All Oak Hills High School students electing to enroll in an Art and Design Department course will develop a Competitive Advantage, Appreciation of the Arts, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Interdisciplinary Connections, Social and Global Awareness, and Career Preparation related to Visual Communication.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. This is a prestigious competition. The winning artwork will represent the 8th Congressional District of Ohio in Washington, D.C., by being displayed in the U.S. Capitol as part of a year-long exhibit. The winning artist receives a free round-trip airfare for the national winners’ reception in Washington, D.C. Other winners’ pieces will be showcased at Warren Davidson’s Washington, DC, and district offices for the next year.
This year, Spooky Nook Sports hosted the exhibition of works submitted by students in schools throughout District 8. Congratulations to this year’s OHHS Art and Design students who reside in District 8 who submitted work for this year’s exhibition and competition!
And a special congratulations to Rylee Dissinger whose photograph, “Scaling”, was selected for the Grand Prize and display in the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. for the next year! Rylee will be flown out for a special reception in June for the opening of the National Exhibition!
Just Earth – Cincinnati, in collaboration with new and longtime partners, aims to educate and facilitate action among residents of the Cincinnati region to address the intersecting crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental injustice. The Just Earth Visual Art Competition, open to 2 categories of artists (18 and under, and 19 and over) called for submissions that expressed warnings for the future, images of celebration, images depicting regret or loss, or pieces of art depicting hope and exaltation over a healthy world and all of life’s cycles. Submissions will be judged by a committee of local artist and art educators and prizes will be awarded for 1st ($500); 2nd ($250); and 3rd ($100) place.
Jackson Mundstock, a student in Ms. Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking class, recently submitted this amazing piece and statement for the Call for Visual Art Entries!
ARTIST STATEMENT “Stroll in the Acid Rain” Mixed Media
While depicting the beauty of nature and wonders of our planet is great and all, I find showing the dangers and threats posed upon our environments more important, because if awareness of those threats is not spread and made known, no action can be taken against them, and the ability to celebrate the beauty of our planet will be but a distant memory. With this piece, I wanted to show off a threat that is more personal to regions like our own, and especially regions surrounding ours; acid rain. This piece depicts how acid rain is formed in the sky from fossil fuel burnings, but also its effects and the danger it poses to our environment, as well as the equally problematic and more worldwide issue of smog clouds looming over our society. I made the bottom third nearly completely coated in darkness, symbolically showing the dark nature and effects of acid rain, but also showing how the polluted smog clouds born from smokestacks and fossil fuels can leave us in darkness down on the ground as the air and rain gets worse and worse. On the trees, I made it so the leaves begin luscious and green at the bottom, but slowly become more brown and dead as the tree goes up, to show how acid rain kills off and destroys trees from the ground up. On the top half, I wanted the factory and smoke clouds to loom overhead as the person walks by, showing how we are powerless to the destruction of our skies and ecosystems if we don’t stand up and do something, as well as showing the source of acid rain. Of course, this piece is a bit exaggerated, as while acid rain is certainly deadly to the environment, it’s not deadly enough to literally melt the ground below us in acid puddles. However, the intent is merely to show the viewer that acid rain is dangerous and threatening, anyway, and that if we don’t take care of it, environments in regions around the world affected by acid rain will cease to exist, just like how it is shown here.
Pieces will be assembled into a curated show at The Annex Art Gallery @ The Pendleton Art Center, 1501 Republic St. Cincinnati, OH, on April 26th, 2024.
The State level PTA Reflections winners have been announced. “I am Hopeful, Because…” is the theme for this year’s PTA Reflections Program which has been bringing the arts to life from more than 10 million students since 1969. Reflections encourages students of all ages to unleash creative talents and be inspired; express themselves imaginatively in their artwork; experience the fun and joy of making art; tap into critical-thinking skills to create art inspired by the annual theme, and receive positive recognition for their original works of art. It was an exciting year and the State level PTA was honored to receive over 700 entries from around the state.
Congratulations to the following OHHS Art and Design and Literature students on their accomplishments:
Literature Benson Moore, 1st Place, Award of Excellence
The Rain Barrel Art Project, now in its 11th year, was created to promote the use of rain barrels throughout the Ohio River Valley area through a creative and educational medium. The Rain Barrel Art Project desires to educate people on environmental issues like stormwater runoff, watersheds, and water conservation.
Rain barrels continue to grow in popularity across the country. However, one of its biggest drawbacks is its dull appearance. Some people are less likely to use them given their negative aesthetic impact on residential and commercial landscaping, even though they conserve water and save money. The “Save Local Waters” initiative believes that producing beautiful artistic rain barrels that have unique painted details will make them more desirable and naturally increase interest to promote their use.
This year, OHHS artists in Ms. Kopf’s Painting and Public Art class and Ms. Schorsch’s National Art Honor Society created 4 Rain Barrels for the event! Completed Rain Barrels will be displayed at the Cincinnati Zoo from March 23rd through April 25th with the Online Auction taking place March 26th through April 26th and Artist Reception on April 25th.
Congratulations to Cedar Krodel, Edith Sax, Jordan Tinsley, and Addison Wuebbling on the selection of their design by the “Save Local Waters” committee for this year’s event!
Cedar KrodelEdith SaxJordan TinsleyAddison Wuebbling
This past weekend, the state level of judging for The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, took place. The Exhibition, now in its 54th year, is dedicated to the educational and artistic advancement of our talented young people in the state of Ohio. The exhibition is open to all of Ohio’s 1,112 high schools, both public and private, chartered by the State of Ohio Department of Education. The exhibition is a valuable incentive for our young people; it encourages an appreciation for the arts throughout Ohio and reflects the fine quality of art instruction and talent which exist in our state.
The process of selecting artworks for the state exhibition begins on a regional level. The state is divided into 15 regional locations, with high school students in each region invited to enter work in that regional judging. Each region has a designated Regional Director, who is responsible for choosing the judges for his or her region and arranging specifics of the event.
The state judging takes place in Columbus; however, the judges for this level of competition are chosen from all over the country and are generally professional artists, college level instructors, or both.
State jurors selected 320 pieces for the exhibition with 25 of the 320 chosen to receive the Governor’s Award of Excellence. Scholarships are offered to seniors by over 30 universities and colleges of art.
Congratulations to the following students whose work was accepted into the state level exhibition:
Molly Audretch, “An Upward Glance” Cedar Krodel, “Harbinger”
Molly AudretchCedar Krodel
Congratulations to the following student whose work was accepted into the state level exhibition and received Top 25 designation:
Grace Gray, “Hug Me”
Grace Gray
The exhibition will be on display at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, 30 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 from April 21st – May16th. An awards ceremony will take place in The Riffe Center Capitol Theatre, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215 on April 21st at 2:00 pm.
OHHS Art and Design 