WOODS CROSS—A local girl has been selected to showcase her art at the 53rd Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show at the Springville Museum of Art. Woods Cross High School senior Nicole Ilagan Mendoza won two prestigious awards in the contest, Best of Show for 2D and BYU David O. McKay School Education Award of Excellence for her piece,  “A Ride Home.”

Nicole Ilagan Mendoza with her award. Photo courtesy of Mendoza

 The exhibition, which ran through March 21, featured a wide range of over 300 artworks including drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photography and more. Selections were made from more than 1,000 submissions from 98 high schools throughout the state, according to a release.

“My art teacher suggested I submit something,” said Mendoza. “I did it last year too. I’ve always done art throughout my childhood. I explored it on my own and my art teachers encouraged me to submit my work to other galleries. I have artwork at the Eccles Art Center in Ogden also.”

Mendoza said her favorite medium is Gouache. “It’s a mix of acrylic and water color but it’s its own medium.”

Her piece, “Ride Home” is inspired by tricycles people ride in the Philippines. “They’re super fun to ride on,” Mendoza said. “You can feel the wind in your hair. It’s a memorable thing. My parents came from there so we go back every couple of years to visit family.”

“Ride Home” took about three weeks to finish, she said. “I spent about 35-40 hours. It also hung at the (Utah State) Capitol. After the gallery exhibit is done at Springville BYU will take it to their campus to hang. I’ll get a scholarship too.”

At Woods Cross she’s the SBO designer. “I help with service projects and school events,” said Mendoza. “I focus on visual design.”

Mendoza is planning on attending Utah State University after she graduates to study aerospace engineering. She is currently in the composites program at Davis Tech. “You work with carbon fiber and fiberglass,” she said. “It applies to aerospace engineering. I’ve always been interested in it and also space exploration. I want to build aircraft for that. I think it would be cool to do.”