WACO, TX — Epiphany Velasco and Mi'Kelle Rivers both love to paint, create and tell stories through art.
March is National Youth Art Month, and March 5 is dedicated as the day of honoring and recognizing all the art prodigies in the world. At Waco High School, Valesco and Rivers were both awarded checks because of their dedication to art.
The local shop, MC Art Supplies, gave $200 to each student for their creative efforts.
Valesco is currently painting a mural at her school. She said the inspiration for the mural comes from the word "respect."
"The root of all of this is respecting yourself unless you respect yourself, how are you going to respect others and how are people going to respect you?" Valesco said.
She won a contest at school to get her mural on the wall, and not only is she excited, but she is hoping to inspire other young artists.
"They really express themselves and represent how they really feel because sometimes words cant really express as much as art can," Valesco said.
Rivers also had a message to share. In her mural, she promoted the problem with gun violence in school.
She also asked others around the school, teachers, students and officers to place their hand print on the wall.
As more hands are placed on the mural, its showing how many are standing together in the fight against gun violence.
