Sometimes twins can seem like two different sides of the same coin. For seniors Jade and Mia Pina, a fascination for the arts shows through all they do. Granted, they practice different types of art, but they share the same passion for what they do.

Both seniors, the two sisters will be graduating with a couple of admirable notches on their belts. Mia Pina, with a five minute head start to life when compared to her twin, has secured a culinary scholarship to excel in culinary greatness. Jade Pina’s passion for sculpting has led to amazing creations, most notably a Best of Show 3D award for “I’m Fine” at the Chandler District Art Show.

Mia, known as Maddie by many, has found herself enthusiastic about a future in the culinary arts world. This year, she participated in a competition sponsored by the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP) that brought her all the way through preliminary rounds and the final round, ending with her receiving a scholarship worth $19,950 at the International Culinary Center in New York City.

According to her, it was an extremely hands-on learning experience, and prepared all of the students involved for their futures in the industry.

“They really want to get you out there and it’s very much a working experience to get kids ready to go out into the workforce or learn to make their own reputation,” Mia says.

Mia believes CCAP will prove to further impact her future because of the extensive training they put students through and the experiences they create for them.

“There is a reputation that goes along with the name CCAP, so I know it’s going to affect me down the road,” Mia states. “It’s really going to help me.”

She strayed from her original plan to go into food business hospitality, and a massive coincidence led her to make her decision to become a chef.

“I wasn’t even going to be in [Culinary]; I was going to take sculpture and they [said] ‘Sculpture is full, but you can take culinary!'” Mia recalls.

Her sister, Jade Pina, successfully secured a spot in Sculpture class, and it led her to success in the field. She went on to win the Best of Show 3D award for one of her pieces.

Jade Pina describes her winning piece, “I’m Fine,” as a sculpture that tells of the darker side of what may be happening when someone says they are ’fine.’ The piece depicts a crown which appears to be exploding behind a head and shoulders with different miscellaneous ideas. Many emotions may be existing behind the simple, exhausted statement.

Pina describes her inspiration for the winning piece, “There is a show called ‘Face-Off’ about  speciality makeup and in special effects which I am very interested in. I was inspired by an artist [who created] a piece… which was very spectacular looking.”

The artist’s interest in gore commonly found in horror movies and mainstream media also influenced her decision to add blood to the sculpture’s wounds. Her ideas of self-confidence and a mask on emotions helped to impact her production of the piece as one with a deeper message. In roughly three weeks, Jade Pina executed a showstopping piece that will live on in Perry’s artistic legacy.

Looking beyond high school, Jade sees herself as a special effects artist or a cosmetologist as she enters college. In her career beyond high school, the techniques she has learned as a sculptor will provide a steady and prosperous future.

This dynamic duo helped bring creativity and vitality to their school and their futures. These two talented twins are bound to cause shockwaves as very talented girls who will leave a legacy in Perry and beyond.