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.
OHHS Art and Design student Patrick Thibodeaux discovered, and seized, an amazing opportunity to independently embark on a creative journey! Patrick reached out to his Drawing and Printmaking teacher, Ms. Schorsch, about the International Comic/Manga competition he was interested in creating work for during the 2020-2021 school year. The International Comic/Manga contest is a manga, comic and illustration competition open to students worldwide. Winners are eligible for cash prizes, digital creation software, pen tablets, and chances to be featured in media publications! The contest is also an opportunity to have work judged and critiqued by professional creators and apply critical feedback to boost skills. The contest winners will be announced by July. This year’s contest theme was “Admiration”. Check out the cover for Patrick’s submission, “Twisted Faith”, below!
“Celebrating Art” is devoted to the promotion and appreciation of student art. The intent of their student art contest is to motivate student artists. The top entries are published in an anthology that will record the creative works of today’s student artists.
Students recently submitted work and 42 OHHS Art and Design were invited to be published in the Spring 2021 “Celebrating Art”! Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for “Top Ten Artist” and “High Merit Artist” awards will be completed and announced soon. The following students should feel honored. This is not a contest where every entry is invited to be published and is a highly selective competition. Thousands of entries were not invited to be published. Being published represents a lot of talent, hard work, and dedication from students.
Congratulations to the following students:
From Dignan-Cummins’ Ceramics, Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass, and Studio Art AP 3D Design classes:
Oumou Bah Luke Barkley Sydney Berting Alyssa Christian Dylan Combs Jamie Damico Sydney Dance Sammie Gerde Grace Gilardi Ella Goodman Rylie Hague Aubrey Jennings Molly Lorenz Riley Ludwig Emma Miller Susan Park Jenna Rogozinski Joelle White
From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Painting and Mixed Media, and Studio Art AP 2D Design and Drawing classes:
Kylee Adams Samantha Bradley Olivia Burnett Samantha Gerde Henry Groh Gabrielle Hancock Rebecca Kaiser Flynn Koehler Nathaniel Kremer Sophia Osborne Mia Schorsch Paige Smith Jaelan Sow Anna Thomas Sarah Young
Since 2014, American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) has hosted an annual juried exhibition showcasing the remarkable talents of high school students studying the ceramic arts. The 2021 annual juried show features 100 students from 38 High Schools, in 17 states striving to inspire and recognize young artists achieving excellence in their own creative endeavors. This year more than ever, AMOCA believes students deserve to be honored for making work, that is why, for the first time, the annual High School Ceramics Exhibition expanded to include students from anywhere in the country.
Two students from Mrs. Dignan-Cummins’ 3D Studio Art Advanced Placement course have been selected to have their work exhibited in this amazing showcase of talents from the United States and Canada. Riley Ludwig, junior, had her work “Paul” selected for the exhibition and senior Sammie Gerde had her work “Under The Sea“ selected as well. Please congratulate these students for their outstanding accomplishment.
You can tune in to see the exhibition and the opening reception using the link below.
The Annual District Office Art Exhibition is dedicated to the recognition and celebration of the district’s talented visual arts and design students in the Oak Hills Local School District. The purpose of the exhibition is to provide the young artists of our district with the opportunity to participate in a multi-level group exhibition, generate an appreciation for the arts throughout the district, and reflect the fine quality of art instruction and talent which exists in our district.
The 2021 OHLSD District Office Art Exhibition will be on display at the Oak Hills Local School District Office until March 2022.
OHHS Art and Design teacher Jamie Schorsch will be contributing to the public art legacy of Hamilton, OH this summer through the StreetSpark program. Formed through a partnership between the City of Hamilton and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, StreetSpark is a program founded to further the art identity in the city through exciting public art projects. This program creates arts engagement by producing high-quality murals, building opportunities for local artists, and enhancing the visual appeal of the city. StreetSpark brings visible murals and artwork into the community with the goal of fueling Hamilton with art.
Schorsch recently had her design, “Cultivating Community”, selected and will be leading a team of artists from June 7th-25th in painting the artwork on the Telhio Credit Union on Park Ave.
“Cultivating Community” Artist Statement
“The concept for “Cultivating Community”, designed for the Telhio Credit Union, was inspired by the core values embedded in the not-for-profits ideals of caring, commitment and integrity. Compositional elements used in the design are inspired by Art Deco rendering traditions that were prevalent in the artwork of 1930’s, when the Credit Union was founded, as well as the architecture throughout the City of Hamilton. The image is designed to be viewed as a wrap around, but also stand on it’s own as a composition when viewed from one side of the building.
The hands extending into the composition from the roof level are rendered in grisaille to communicate the idea of stone, a strong foundation on which to build. The hands are representative the Telhio Credit Union redistributing income back to its members and the community. The colored water flowing from the grisaille hands signifies the nurturing nature of the Credit Union that allows for fostering growth and prosperity. Trees, grass, and flowers communicate the idea of a flourishing community while referencing the tree-line neighborhood of Prospect Hill. The expansive field serves as a historical nod to the landscape of the area as it would have existed when Native American groups occupied the site around Fort Hamilton. Daisies, symbolic of innocence and youth, allude to the children attending Wilson Middle School. Tiger Lilies, which are often associated with pride, confidence, wealth, and positivity and Irises, which represent wisdom, hope, and trust, frame the image. The bee serves as an emblem of abundance, persistence, industry, and community. Imagery of beans embedded amongst the flowers calls to mind additional ideas of growth tied to fairy tale imagery and folklore.
Color palettes prevalent in Art Deco traditions inspired the more analogous color scheme, as well as linear emphasis, for the work designed to provide contrast with the sticker-style design to be integrated with the bare brick of the architectural structure. Colors were selected for their symbolism and contrast. The blue waters illustrate tranquility brought to the community through abundance whereas yellow daisy floral disc exudes a sensation of radiating happiness embedded in the purity of the white daisies. Green is utilized to represent the color of life, renewal and growth within an environment.
Design elements and symbolism embedded in “Cultivating Community” are intended to synthesize with the architectural structure of the Telhio Credit Union, provide contemporary and historical nods to the surrounding environment as well as the function on Telhio nurturing the community, while communicating a whimsical uplifting image that communicates tranquility, peace, and prosperity”.
OHHS Art and Design 