Four students in the Sam Fox School's College of Art will have their work featured in the annual student show at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators from May 5-29, as part of the 2010 Student Scholarship Competition.

Entries by David Brunell-Brutman, Michael Hirshon (who had two selected entries), Jon Rothenberg, and Louise Smythe, all senior-year undergraduate students, were among the 199 total juried images selected from a field of 6,200 entries.

"The Society of Illustrators represents the highest standard of contemporary and historical illustration for our field — everyone in our business dreams of being shown in the Society of Illustrators gallery," said John Hendrix, assistant professor of communication design. "The SI annual scholarship show is the most prominent student illustration competition in the industry. To have four students selected is a stellar accomplishment for these seniors."

The same jury that selected images for inclusion in the student exhibition will review the original art on March 8 and select about 30 winners of cash prizes.

For Smythe, having her gouache-and-ink piece "Sophie" selected for the show reinforced the value of intuition to an artist. 

"Of the five labored pieces I submitted, the one that made it was a gift I painted on a whim for my dad's birthday," Smythe recalled. "At first I was confused, because the other pieces I sent seemed to have more conceptual depth. But the piece that made it was the product of relaxation and trust; it reinforced the fact that sometimes going with your gut instinct can be the most rewarding.

"David Mamet wrote, 'Only the mind that has been taken off itself and put on a task is allowed true creativity.' I am beginning to understand this."

The judges for the 2010 Student Scholarship Competition are: David Flaherty, Heather Jones, Steve Belledin, Ellen Weinstein, Katherine Streeter, Laura Tallardy, Mitch Hooks, Dan Dos Santos, Laura Zarrow, Alan Witchonke, Ronald J. Cala, Q.Cassetti, Jackie Decker, Martha Rich, Melinda Beck, Anthony Palumbo, Daniel Pelavin, Betsy Lewin, Zina Saunders, James Yang, Nancy Stahl, Steve Stroud, Otto Steininger, Winona Nelson, and Angela Martini.