The annual NASH Art Show returns this evening, showcasing a year’s worth of student creativity. But the Art Department faculty have also invested countless hours in the preparation for tonight’s show.

“We truly have such talented and creative students, and I encourage everyone to take the time to really look at all the artwork and even reach out to the artists to learn more about their ideas,” AP Studio Art teacher Mrs. Swan said.

NASH’s art department boasts a huge pool of talent, and presenting that talent to the community takes work from the students and the faculty involved. Three hard-working art teachers–Mr Clemmer, Mr Matthews and Mrs Swan–have ensured that the show will rank among the highlights of the year. 

“The Art Show allows students to have real world experience preparing and presenting their work for display. Most of the time they are focused on making art, but getting your artwork out to an audience is a really important part of being an artist,” Clemmer said.

NASH senior Julie Baker has some of her favorite pieces on display.

“My favorite artworks are entitled ‘Play’ and ‘Emotion,’” Baker said. “‘Play’ is of a cartoon character skateboarding in a business area and spreading around color as they skateboard on the sidewalk. I love how clean it came out and how it looks digital despite doing it with paint markers and oil pastels. ‘Emotion’ is multiple canvases that line up with scribbles overlapping all over them. It connects well with my theme of childhood and shows perfectly how our emotions are all over the place and difficult to process.” 

NASH senior Eva Kynaston chose to create art through a completely different lens.

“My favorite pieces are my painting of a person through a fly’s perspective and my still life of deer heads on a mantle-piece,” Kynaston said. “I had so much fun doing my painting of a person through a fly’s perspective, and I love how the colors turned out. I also like my still life, which is inspired by vanitas still lifes and uses heavy symbolism to depict memorialization.”

NASH senior Wynn Mussleman’s art is intended to evoke memories.

“My favorite piece is probably the drawing I made of myself with my stuffed animals and 3DS,” Musselman said. “The drawing is larger and made with crayons, so it took me a long time. I wanted to convey how childlike items can be used as a safety net and make someone feel comforted.”

Other artwork serves to honor heritage.

“My favorite piece is a series of four circular drawings,” NASH senior Lily Nguyen said. “The artwork celebrates my Vietnamese-American heritage. The first three drawings are in only red or yellow [colors of the flag], while the use of both colors in the final drawing represents deepening my understanding of my heritage. I used edible rice paper, a traditional staple in Vietnamese food, as a surface for all four of my drawings (the piece displayed in the art show is a reprint because they’re so fragile). Together, all four drawings spell out the year my dad left Vietnam, 1979.”

Nguyen won a Gold Key and was an American Visions Award nominee for Scholastic earlier this year. 

Julie Baker, a NASH senior, is joyful about her final art show.

“I enjoy seeing my portfolio from the year all in one place so I can share that with family and friends. I am also glad it’s my last show since it’s a good capstone on all the work I’ve done this year.”

For Kynaston, however, this last show is more bittersweet.

“I am sad that this is my last show, as I have loved making and learning about art the past four years, but it is also an exciting celebration of all of our hard work,” she said.

Mussleman said she is looking forward to receiving feedback from her peers.

“I am doing the Art Show because I want to show my friends all of the artwork I have made this year,” she said. “I spent a lot of time on my pieces and feel proud of them, so I want to display them.”

Nguyen is also at the end of her high school art career, but she fondly looks back upon her work.

“I think art shows are great to see how much progress you’ve made during the year,” she said. “When I compare my first artwork to my latest, I’m really surprised at my growth. I’m a little sad that this is my last show, but it doesn’t mean I’ll stop making art or forget my journey as an artist.”

As such a soulful expression of self, the art that students create clearly holds much value to them. And, such a grandiose show surely possesses much meaning.

Baker said she sees art as both a window to her past and future.

“I have always loved art and elected to take the classes in high school to improve my skills and motivate myself to stick with it,” she said. “Although I am not going to college for art, I want to continue to use these skills in my future as an engineer. Art to me is a way to show my passion for all my interests and a way to share who I am with others.”

Kynaston shared a similar sentiment.  

“I have carved out a spot for art class every year,” she said. “It is a place where I can take a break from notes and fill a blank canvas. I have loved taking art, and I hope to continue making art after high school.”

As this evening’s show approaches, Nguyen is looking back on the unique opportunities art class has given her.

“I had a lot of fun experimenting with composition and materials this year in AP Art,” she said. “For instance, I was able to make a jewelry piece this year, depicting cells on a hand. I also like to hide an Easter egg in my artworks. It’s something I started doing in 10th grade as a little reminder to find the good in everything. He’s a little smiley-face named Herbert. Look for him in the art show!” 

Fro Clemmer, the 2024 NASH Art Show is a celebration of the arts.

“It’s the event of the season,” he said. “In addition to being able to see a lot of the great work the students made this year, there will be students doing caricatures, face painting, pottery demonstrations, and live music performances. Let me know if I need to call your boss and tell them you can’t work tonight.”

The show runs from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on the first floor of NASH.