Notre Dame Cathedral Latin and Kenston Schools exploded with artistic talent this year as dozens of students won gold, silver and honorable mentions in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.
Notre Dame Cathedral Latin and Kenston Schools exploded with artistic talent this year as dozens of students won gold, silver and honorable mentions in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.
“The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a national award competition sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists + Writers,” said Gabrielle Burrage, director of continuing education and community outreach for the Cleveland Institute of Art. “Each year, students in grades seven through 12 submit art and writing works to local regions to be juried for award recognition. For 42 years, (CIA) has served as a regional affiliate partner, originally serving Cuyahoga County and adding in Lake and Geauga counties in 2020.”
This year, CIA received 2,817 total submissions. Of those, 2,213 were art submissions and 604 were writing submissions, which came from 1,235 students across the three counties, according to CIA.
“Each affiliate partner hosts a ceremony and exhibition, which provides an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our regional award winners. The award winning works from these submissions are on display in CIA’s Reinberger Gallery through Jan. 28, as well as online,” Burrage said.
NDCL made a large dent, earning 36 awards, 31 of which were for works of photography.
“I believe there are many factors that create an amazing environment for our students to thrive with their artistic expression,” said George Yaniga, photography instructor at NDCL. “We are blessed to have our own fine arts building set away from the main school building. This offers the students a true campus experience and an opportunity to switch gears as they walk over to the art building.”
Senior Jenna Thompson — the only person from NDCL to win both a Gold Key and a Silver Key award — said her works of photography were inspired by an assignment that required the use of practical effects as opposed to computer software, such as photoshop.
Her Gold Key-winning piece, “E.T. Phone Home,” along with all Gold Key winners, will move on to compete at the national level.
“It is very exciting to see what will happen next,” Thompson said. “I am really looking forward to more competitions and exploring new opportunities with my artwork and creativity.”
Ten other students from NDCL earned Gold Key awards, which are given to 5-7% of submissions, Burrage said.
“All Gold Key awarded works move on to New York for National Adjudication,” she said. “The ultimate winners at the national level are eligible to win awards, scholarships and recognition at an award ceremony in NYC, and their work is included in a traveling exhibition and publications.”
NDCL students also earned awards for two paintings, two ceramics/glass entries and one piece categorized as design. Senior Alyssa Reamsbottom earned a Silver Key award for her acrylic painting, “Wandering Figure,” in which she explores color theory using complementary colors.
“I have enjoyed making art for as long as I can remember, but I think I really recognized my love for art freshman year,” Reamsbottom said. “The art teachers at NDCL are great and have really pushed me to be creative, especially my AP Studio Art teacher, Mrs. Sedivy. She really opened my eyes and gave me that push to continue making art. She also gave me the confidence to pursue art as a major and as a career.”
Reamsbottom already has college art experience under her belt having attended CIA’s pre-college program last summer.
“For two weeks, I lived in the dorm and really got to experience college life at CIA. I chose the painting major and was taught by excellent teachers,” she said. “We were able to focus on specific techniques, like how to paint with acrylics (as in ‘Wandering Figure’).”
Kenston High School also claimed a stake in the competition, earning 11 awards — two Gold, two Silver and seven honorable mentions.
Junior Katelyn Torres, who won in each category, garnered a Gold Key award with her colored pencil drawing called, “Plumfounded.”
“I am more than honored to have won artwork in all three categories of the scholastic art awards,” Torres said. “Going to see my own work hung up in the Cleveland Institute of Art seemed unreal and having one of my pieces entered nationally is amazing. I am more than grateful for my art teacher Ms. Quinn for pushing me to enter into this contest.”
LIST OF WINNERS
All in all, 50 Geauga County residents earned awards, some attending private schools outside of the county.
The NDCL winners include: Isabella Atkinson, Paige Bosworth, Abigail Bouton, Rachael Debevec, Alexis Hoinski, Elizabeth Keherly, Shelby Lane, Connor Patterson, Alexa Putinski, Jenna Thompson, Bridget Zimmerman, Sarah Boyle, Colleen Byrne, Ben Herczog, Isabella Holsman, Jackie Ina, Paige Kolacki, Reilly Mikin, Megan Palinski, Mikala Payne, Alyssa Reamsbottom, Mallory Sah, Jeanna Sukey, Mia Tomei, Sophia Vitale, Brooke Begovic, Allison Currier, Raymond Ha, Madelyn Kish, Joshua Landgraf, and Meghan McGuigan
The winners from Kenston include: Mara DuBay, Katelyn Torres, Erin McFadden and Maximus Yost.
The other Geauga County winners include: Jane Abounader, Isabella Cerimele, Milena Fernsler, Caitlin Ford, Alexandra Gallin, Lexie Loucas, Grace Mansour, Winston Massey, Peter McKenna, Lily Prebul, Anna Schneider, Paul Taylor, Karl Wagner, David Weinberger, and Nina Zargari.
To view the winning artwork online, visit https://ciaartandwriting2022.myportfolio.com/
