Novi student places in county art contest

NOVI — Lisa Chai, who recently graduated from Novi High School, placed third in the annual Oakland County Treasurer’s Financial Literacy Arts Contest.

The Treasurer’s Office worked in partnership with Oakland Schools, Flagstar Bank and the Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency for the contest, which was open to all students attending a public high school in Oakland County. The students were asked to submit 2-D and multimedia or video pieces of art that incorporated the theme of the importance of financial empowerment.

Chai said she found out about the contest through her International Baccalaureate visual arts class. She said that at first she was a little hesitant because the contest was about financial literacy and she was unsure how she could incorporate that theme into her artwork.

“I did take a finance class in high school, so I feel that connecting those concepts with my artwork actually worked out well, because I had an actual financial literacy background,” said Chai.

Chai said she took inspiration from past submissions, as well as the things she learned in her finance class. She said she had to “think deeper.” She said she came up with the concept of a fist holding money, to show that when you have financial discipline, it empowers you and gives you strength.

“No matter what you take out of finance class, you won’t be successful unless you actually have the discipline of following through,” said Chai. “So, I took the whole discipline aspect into my artwork.”

In order to get the perfect drawing, Chai had her friends pose, and she took a lot of pictures at different angles of their clenched fists, with hands and arms and money. She said the final artwork shows a hand clasped around a $5 bill, while another hand is trying to steal the money. Chai said she referenced several of the photos in the final image and sketched it using pencil and charcoal.

“Lisa is just a very dedicated art student. She is really focused and talented,” said Novi High School art teacher Erin Harbar. “I really feel like if she chooses, she could make art a career. I know for sure she is going to at least keep it as a passion for the rest of her life. She is just an all-around great young lady.”

Chai was one of 91 students in the county who participated in the contest, according to a release from the Treasurer’s Office. The art submissions included drawings, paintings, photography, mixed media, illustrations and videos, the release states.

“This year’s art submissions were extremely creative and underscored the importance of financial education and empowerment,” Oakland County Treasurer Robert Wittenberg said in a press release. “Congratulations to the students for their extraordinary talent and incredible art entries.”

“I really am impressed with the contest. I think financial literacy is an important topic,” said Harbar. “Also, what I think is most impressive is they offer really good cash prizes. It is unusual for that much money to go for a high school and lower grade contest. So, it’s a great opportunity for students. I actually wish more students would take advantage of it. Hopefully, in the future they will.”

According to the release, entries were judged on creativity, artistic execution and the incorporation of the financial empowerment theme.

“There are ways that you can become more successful, more financially independent in life, but it is really about the effort you put in — making sure you follow a budget, a master plan, make sure you’re keeping yourself in line with your financial decisions. That will make you successful,” Chai said of the importance of financial literacy. “Back to the whole discipline concept, I feel like many people overlook that and just automatically think that in order to be successful, you need to have a good-paying salary, whereas you can really be successful if you just strive to be diligent in your spendings.”

For her third-place finish Chai was given a $500 scholarship, which she will be using for her tuition at Michigan State University. She said she will be majoring in experience architecture, which she said is similar to web design architecture and is more commonly known as UI or UX design.