AP Art and Design students recently had the opportunity to engage in a hands-on ceramics experience at Queen City Clay as part of the Contemporary Arts Center’s School Outreach Program. This visit provided students with a deeper understanding of clay as an expressive medium, exposed them to wheel throwing techniques, and provided them with a glimpse of how the largest ceramics studio in the world operates. During the workshop, students explored wheel-throwing techniques under the guidance of professional ceramic artist, Jon Stein, and the QCC team.

The collaboration between the Contemporary Arts Center and Queen City Clay exemplifies the importance of community partnerships in arts education. By stepping outside the classroom and into a professional ceramics studio, students gained invaluable insights into process-based artmaking and problem-solving. This experience not only enriched their artistic practice but also connected them to Cincinnati’s broader arts community, reinforcing the idea that experimentation and interdisciplinary learning are vital to artistic growth.

March is Youth Art Month and is the national celebration for art, art education, and quality school art programs. The upcoming exhibition at Mount Saint Joseph University in the Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery will feature artworks created by Greater Cincinnati regional art teachers and two of their current art students in vibrant elementary, middle, and/or high school art programs. The follow OHHS Art and Design students will be exhibiting alongside their teachers:

Exhibiting alongside Ms. Schorsch: Molly Audretch and Sophia Wehman

Exhibiting alongside Mrs. Dignan-Cummins: Maggie Heydorn and Samantha McDonald

Exhibiting alongside Ms. Jacobs: Haylee Schreiber and Lizzie Schreibeis; and Josie Audretch, Skylar Grouse, Aniyah Drew, Annistasyah Kelley-Alexander

Join us at Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery at MSJU, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati,
OH 45233 for the Gallery Reception on Sunday, March 16th, from 2:00 – 4:00pm. The exhibition will be open from February 28th through March 27th, 2025.

“The Memory Project” is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty.

Over the past nine years, Drawing and Printmaking and NAHS students have created over 470 portraits for children in Madagascar, the Philippines, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, Puerto Rico, the Rohingya in Rakhine, Columbia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone. This year, students at OHHS created portraits for 30 Indian children.

Children in India face a complex set of challenges that affect their education, health, safety, and development. While school attendance has improved, many children, especially in rural areas, still lack access to quality education due to poverty, long travel distances, and inadequate resources. Economic pressures contribute to high dropout rates and force many children into labor, where laws against child labor are inconsistently enforced. Health and nutrition are also major concerns, with many children suffering from malnutrition and limited healthcare access, especially in rural areas. Mental health needs are often overlooked due to a lack of resources. Gender discrimination affects girls in particular, as cultural expectations often push them out of school early and into child marriages. Many children are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse remaining prevalent. Climate change also poses challenges, as frequent natural disasters disrupt schooling, displace families, and impact health, while water scarcity affects hygiene and daily life. The digital divide became especially apparent during the pandemic, as many students lacked access to online learning resources.

Below, you can view the delivery of this year’s portraits throughout various communities in India and experience the impact of art in service of global kindness.

Congratulations to the OHHS Art and Design students whose art was selected as a High Merit piece for the Fall 2024 Celebrating Art competition and publication! Receiving a Top Ten or High Merit award means the art was an exceptional piece. Out of thousands of entries received for the Fall 2024 contest, it stood out as being one of the top 5% submitted. Students who have art selected as Top Ten or High Merit work will receive special recognition in the book as it is displayed as a Top Ten or High Merit piece.

Congratulations to the following students:

From Schorsch’s AP Art and Design 2-D Design and Drawing, and Drawing and Printmaking classes: 

Molly Audretch
Kendalyn Kress
Jackson Mundstock
Jordan Tinsley