Coachella Valley students use fine arts to answer the question: What matters?

“What matters?”

It’s a big question for anyone to grapple with, let alone an adolescent.

Yet, the existential query was the theme of the 2nd Annual Fine Arts Spectacular organized by the Riverside County Office of Education.

Nearly 200 middle and high school art students across the county were prompted to visually communicate what matters to them, and several Coachella Valley students were recognized as winners for exceptional submissions. Others were named finalists. Their work was displayed at College of the Desert earlier in May, and digital copies of their pieces as well as those of finalists from across the county are viewable in an online gallery at bit.ly/3ajLwcf.

Students were asked to represent what matters to them personally, locally or globally, socially, societally or politically.

For instance, Rancho Mirage High School 10th grader Mia Martinez eschewed desert themes in favor of her award-winning pastel illustration of ocean pollution.

"I wanted to show that sea mammals experience pollution in their habitats, and it can be very harmful," Martinez told The Desert Sun.

Whereas Martinez took on a marine issue, Cathedral City High School senior Kaylee Wheeler sought to capture her relationship to the built environment in her glazed ceramic piece "Serenity in the City."

"Art allows me to unwind and be creative at the same time," Wheeler said. "Since these are very stressful times, I selected calm cool colors on the inside. The gray and black on the outside reflect the architecture of the city."

Meanwhile, Cathedral City High School junior Kimberly Torres recreated the Japanese manga character Naruto out of shattered glass to represent a favorite pastime she shares with her brother.

"My brother and I love the show 'Naruto,' and it is one of the main things we love bonding with," Torres said. "To most people (my artwork) just looks like a character from a show, but to me it’s a reminder of the bonds I have with my family from common interest."

Below are the winning works of Coachella Valley students:

Jazmine Bojorquez, Palm Springs High School — Judge’s Favorite

Mia Martinez, Rancho Mirage High School — Judge's Favorite

Jasmine Lopez, Desert Hot Springs High School — Originality

Kimberly Torres, Cathedral City High School — Quality Craftsmanship

Kaylee Wheeler, Cathedral City High School — Quality Craftsmanship

Sarah Garibay, Desert Hot Springs High School — Meaningful Use of Materials

Alexa Duque, Palm Springs High School — Best Use of Black and White

Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com or @Writes_Jonathan.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: High school students use fine arts to answer what matters to them