Andrea Downer, Gleaner Writer

Staphanie Channer, winner in the category of the arts at the Kiwanis Club of Kingston Youth in excellence awards presentation ceremony at the Hilton Kingston hotel on Tuesday September 9. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Stephanie Channer is just 14 years old, but, already, she has placed first in at least four arts competitions and placed in the top three positions in several others. The 10th grader at St. Andrew High School won her first art competition when she was just 8 years old, when her poster won the top spot from among a field of 12 competitors from the Caribbean in a poster competition.

Artistic achievements

In 2002, she won first place in the Pan American Health Organisation's annual poster competition and placed third in an arts competition sponsored by The World Health Organisation the following year. Last Tuesday, she was recognised by the Kiwanis Club of Kingston for all her artistic achievements.

A beaming Stephanie, rivalled her sparkling white ensemble, flanked by her mom and dad, disclosed how she felt about being chosen for the award.

"It meant a lot, because it was a confirmation that I am doing well. I did not get runner-up, but I won!" She declared with a wide smile. "So it made me feel good about what I have been doing," she continued.

Stephanie's explained that her father, Edward Channer, who teaches art at a Corporate Area high school, provided some guidance as she prepared for each competition. But Stephanie said she has her own foolproof method, which so far has almost, always, ensured that she reaps success. She acknowledged that her mother, who is also a teacher, supports her artistic endeavours as well.

"I read the instructions carefully because there are different things that the organisers look for, different requirements," she explained. "Sometimes some posters require something different so you have to read the instructions properly and put in what they want and try to give them a poster as close as possible to what they want," she explained with surprising maturity.

Mr. Channer explained that of his two children, Stephanie is the one that has apparently inherited his artistic talents.

"A lot of people say she is a chip off the old block. My son, who is overseas attending college, does not do art, but from a young age, she would hang around me with her crayons and draw while I paint," he said with a smile.

Well for Stephanie, playing with her crayons paid off. At age eight, her crayon drawing, which she entered in a competition sponsored by the Kent Shipping Line in Canada, won her the top prize, and she has not looked back.

Confidence

"It was exciting for me to win that competition, because that was the first competition I won and it gave me confidence so that I could go on to win others," she stated, her cheeks punctuated by twin dimples. "As I won each award I felt I was getting better and I was developing my artistic talent. Each time, I tried to improve my technique," she stated.

She explained that she failed to place in the top three of only three of the competitions, which she has entered so far. According to Stephanie, she uses different techniques for each poster, including, pastels, crayola and sometimes a mixture of different techniques.

Already, Stephanie's work is being publicly displayed in Jamaica and other parts of the world. Her poster, titled, Violence is Preventable, which won her first place from among 125 entrants, has been reproduced as a mural over the entrance of the KRC/USAID Peace Centre in Grants Pen, St. Andrew and her poster, which won her third place in the United Nations Refugee Rights competition last year, is now on display in the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C., in the United States.

"I have a deep liking for arts, find it a very good way of expressing my feelings," she confessed.

The young artist has a sketchpad that is almost filled with pencil sketches and her parents said that when she was 12 years old, they eventually gave into her pleadings and allowed her to fill an entire wall in her bedroom with a wildlife mural. However, being an accomplished artist is just one of her career goals.

"I want to be a veterinarian and an artist," she revealed. "My goal is for my art pieces to be noticed and for them to have a positive impact on the entire world."

The Kiwanis Club of Kingston Youth in Excellence Awards aims to highlight and recognize Jamaican Youth who have achieved excellence in a number of areas, has several corporate sponsors including Cable & Wireless, the Gleaner Company, Guardian Life and RJR Communications Group and PETCOM.