Schools

Whiz Kid: Harding Middle School Student Takes Top Art Award

Jacob Corder traveling to New York City in May to be honored for his jewelry work.

Every week, Lakewood Patch will honor a Whiz Kid in our community. Don't forget to submit your own nominations for outstanding kids who make Eagle Scout, aced a hard test, or led their CYO team to victory. Email colin.mcewen@patch.com with your nominations or enter them in the comments below.

This week's Whiz Kid comes to us from Harding Middle School.

NAME: Jacob Corder

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SCHOOL: Harding Middle School

ACCOMPLISHMENT: Jacob Corder brought home top honors as a national Gold Medal winner in the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The eighth-grader’s jewelry work — a felted ring with a detailed metalwork base and felted earrings — was selected out of 1,500 that advanced from the regional competitions in January.

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This isn’t your run-of-the-mill honor. 

More than 185,000 works were submitted from more than 50,000 students in grades 7-12 from across the country. The entries were judged by professional artists based on originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision and voice.

Even though he’s in middle school, Jacob is no stranger to accolades for his art. At 11 years old, he took second place for a silk painting he entered in the Starry Night art exhibition. He’s also sold a paper mache animal to Pioneer Savings Bank, which hung in its lobby.

For his latest achievement, Corder will be honored along with the other national winners at a ceremony in May at Carnegie Hall.

“We’re very proud,” said Jacob’s mom, Julie Corder. “We were thrilled with getting the award at the regional level, the national is just icing on the cake.”

KEY TO AWESOMENESS: Corder’s pieces have special meaning to the Corder family. The ring includes three felt “hills” with faces that represent his mother, his sister and himself. The earrings, one of which is a cloud with sunshine and the other a cloud with rain, are a tribute to his mother.

For his project, Jacob said that his mom — a single mother — was the inspiration for his project.

“The meaning of this piece was to thank my mother,” he said. “I want to give her the honor for this award.”

And how does mom feel about that? “It reduced me to tears,” she said. “It was the most touching thing I’ve ever heard.”

The Corders are a family of artists. The sunroom of the family home has been converted into an art studio where, Jacob and his older sister, Rachel, work on their crafts.

They both take classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

“We always kind of look at art as a cathartic, therapeutic avenue to help balance life,” said Julie Corder. “Art is something we can all enjoy together.

Want to see more of Jacob’s work? Many of his pieces will be featured at Local Girl Gallery in Lakewood — where Jacob spends a good portion of his time — for a show of his work at the end of June.


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