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Sarah Vaughn has done something no student has done in more than 30 years.
Vaughn, a senior from Olney studying art, is $20,000 richer after showing Rickert-Ziebold Award Competition judges her artistic abilities in glass blowing. She is the first sole winner of the prize money since 1975.
Vaughn, who beat out 17 other students for the award, said she was consumed by disbelief when she was announced as the only winner. Two fellow students had to catch her as she fell backwards and nearly fainted, she said.
Vaughn said she was in a state of hysteria and called her father at work because it was the easiest number to remember. The secretary at her father's office told Vaughn she couldn't talk with him because he was on the other line, but promptly sent her through when she stated she won $20,000. Even then, Vaughn said her father was astonished.
"He made me say it four times," she said.
"A Moment of Choice," the piece Vaughn entered into the show, was made from a little less than 16 pounds of glass and is pinned up against the walls of the Surplus Gallery in the Glove Factory in segments, which resembles a vein-like structure creeping across the wall and floor.
Vaughn said she spent a month making the piece, and some days she worked for 18 hours. She made it with the intention that the white wall would represent a mind, and the vein-like structure would represent fears creeping into someone's life. The inspiration came at a time in her life when she felt she needed to take control of her own fears, she said.
"It's kind of about what I saw happening in my head," she said.
Vaughn said she would use the awarded money to pay for her summer tuition at Pilchuck Glass School, buy a kiln and help pay for graduate school.
Ed Shay, a professor in art and design who has been at the university for nearly 30 years, said this year's contest was one of the finest and praised the students for the art they submitted.
"This may be the very best year that we've ever had," he said. "It was an extraordinary group of presentations."
Carroll Cass, a senior from Alton studying art, said she had three paintings in the exhibition. Her work depicts 1950s style dresses and shoes in an attempt to shed light on women's issues, she said. For example, one painting shows the shoes and dresses in a scene with luggage, which Cass said illustrates the baggage women carry with them.
"They're really talking about women's issues and things I've - as the older I get - issues that I never thought would be issues for me," she said.
Cass said she felt proud she made it to the show and said the art was incredible. Cass also said she was proud of Vaughn, who she said deserved the award for her piece.
"It's incredible, it's amazing," she said. "I watched her tack it up all day and I just couldn't believe it, and I'm just so happy for her."
ryan_rendleman@dailyegyptian.com 536-3311 ext. 268
