The Scholastic 144 Art Exhibit opened Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. in the Kauffman Gallery at Shippensburg University. The exhibition features 35 entries from high school juniors and seniors from select counties in Pennsylvania and Maryland. 

Among the featured artists were two students from Greencastle-Antrim High School, Sam Ernst and Grace Himmellwright, who have been working toward this goal for five years. Himmellwright described their selection for the exhibition as a “full-circle moment.”

Himmellwright submitted a piece called “Trapped in a Glass Box.” The piece was a self-portrait designed with an acrylic underpainting. Colored pencil and white gel pen accents were used to create the illusion that she was behind glass. 

Ernst’s piece, a sculpture entitled “Control,” was rewarded as an honorable mention. The sculpture depicted a puppet inside a box made of drywall with a wooden base. The theme of feeling trapped was enhanced by shards of glass within the box and wires sewing the walls together. 

Ernst’s artwork was inspired by feelings of control, or lack thereof, in life. “No matter how much you try to fight it, you still end up in the box,” said Ernst.

The exhibit’s third place winner was Sterling Feeney, from Shippensburg Area Senior High School, with her multimedia piece, “Sector.”

Feeney’s teacher, Aric Sites, explained that five of the pieces selected for the exhibit, including “Sector,” resulted from the same assignment, in which students had to create non-objective pieces—paintings without a subject. 

“That was the first painting class I’ve taken,” said Feeney. She was surprised by her award because, besides this project, she tended to stay within the realms of drawing and realism.

“Graphite Portrait” by Kira Gross, the exhibition’s second place winner, was similarly inspired by a class project. Last year, Gross was assigned a project in which she drew a portrait of one of her friends. The piece she submitted for the exhibit was an extension of that project, this time with a picture she found online. 

Gross wanted to focus more on lighting, so she chose a photo with harsh contrast and shadows. “I’ve always loved realism and the intricacy of graphite,” said Gross about her drawing.

The first-place winner of the exhibition stood out at the front of the gallery. Lily Wallace from Cumberland Valley High School won the award with her submission “Series of 3 Human Figure Vases.” The award-winning artwork was a collection of sculptures depicting the human body. 

The Scholastic 144 Exhibition will remain on display in the Kauffman Gallery until Nov. 11., and an online exhibition will be available from Nov. 15 to March 1 at https://2023scholastic144.artcall.org/. 

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