Nest presents annual Art Show; Hawks display student creations

    From Wednesday, May 17 to Friday, May 19, NH hosted its annual Art Show, which featured more pieces than last year, according to art teacher Mrs. Lisa Campbell. Organizers said the show had a large turnout during the evening show on May 17, with many community members observing art students’ best work.

     Art teacher Mr. Jason Blevins’ classes, which include fine art prep, drawing and painting, advanced drawing, and advanced painting, had pieces ranging from scratchboard hyenas, created by sophomore Liz O’Brien,  to drawings of Igor Stravinsky surrounded by cats, which was created by freshman Sascha Kendall. Campbell’s classes, which focus more on three-dimensional design, had works such as stained-glass mobiles, made by senior Elyse Friedman, and a mosaic elk skull, made by sophomore Claire Moffitt. 

      Fine art and drama teacher Mrs. Nancy Green’s class made various Venetian masks, which were also featured at the Renaissance festival in November. 

     The show itself was set up by both art students and the NH Art Guild. The groups arranged the works on various accordion boards to create a walk-through gallery, while more art was glued to shelves and arranged on more tables. Towards the back of the library were the senior spaces, featuring art created by senior artists such as Ren Kramer, A. Keenan, Sanaa Johnson, and Isabella Singh. 

     Kramer said, “this is the proudest accomplishment of my high school years. I’ve put an ungodly amount of time into helping plan and execute the show and I’m extremely satisfied with the outcome. I’m also incredibly proud of my senior setup.” They add, “I just can’t believe that it’s over after so much preparation.”

     The show was open to the public on May 17, at the same time as the choir concert. Many showed up to the show, such as O’Brien and their family. O’Brien is a member of the Art Guild and helped to set up and break down the art show. They said, “my experience with helping at the art show was a lot of fun. I was so amazed by the talent and effort put into the art pieces and the setup of the Art Show.”

     O’Brien continued, “My favorite moment was going to the Art Show [on] Wednesday evening because it made me happy that so many people were showing their support for the arts and for the students that put in so much hard work. It was so exciting to watch it all come together, and I can’t wait to see what students make next year.”

     Other students also showed up to the art show, such as sophomore Melayna Tidwell. Tidwell had multiple pieces of art in the show. “I liked having pieces in the art show because I felt like I was actually accomplishing something with my art, and it felt very rewarding, especially after all the hard work I put into it. At the same time, it made me pretty self conscious, because while I was proud of my work, I couldn’t help but compare it to art that I thought was a lot better than mine.” 

     Tidwell noted that her favorite piece was the “one with the clocks in the tree stumps,” created by sophomore Maddie Dietz because “its concept and execution was just beautiful and combined to make something reflective and memorable.”

     Tidwell continues, “I really liked how every art student had a chance to showcase their work regardless what grade or skill level they were at. I wish that the accordion [boards] weren’t so close to the ground, though, because I feel like there was a lot of good work that got overlooked since it wasn’t in the natural line of human sight.”

     Overall, the 2023 NH Art Show was a success, with many praising the artists and the coordinators for how the event was run.