Milford student's artwork will grace U.S. Capitol tunnel

A Milford High School student won first-place at the 11th Congressional District Art Competition and subsequently has earned the honor of having her artwork showcased in Washington D.C. for one year.

Senior Holly Downey took first-place for her “Self Portrait” painting at the competition held April 11-15. She will receive two tickets to Washington D.C. to see her work on display in the Connor Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol. The honor makes Downey eligible for a yearly renewable scholarship of $5,000 to the Savannah School of Art in Georgia.

“We used the computer as a tool to remanipulate the face and get away from a perfect portrait of themselves so there was some distortion and Holly’s results were very effective,” said Milford High School art teacher and competition coordinator Judi Levitt.

Downey had been enrolled in art classes throughout high school and has always shown an innate ability for art.

“She’s very skilled and a natural talent, as well,” Levitt said.

Fellow Milford High School senior Amira Hegazy won took third-place for her “Spherical Reflections” painting. Hegazy photographed a sunset, dropped water droplets on the photograph, then painted her vision with acrylic on canvas.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of young constituents, according to the website of U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Waterford, White Lake, Highland, Milford, Commerce, Wolverine Lake, Walled, Wixom), who represents the 11th Congressional District.

More than 650,000 high school students have participated in the nationwide competition.