Southeastern Regional Vocational Tech High School Student Selected for Art All State Massachusetts

(South Easton) – Rui Shi, a junior at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Design and Visual Communications (DVC), has been selected by a panel of art teachers from across Massachusetts to participate in Art All State at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth on June 12 and 13, 2015. The 2-day event will host 145 talented high school juniors working together with 16 mentors to create collaborative art works, get a better understanding of art related careers, and receive direct knowledge of contemporary art forms. The event will culminate with a reception and public viewing of their work.

Rui’s qualification process began when his DVC instructor, Mrs. Shirley Ezerins, shared the invitation to apply for Art All State with her junior class. Students were required to submit artwork samples, including a self-portrait. A written portion consisted of completing short essay questions. A letter of recommendation from his current art teacher and another individual were also among the list of requirements. Along with a self-portrait pencil sketch, Rui chose to submit an intricately detailed portrait of a white tiger, which he meticulously etched into “scratchboard” - a white cardboard with a thin black veneer - until the highly defined 3-D drawing was revealed.

“I’m really appreciative that Mrs. Ezerins helped me rehearse for my interview. I talked to the judges about my art, and they learned more about my personality and achievements,” he said. “I was accepted to attend Art All State.”

Rui, an exchange student with Youth for Understanding, was born and raised in Beijing, China. He appreciates his year at Southeastern Regional. “I learned about technical skills I couldn’t have learned in China. I learned to draw, paint, and make a lot of art works. I learned computer programs like Adobe Photoshop, Premiere and Illustrator and video editing.” He will return to China to complete high school, then hopes to return to the United States to major in Industrial Design at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburg or Rhode Island School of Design.”

Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School is a public 9-12 vocational high school located in South Easton, Massachusetts, serving approximately 1,400 students from the City of Brockton and the towns of East Bridgewater, Easton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, Sharon, Stoughton and West Bridgewater.