Members of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) demonstrated their spectacular artistic abilities in the 18th annual induction ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 30, in which 37 members (12 seniors, 14 juniors, and 11 sophomores) were inducted, as part of NAHS Chapter 2686.
NAHS consists of a group of exemplary art students, or as art teacher and club advisor Michael Kunz likes to say, the “Finest Finest” of the art department. The club participates in many activities throughout the year, most of which are charity events, such as their biggest event of the year, Night of the Pumpkins. Kunz remarked, “My favorite thing about the NAHS is the projects that we do and working with the students outside of the classroom. I also love to show the members that they can use their talent for good causes.”
For this year’s induction ceremony, each member was tasked with creating a “Piece of Me” project. Each artist was given a 12×12-inch wooden puzzle piece and was tasked with creating artwork representing something meaningful in their lives, hence, a piece of them. Other than the fact that the design had to be painted on the allotted puzzle pieces, there were no other restrictions or limitations.
Each member had his/her own unique approach and artistic perspective when handling the open-ended task. Some decided to depict important objects, while others portrayed places that held significance in their lives. Another approach was illustrating family members, exemplifying the effect their family has had on their life. No matter the direction each artist decided to take, the pieces communicate a meaningful aspect of each member’s life. Kunz commented, “I thought this year’s theme was great. It provided the members with the opportunity to create a piece that truly reflects who they are and what they love.”
The ceremony started off with speeches from Director of the Fine and Performing Arts Adrianna Schaefer, as well as from Kunz as the club’s advisor. The first inductees were the officers of the club: President Kristiana Ligai, Vice President Jasmine Ostroff, Secretary Mindy Leu, Treasurer Alexis Raynor, and Historian Alayna Matern. This was followed by speeches from Ligai and Ostroff, as well as a historian update from Matern. The five NAHS colors were also represented through candles during the induction: the red candle symbolizes movement, the yellow candle indicates balance, the blue candle signifies texture, the white candle portrays space, and the black candle represents the line that is the edge of everything on Earth. The induction of the remaining seniors, then juniors, and finally the sophomores then followed. To solidify the induction, all members stated the NAHS pledge together.
At every induction, awards are presented for service and merit, the induction’s theme, a junior award, and a senior award. This year’s recipients were Marissa Medoro, Ella Carroll, Zia Baluyot, Payton Stalter, and Catherine Christakos for the merit awards; Valerie Tuosto, Carolina Villadiego, and Tiana Lazri for the “Peace of Me” award; Olivia Palleschi for the junior award; and Kristina Ligai for the senior award. “Piece of Me” award recipient Tuosto expressed that she “loved the freedom of this project experimenting with different techniques and textures to create my puzzle piece that made it even more special to me.”
After the ceremony, a reception was held in the cafeteria, and anyone in the audience could admire the pieces hanging up in the gallery. Kunz reflected, “I thought the members did a great job. I always encourage them to create their best work for the induction ceremony because it is a special night that recognizes each member’s accomplishments in art.”
The puzzle pieces are currently available on display in the Bern Seiderman Gallery in the cafeteria for public viewing. Chairperson of Fine Art, Technology, and Family Consumer Science Vincent Lentini was also at the induction, and commented on how smoothly the evening went: “It was a great evening for a group we are very proud of.”
