Congratulations to Deer Lakes senior Scarlett Hadlum who earned an Individual Award (only three are awarded) at the Standard Ceramic High School Exhibit for her ceramic fish vase.

She was presented with an award check Saturday, April 12th.

"I think the inspiration for the ceramic fish vase came a few days prior to starting the project," Scarlett said. "My brother was in town and had taken me to go fishing early in the morning. We didn't catch anything, but we saw a school of trout completely ignoring our hooks. I guess I figured if we couldn't catch anything, I'd just make my own!"

The ceramic fish vase was developed through a tedious process of applying a mesh bag often used for fruit to create the texture of the scales.Scarlett then had to roll and pinch the clay into a cup without ruining the scales.

The fin was "tricky," as Scarlett had to wait until the clay was soft enough to carve but hard enough to keep its shape.

"I think the glazes turned out pretty accurate to what I had wanted, and the overlapping of glazes created the perfect ombre effect!" Scarlett said.