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.
“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 8 OHHS Art and Design students were invited to be published in the Summer 2026 “Celebrating Art”! Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for the “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’ Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass class: Maeghan Zimmerly
From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Studio Art Foundations, and AP Art and Design 2D Design and Drawing classes: Tym’Shay Akins Ava Kaiser Jocelyn Lawrence Evelyn Mendez-Coronado Anna Schuler Maddie Smith
“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 78 OHHS Art and Design students were invited to be published in the Spring 2026 “Celebrating Art”! Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for the “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 Ambs’ Ceramics 2 and Studio Art Foundations classes: Addyson Dennis Eva Etris-Schuler Grace Marcus Hannah Roellig Josie Hollander Lizz Price Moriah Pree Olivia Lucas Ryleigh Brader Sofia Segoviano Sydney Abercrombie Ultan Delaney Audree Cartmell Bianca Bacher Eleanor Good Kailee Miller Logan Hart Sam Dew Sundai Harper Avery Goettke Evelyn Good Leigha Aday
From Dignan-Cummins’ Ceramics 1, Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass, Honors Fiber Arts, Sculpture, and AP Art 3D Design classes: Amara Ferguson Anastasia Brantley Marina Sek Logan Rehn Abbey Burst Ava Wilson Charles Elam Chloe Kelley Kita Kohlbrandt Lexi Holzbacher Lilah June Morgan Maeghan Zimmerly Megan Schmidt Nathan Niehaus Sam Getz Ahleya Velasco Charlie Morehead Eva Duke-ibanez Evelyn Dann JT Schmidt Leo Ruthven Maggie Heydorn Morgan Sargent Rachael Wunderlich Sophia Flaig Sumira Kessler
From Kopf’s Art Foundations, Digital Art Foundations, and Painting and Public Art classes: Elijah Gifford Liam Maloney Sophia Gray Chelsea Crider Dylan Johnson Jaylin Hill Lily Ann Gunnarson Alexandra See Lillianna McGuire
From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Studio Art Foundations, and AP Art and Design 2D Design and Drawing classes: Anna Schuler Ava Kaiser Carly Gibbs Eli Wilson Gaby Coronado Orozco Julia Chapman Liam Edenfield Liliana Pisegna Madaline Smith Nathan Muhlen Tym’Shay Akins Cynthia Brown Desmond Damon Grace Abrams Lennox Ludeman Belle Kirby Sarah Sieve Evelyn Mendez-Coronado Jocelyn Lawrence Maria Arrivillaga Munoz Maria Pitchford
Schorsch on her Fulbright international field experience in Varanasi, India.
Art educator Jamie Schorsch recently received remarkable recognition from the Ohio Art Education Association, earning both the Advocate of Honor Award and the Ohio Art Educator of the Year Award, two of the organization’s most distinguished honors.
The Advocate of Honor Award recognizes individuals who expand their impact beyond the classroom by taking on leadership roles in advocacy and community engagement for visual arts education. Recipients actively champion art education outside their daily teaching responsibilities by recruiting others to join advocacy efforts, speaking directly to policymakers on key issues, and contributing to initiatives at the state and/or national level.
The Ohio Art Educator of the Year Award is presented to an educator who exemplifies excellence in teaching, demonstrates a profound impact on students, and shows an ongoing commitment to the advancement of art education. The OAEA Art Educator of the Year Award is the organization’s highest honor, recognizing long-term dedication to both art education and OAEA. Recipients demonstrate a strong, consistent teaching philosophy, leadership in innovative curriculum and methodology, and active involvement in advancing the field through research, writing, and engagement with current issues. They also show leadership beyond the local level at the state or national stage.
For Schorsch, the recognition is both meaningful and humbling. Her journey into teaching was anything but conventional. She did not initially plan to become an art educator, but always sensed that her future would be rooted in the arts. Raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to support her family, Schorsch attended Walnut Hills High School as a self-described average student before becoming the first in her family to pursue higher education.
