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Ashlea is wired for art

Ashlea McGrath with her life-size sculpture, which won the Acquisitive Art Prize atCranbourne Secondary College.Ashlea McGrath with her life-size sculpture, which won the Acquisitive Art Prize atCranbourne Secondary College.

By Sarah Schwager
A CRANBOURNE student has celebrated the end of her year 12 with a significant art prize.
Ashlea McGrath, 18, decided to do something a bit out of the ordinary for her VCE Studio Arts project last year.
Inspired by the theme ‘Just Me’, Ashlea made a sculpture of herself with galvanised wire, shaded with colourful ribbons.
“The wire is quite plain. The ribbon adds a bit of vibrancy,” she said. “It’s not only simple but it depicts me very well and is life size.”
The piece was very different from her normal traditional art style – her first wire piece and her first sculpture.
Ashlea said while she had fun making the sculpture she had definitely paid for the feat, sporting many cuts from the wire.
The Cranbourne Secondary College student was honoured when she won the Acquisitive Art Prize at the school.
The school has now bought the artwork from her for $250.
“I’m sad to part with it but it’s also significant,” Ashlea said.
“There’s still going to be a part of me here and it’s the whole of me.”
Ashlea hopes to study drama and media at Deakin University this year.

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