factors when selecting students like Kiner for recognition.
“The digital artwork created by Dailyn Kiner was selected based on the artist’s technical skills, the accuracy of the portrait, style of illustration, and the ability to express an idea or content in a digital format,” Preszler said in an email.
The event allows students to submit two pieces of art for the Virtual Art Exhibition. The art faculty at Northern State choose the top-50 to be displayed on the NSU Art Department Facebook page. The school also hosts a workshop in conjunction with the competition. The workshop is free and focuses on a variety of media taught at Northern State.
Monetary awards are given out to top finishers, including $500 for first, $250 for second and $100 for third. There are 10 honorable mention awards given out over the course of the day.
Events like the one on Oct. 31 are a great way to recognize students outside their home classrooms, Preszler said.
“I think it is important to highlight the talent of young artists and to give them recognition for their ideas and abilities,” Preszler said.
Erik Kaufman joined the Mitchell Republic in July of 2019 as an education and features reporter. He grew up in Freeman, S.D., graduating from Freeman High School. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1999 with a major in English and a minor in computer science. He can be reached at ekaufman@mitchellrepublic.com.