Exchange Student’s Art Gets National Attention

[Teacher Mark 53]

I was worried when I found out this young man was going to be studying in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Not quite "artsie" enough! Turns out it was a good place for him after all.

December 19, 2010

By Keith Purtell Phoenix Staff Writer The Muskogee Phoenix Sun Dec 19, 2010, 12:26 AM CST

Foreign exchange student Quan Phan has made a big impression in his art class at Muskogee High School and is receiving national attention.

The 16-year-old senior arrived in Muskogee from Vietnam in August. After art teacher Jennifer Marple suggested he try acrylic paint, he created a painting titled “Vietnamese Spring.”

Marple submitted his painting and work by two other students to a competition held by the Crayola Corporation called the Crayola Dream-Makers Art Exhibition. Phan was one of three national finalists in his grade level.

Phan said he got the news two weeks ago. He had tried to put a lot of meaning into the image.

“I’m really excited, and I’m glad that everyone likes my painting,” he said. “On the left side is a picture of a market, which is a symbol of South Vietnam. On the right side is a one-pillar pagoda, which is one of the most famous chapel in our country. It stands for the northern part of my country.”

The center of the painting features a girl wearing traditional clothing with a dominant dragon design. Phan said the dragon represents Asian culture.

“I named it ‘Vietnamese Spring’ because it is almost spring in Vietnam, and during the spring a new cycle begins, and everything is reborn.”

Phan said he first got interested in art during elementary school.

“That was the time I started drawing and getting used to color and art competition,” he said. “I usually do landscapes, and sometimes I do pictures of people or still life. I do about one a week. A large picture takes two to three weeks.”

Phan said he lives in Ho Chi Minh City, where his father is manager of a paper company and his mother is an engineer with a Vietnamese airline company. He said he and his parents have different ideas about what he should study in college.

“It will be art or biology,” he said. “My parents try to guide me to go to biology because in Vietnam to be in art it’s not easy to find a job.”

Phan said his art class at Muskogee High School has given him a chance to try new techniques.

“In Vietnam I used watercolor and oil pastel,” he said. “Here, I am trying to use a lot of different materials. I am also trying some charcoal.”

Phan said he already knew something about American culture before he came here from television, movies and games. He said people in the United States have made him feel welcome, especially the Tschirhart and the Owen families in Tahlequah and Gallegos family in Muskogee.

Marple said she was pleased to see how much talent Phan has.

“In the morning we have bellwork activities; the kids have activities to do as soon as the bell rings, and he always blew it out of the water,” she said. “I go around every day and take credits on their work. Quan is always working as long as I allow.”

Marple said Phan has sparked some excitement in the art classes.

“He’s extremely creative and very driven,” she said. “I think Quan’s painting kind of inspires the other students to feel like they’re capable of the same quality of work.”

Marple said that Phan’s painting already is part of a U.S. Department of Education exhibit as a result of his placing in the Crayola competition.

Reach Keith Purtell at 684-2925 or kpurtell@muskogeephoenix.com.

http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1707769739/Exchange-student-s-art-gets-national-attention

Muskogee High School senior Quan Phan explains the symbolism in his winning painting titled “Vietnamese Spring.”

Staff photo by Keith Purtell

“Vietnamese Spring.”

Staff photo by Keith Purtell