Myrtle Grove Middle student all smiles after winning gold

Anything can be considered art, even a photo of braces.

An assignment for art class turned into gold for Myrtle Grove Middle School student Ivy Byrd. Byrd’s abstract photo of her braces entitled “Gorgeous Pain” brought her national recognition from the Scholastic Art and Writing Award Competition.

She won the gold medal award among dozens of other submitted photos.

“It’s really good, I didn’t think I was going to win. I thought I would get somewhere, but not that far," said 8th grader, Ivy Byrd. Ivy and her photo are invited to Carnegie Hall in New York City for the award ceremony.

Winning the competition has sparked her interest in studying photography professionally.