This past weekend, the state level of judging for The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, took place. The Exhibition, now in its forty-fifth 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.

Congratulations to the Taylor Helms, whose self-portrait “Laced”, was selected to be one of the 300 works selected out of 12,000 regional entries, to be a part of the exhibition in Columbus. The exhibition opens at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, across from the State Capitol, in April, and closes at the end of May. At the exhibition opening, 25 students will receive the Governor’s Awards of Excellence and scholarship awards. Congratulations Taylor and good luck in Columbus!

Taylor Helms

Congratulations to Rylan Hixson on earning a National American Visions Medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition! Earlier this year, at the regional level, Rylan earned a Gold Key and was an American Visions Award nominee for the same piece, “Cross Section”. Five works, from across all categories and grades, are selected from those earning Gold Keys as the “Best of Show” for each local program. As an added bonus, Rylan’s artwork has also been selected to be displayed as a part of the National Scholastic Art Exhibition in New York City.

This Rain Barrel Art Project was created to promote the use of rain barrels throughout the Ohio River Valley area through a creative and  educational medium.  Rain barrels continue to grow in popularity across the country. However, one of its biggest drawbacks is their dull appearance. Some people are less likely to use them given their negative aesthetic impact to residential and commercial landscaping, even though they conserve water and save money. We believe that producing beautiful artistic rain barrels that have unique painted details will make them more desirable and naturally increase interest to promote their use.  The Rain Barrel Art Project desires to educate people on environmental issues like storm water runoff, watersheds and water conservation.

This year, the OHHS National Art Honor Society students will be creating 2 rain barrels and the OHHS Art teachers will be joining in the fun and creating one as well!  The completed rain barrels will be on display at the Cincinnati Zoo from April 1st to April 23rd and auctioned off at Tunes and Blooms on the 23rd!

Check back for more images of the barrel progress soon or stop by the Creative and Performing Arts Festival on March 14th from 1-4pm to watch the barrels being painted by the artists!

The Rain Barrel Album:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206351608415969.1073741843.1440072751&type=1&l=998f5f35d7

The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, now in its forty-fifth 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. Our purpose is to provide all budding young artists of the state with opportunities to advance their talent, whether that be through scholarships or simply experiencing the process of entering their work in a competition. 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.

Congratulations to the following OHHS Art students whose work was selected to advance to the next level of judging for the 2015 Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition.  The exhibition opens at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, across from the State Capitol, in April, and closes at the end of May. At the exhibition opening, students receive Awards of Excellence and scholarship awards.

Taylor Helms “Laced”
Alyssa Weber “Canyon”
Jessica Adams “Mind’s Eye”
Sophia Schmackers “The Crazy Life of a Teenager”
Hailee Powell “Diva”
Jamie Wullenweber “Storm on the Horizon”

Congratulations to all of the students who were selected to submit work for this year’s competition!

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards began as a small writing contest with a $5 prize and six winning applicants in 1923. Today, more than 90,000 teens in grades 7 through 12 from around the nation annually submit more than 185,000 works of art and writing in 28 categories. Winning students earn opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships.

The Awards, now presented by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, not only celebrate the rich future of artistic America, but also document its past. The program has been credited with identifying early talent in generations of America’s cultural icons, including Truman Capote (1932), Richard Avedon (1941), Andy Warhol (ca. 1945), Sylvia Plath (1947), Robert Redford (1954) and Zac Posen (1998), each of whom won the award when they were in high school.

Student works are evaluated by industry leaders and exhibited in New York City venues as well as cities across the country through the traveling exhibit, ART.WRITE.NOW. These exhibitions give audiences the opportunity to see the work of the nation’s top young artists and writers, inspiring appreciation for the teens’ maturity, talent and originality. For most young winners, this recognition is their first experience of being identified as serious artists and writers, and the impact on their self-perception can be life-changing. Richard Avedon called winning his Scholastic Award, “the defining moment of my life.”

The OHHS Art Department would like to congratulate the following students on their awards for the 2015 competition:

Honorable Mention
Katie Carter
Kelly Cline
Katelyn Evans
Lydia Futrell
Rylan Hixson
Taylor McDonald
Haley Roberts
Jasmine Shepherd
Vivien Smith
Lauren Sprague
Alaina Vinson
Jessica Wagner

Silver Key

Kelly Cline
Kaitlyn Clinkenbeard
Taylor Helms (2)
Diana Rosing
Marissa Ryan
Sophia Schmackers
Alyssa Weber (2)

Gold Key

Lauren Brown
Leah Bushman
Kelly Cline
Taylor Helms
Rylan Hixson
Marissa Ryan
Vivien Smith
Lulu Thornton

Portfolio Award

Kelly Cline

American Visions Nominee

Rylan Hixson

Information about the Regional Exhibition and Awards are listed below. Be sure the work of these very talented students and cheer the Portfolio Award and American Visions Nominees on to the next level!  Preview some of the works below.

Exhibition Opens: January 23rd from 6-9 pm at the Art Academy of Cincinnati
January 23rd- February 6th / Exhibition Run

Gallery Hours (after opening night)
Saturdays & Sundays (noon to 3 pm)
Monday – Friday (9 to noon & 4 to 7 pm)
(Last Friday – 5-10pm)

Awards Night Presentation:
January 30th; Exhibition hours 9 – noon & 5 – 10pm
Northern Kentucky Convention Center (Covington)
Grades 7-8 will be recognized at 6pm
Grades 9-10 will be recognized at 7pm
Grades 11-12 will be recognized at 8pm

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