Erika Miranda loves art.
And it shows.
The Manteca High School Senior was one of a handful of students that won the “Best of Show” award at the school’s annual “Evening of the Arts” presentation Monday at the Dr. Robert C. Winter Gymnasium.
While Miranda says she enjoys the ability to be creative and just lose herself in the process, she has a very specific source of inspiration when he puts an implement to a surface.
Jazz music.
“I see art as a release, and I really love to lose myself to music – I use the jazz music of Melody Gardot as inspiration for a lot of the things that I’ve worked on,” Miranda said. “Her music had a big impact on my work and it makes that much better for me to be able to focus on the things that I’m trying to accomplish.”
Students from each art discipline at Manteca High School had the chance to showcase the items they’ve been working on in class – whether that  involved painting a pair of Vans or entering pictures that they took as a part of their curriculum.
According to Carol Creighton, Manteca’s photography and digital production teacher, the evening allows students who might not perform as well athletically or academically to show their individual talents.
“I think events like these are great because it gives every student a chance to shine and show what it is that they happen to be good at,” Creighton said. “As a teacher to see a student that didn’t know anything about art or photography or anything like that find something that they can express themselves through is amazing.”
The event also showcased that art includes a lot more than just a pencil or paints on parchment or canvas.
On top of standard drawings, entries included multimedia projects, automated drafting and design projects, 3-D Art entries and abstract creations. One entire section was dedicated to socially conscious artworks, while another was dedicated to more intricate, detailed work like etching.
At the end of the day, each piece, according to Manteca High freshman Sergio Ramirez, tells a different story and showcases the talents of their respective creators.
“The uniqueness and the awesomeness make these so much fun to look at, and give you a chance to discuss each of them,” he said. “I personally like the abstract art myself, but there’s a lot of things here that are amazing.”