Her time at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program proved both formative and challenging. Balancing the demands of coursework with employment, she ultimately stepped away during her junior year, uncertain if she would return to college at all. She returned to complete her Bachelors of Fine Arts, with no clear plan for the future. One year after graduation, Schorsch reentered academia through the Master of Arts in Art Education program at DAAP with a full scholarship. Despite facing significant anxiety around public speaking, she discovered that teaching was a natural fit.
More than two decades later, Schorsch has built a career defined by passion, resilience, and a deep belief in the transformative power of art. She views art not only as a discipline, but as a vital tool for expression, reflection, and meaning-making. Throughout her career, Schorsch has remained committed to empowering students to recognize the value of art in their own lives, to use it as a means of processing experiences, communicating ideas, and engaging with the world around them.
This dual recognition from the Ohio Art Education Association stands as a testament not only to her individual accomplishments, but also to the collective community of students, colleagues, and mentors who have shaped and supported her journey.
Schorsch will be recognized for the Advocacy of Honor and Ohio Art Educator of the Year award regionally, at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, on September 4th and at the OAEA State Conference in Cincinnati on November 7th,2026. Recognition of the Ohio Art Educator of the Year award will take place at the National Art Education Association Conference in New York City in March 2027.
The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education just announced the winners for the fifty-sixth Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, which will be open for viewing on Sunday, April 12 through May 14, 2026, at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus. This juried exhibition represents the creative expressions in the visual arts by outstanding, talented students from Ohio’s high schools. The exhibition is a cooperative effort between the Office of the Governor of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and the Ohio Arts Council, as well as many colleges, universities, and business sponsors.
The final selection of works of art, created by 9th through 12th grade students, was adjudicated by the following state jurors:
Jessica Boushie, Columbus College of Art and Design Lisa Bare, Ceramic Artist, BareClay Studio Keith Dull, Ashland University Keith Spenser, Denison University Melissa Vogley Woods, Denison University Emily Weithorn, Mount St. Joseph University Roscoe Wilson, Miami University Jeff Yost, Cleveland Institute of Art
A total of 5,786 art entries were submitted by approximately 2,100 Ohio high school students. Selections from each of the fourteen regions were made by a panel of judges chosen by the regional directors. Amanda Schaeffer, State Director and coordinator of the exhibition states, “It is with great pride that we exhibit these students’ artworks at the Rhodes Tower. The exhibition is a testament to the high quality of visual arts education that exists in our state. It is vital that the community understands the value and importance of arts education, and the impact that it has on our young people. We hope that this exhibition fosters that understanding. We are fortunate that Ohio is a state in which the arts and arts education are supported by community and educational leaders, legislators, colleges and universities, civic organizations, and businesses. Without the support and encouragement from these groups, the achievements of these young artists might go unrecognized.”
Congratulations to OHHS Art and Design student, Lydia Wilson, who’s drawing “Goodnight Fugglers” was selected as one of the 275 works for this year’s State Exhibition!
In addition to the exhibition, there will be an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 12th at 12:00 PM in the Davidson Theatre in the Verne Riffe Center for Government and the Arts. Students and families are invited to attend this ceremony.
Details: Exhibition Viewing Rhodes State Office Tower 30 E. Broad St., Columbus Ohio 43215 Open daily during business hours Beginning April 13, 2026
Awards Ceremony: Sunday, April 12, 12:00 – 1:00 PM Davidson Theatre, Verne Riffe Center for Government and the Arts 77 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215
This past weekend, the regional level of judging for The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, took place. The Exhibition, now in its 56th 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 judging takes place first regionally, and then at the state level, with judges for the competition chosen from all over the country and are generally professional artists, college level instructors, or both.
This year our region # 14, Southwest Ohio, had almost 600 entries and 114 works were selected to move on to the second and final round of judging at the statewide level. Three different judges rated the work on a 0.5 – 10 scale and their scores were averaged together to select the top 20% of works. The Statewide judging will take place next Saturday, March 14th.
Congratulations to Lydia Wilson who had two pieces selected to advance to the state level of judging, and best of luck to her in the next round this upcoming weekend!
OHHS Art and Design 