Mira Costa, Redondo Union high schoolers win 1st, 2nd place at congressional art contest

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Local high school students took the top two spots in Rep. Ted Lieu's 12th annual Congressional Art Competition.

Hugh Saetia, a junior at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, took home gold for his piece "Denial," while Redondo Union High School sophomore Ayla Dowdell came in second with her painting "Weaving of Cultures."

Elizabeth Le, a senior at West High School in Torrance, finished in third place for "A Child's Mind."

The artists were recognized earlier this month during a Congressional Art Competition reception at the Otis College of Art and Design.

Saetia's art will be on display for a year in the U.S. Capitol, along with other winners from Congressional districts nationwide. He will be recognized at an awards ceremony in June in Washington D.C. The second and third place winners will have their art displayed for one year in Lieu's D.C. and local district offices.

All of the winners received scholarships and certificates.

"Each year, I am blown away by the creativity displayed in the students' artwork," Rep. Lieu said in a press release. "I am always excited to see the great talent of the students in our community; as I work in D.C. to represent the values and priorities of our district, it inspires me to see a piece of home hanging proudly in the halls of Congress."

Saetia uses art to honor people's lost loved ones, offering free oil painting portraits through his nonprofit, the Eternal Canvas Foundation.

The first place winner's artistry also pays homage to his late mother, and helps him continue coping with her death when he was 6 years old. Saetia's mother, Tammy, died from cancer, and his babysitter, Marilyn McAllister, became a maternal figure during his grief.

But then McAllister faced her own tragedy when her son, an off-duty security guard, was shot and killed following an altercation in front of a Hawthorne restaurant. Saetia wanted to give back to "this figure who did so much for me the best way I knew," he said previously. And that was through art.

So he painted a portrait of her son, Eddie McAllister, and granddaughter Candace McAllister. Soon after, at 14 years old, Saetia founded the Eternal Canvas Foundation to continue making meaningful art for grieving individuals in an official capacity.

Other South Bay high school students also took home honorable mentions, including Palos Verdes High School senior Natalie Soliman for her photograph "American Dream"; Mira Costa High junior Trevor Huo for his painting "Summer Day"; Redondo Union junior Eli Kano for his drawing "Seen"; and Redondo Union senior Keegan Zarefsky for a project called "Presidents Cup."

Students from 16 different high schools around California's 36th Congressional District, which comprises South Bay and West L.A. cities, submitted 135 pieces of art for this year's contest, including photographs, paintings, drawings, mixed-media pieces and digital art. The annual competition is open to all high school students who live in the state's 36th District.

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