What happens when you combine friendship and creativity? Well, it turns out that you can actually gain national recognition.

That’s what happened to Buena High School juniors Camryn Benefield and Summer Martinez. Both have submitted work to the 41st Congressional Art Competition sponsored by the Congressional Association.

In Arizona District 6, Benefield won first place for her soft pastel portrait “Softness and Unity,” and Martinez won second place for her fountain pen landscape, “Bridging the Gap.”

As advanced art students, each of us had to choose a focus, or theme, for the year’s work. Benefield chose Floriography, the language of flowers.

“So the peony, the background of my work, stands for platonic and non-platonic relationships,” Benefield said. “That is why I named my work ‘Softness and Solidarity’ because it is women and peonies, and the shared experiences and connections between all women, that is to say – likewise – ―Because it is supposed to be expressed.”

Martinez’s focus was story.

“It has a nice little wooden bridge,” Martinez said. “There are two sides, and in the actual painting they are separated by something like a deep chasm. You see, in everything he has two sides and he just needs a connection to bridge them. “

Benefield’s work will be on display for a year in the Cannon Tunnel, which connects the Cannon House office building to the Capitol, while Martinez’s work will be displayed in the DC office of Congressman Juan Siskomani.

The Institute of Congress Art Contest allows each congressman to award one high school student from his district.