Notre Dame student’s art to go up in downtown Pontiac

Notre Dame junior one of only 25 chosen to be part of Canvas Pontiac’s public art competition.

Destiney Sandle’s artwork, which she calls “Stoic,” is rendered with colored pencils and gold leaf. It will be reproduced and enlarged into one of 25 eight-foot-by-10-foot canvases that will be scattered around downtown Pontiac.

Destiney Sandle, a junior in Notre Dame’s upper division and a member of the school’s International Baccalaureate art course of study, has earned a coveted spot in downtown Pontiac for one of her drawings in a program of public art.

Destiney Sandle is taking art through Notre Dame’s International Baccalaureate program.

Sponsored by the Pontiac Downtown Business Association and called “Canvas Pontiac,” organizers receive entries from all over the country and say their goal ultimately is to bring the program international prominence.

“Last year our call for artists was seen by over 1,000 people,” said program administrators. “The contest pulls artists, professional and amateur, from as far away as Florida and Arizona, as well as those right here in our own neighborhoods.”

Sandle’s artwork, which she calls “Stoic,” is rendered with colored pencils and gold leaf. It will be reproduced and enlarged into one of 25 eight-foot-by-10-foot canvases that will be scattered around downtown Pontiac. Her work also is qualified for one of three grand prizes from Canvas Pontiac totaling $2,000, $1,000 or $500 as well as a possible best-of-show prize of $500. Sandle’s “Stoic” also earned a Gold Key in the most recent Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.

Now in its fifth season overall, Canvas Pontiac is in its second year of including a sub-contest for all five of the high schools located in the general Pontiac geographic area through a collaborative effort with the DIA.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.