BY SYDNEY WILLIAMS

Iredell County resident Rehanna Yakubu was recently honored in Washington, D.C., as the winner of Rep. Patrick McHenry’s Congressional Art Contest.

Her original artwork, “Soeur – En Passant,” is now on display in the nation’s capital. Translated from French, the title means “in passing; by the way.”

“It’s actually from a photo of me and my sister playing chess,” Rehanna explained.

A rising senior at The Lawrenceville School, a boarding school in New Jersey, the artist said her family, particularly her mother and sister, have had a major impact on her artwork.

“It’s always been my sister, brother, and Mom and we’ve always been tight — especially my sister because we’re so close in age,” Rehanna said. “So I thought what better ode than to do a painting of us.”

Rachelle Yakubu said they were surprised to hear of her daughter’s accolades because Rehanna was sort of reluctant to enter the artwork in the competition.

“A lot of times artists feel as if their work is good enough to stay in their bedroom or in their house, but not sure if it’s ready for public consumption,” the proud mom said. “I’m happy that she actually listened and took that plunge and said, ‘I’m going to take this kind of experience and see how it goes.’ ”

Rehanna spoke highly of Stuart Robertson, a former teacher at The Lawrenceville School and her current mentor. His constructive criticism was “harsh,” but valuable, she said.

Robertson said Rehanna has grown as an artist.

“I taught Rehanna for two terms in her freshman year and like many young artists she learned to copy images at an early age. It’s not until they are about 16 or 17 that they start thinking about how their worldview shows up in their artwork,” he said.

Robertson said he was surprised to learn that Rehanna’s piece was named the winner.

“I was surprised, not because she couldn’t do it, but because of what she expressed to me about how she felt about the work,” he said. “She was going into her spring semester of junior year, so she’s thinking about college prep and AP testing. She just didn’t have the time to submit the kind of work she was envisioning. When I got the email I was surprised, but I wasn’t surprised that she could do it because I know what she is capable of.”

In the future, Rehanna plans to pursue art as a side profession. She wants to continue her education at a university on the East Coast with a goal of becoming a medical physicist.