Reflections is a national PTA program that helps support fine arts in school. Students from kindergarten through high school submit entries in up to 6 categories. 

Every entry must be an original piece based on the theme, "Accepting Imperfection," which is this year's theme created by the student entering Reflections. Every entry is blindly judged locally and can continue to be judged at our district level, state level, and finally nationally. 

If considering participation, please review the rules posted for the category you're interested in creating something for. There are art piece size limits/file size limits and other rules that are important to know.

Students also write Artist Statements for any art piece they would like to submit, which explains how their piece is related to the theme, "Accepting Imperfection," The written portion is actually judged more heavily than the art piece itself.

All pieces will be entered virtually using the Google Student Entry form linked on this site. If uploading a picture for Visual Arts, try to take the best picture possible. It is suggested to take it outside on a sunny day around 1-2PM so that there are no shadows. 

If your piece continues to District judging, we may collect it so that they have a physical piece to judge. Usually only mounted art pieces are collected.

CMS is proud to support the fine arts at our school and look forward to seeing the talent that we know CMS students possess. 

Please email, Kirsten Zoerhoff, CMS Reflections coordinator, at christensenreflections@gmail.com with any questions. 

1. Interpretation of Theme (40 points)
2. Creativity (30 points)
3. Technique (30 points)
   
   

The Artist Statement is just a little area in the Google Student Entry Form but it's also one of the most important parts of the whole project. The Artist Statement is a big deal! The judges read every single one to better understand how the artwork relates to the theme, and this helps them appreciate the thought that went into the artwork. Plus, more emphasis is placed on the Artist Statement than the piece itself during judging. How you interpret the theme is very important and the only way judges can understand your point of view is if you state it in the Artist Statement.

It is very important to take some time to write a good Artist Statement. Pieces can be moved forward all on the bases of the Artist Statement. Some students have a difficult time writing an artist statement so here are some questions to ask yourself to get you thinking in the right direction. You can answer all, some, or none of these questions, this is just to help you with the process of writing an Artist Statement. Use it as a starting point. Please remember that you need to write the statement and no one else (such as a parent/guardian/sibling/relative/friend).

• How did the theme inspire you to create this piece?

• What does the theme mean to you and how did you represent that in your piece?

• Did something happen to you, or a friend, or did you see something in the news to help inspire your answer to the theme? 

• Why did you make this artwork (ie draw, paint, dance, write etc.)?

• What does this piece mean to you?

Remember this is all about the artist (you) so it should be in first person "I". If there are any personal stories about why you created a piece, include it. Don't make this too difficult, keep it simple and honest. Inspiration is personal just like art, there is no right or wrong answer.