Spring-Ford Students Earn Prizes at County Art Show

MONTGOMERYVILLE, PA – For the second year in a row, Cassidy Quattro, of Hatboro-Horsham High School, received the Best of Show award at the 29th annual “Touch the Future” art show. She was joined by several hundred other students, teachers, family, and friends for the award ceremony on April 3 at the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown.

Awards and checks were presented to the student artists from 25 Bucks and Montgomery county public high schools who submitted work to the professionally juried show. It began as a tribute to Christa McAuliffe, NASA’s teacher in space who died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Also selected were second and third place Best of Show winners, along with 15 category winners. Additionally, PSEA purchased artwork from two students for permanent display in its office, and one student was named to receive the Teacher’s Choice Award. Together, the students took home prize money totaling $2,400.

Nearly 400 pieces of artwork were submitted and 195 pieces were juried into the show by Nicole Hall, Director of Admissions for Temple University Tyler School of Art. The event is sponsored by the Mideastern Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (MER/PSEA) and the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools (CAPS). Chairpersons for the event are art teachers Lynne Pribis of Upper Dublin High School, Connie Berger of Cheltenham High School, Terry O’Neill of Neshaminy High School, and Carly Najera of Bensalem High School.

"When districts are faced with the hard choice of making budget cuts, one of the first areas they look at are arts programs. This show proves that arts are a core subject and not simply a frill. In our schools, talent and creativity are encouraged and nurtured, and you can't measure that on any standardized test," said Alan M. Malachowski, an elementary school music teacher and president-elect of the PSEA Mideastern Region.

The exhibition will be open to the public through Saturday, April 30, during gallery hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 am to 9 pm, and Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. The Abington Art Center is located at 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046 and can be reached at 215-887-4882. To see the winning entries, visit the CAPS website and follow us on Facebook.

Best of Show, purchase prizes, Teacher’s Choice Award and category winners are as follows.

BEST OF SHOW FIRST PLACE – 2015 AND 2016 Hatboro-Horsham HS, Montgomery County Cassidy Quattro, Black and White Drawing, “Behind the Walls” (Instructor: Lauren Weisberg)

SECOND PLACE Council Rock North HS, Bucks County Clarissa Kear, Oil Painting – Untitled(Instructor: Lynne Hayden)

THIRD PLACE Lower Moreland HS, Montgomery County Gabrielle Janovsky, 3-D Single Medium, “Mask” (Instructor: Scott Fisher)

***** PURCHASE PRIZES Upper Dublin HS Ester Kim, Watercolor, “Absorbed” (Instructor: Lynne Pribis)

Upper Merion Area HS Ji Su Kim, Jewelry/Metals, “Metallic Fall” (Instructor: Megan Bishop)

***** TEACHERS’ CHOICE AWARD - Pennsbury Ali Zinnen, 3-D Mixed Media, “Pencilman”(Instructor: Curtis May)

***** CATEGORY WINNERS - Bucks County Bensalem HS Evelyn Solis Flores, 2D Design, “Bird in Flight”(Instructor: Deanna McLaughlin)

Neshaminy HS Tyler Dyas, Traditional Silver Print, “Stressed Out”(Instructor: Terry O’Neill)

Pennsbury HS Bethany Gardner, Painting - Acrylic/Oil, “Painter’s Pallet”(Instructor: Jim Minton)

William Tennent HSJillian Zeldes, 3D Functional, “Green Vase”(Instructor: Rena Friedant)

***** CATEGORY WINNERS - Montgomery County Abington HS Elizabetta DiSalvo, 3D Single Medium, “My New Friends”(Instructor: David Ferro)

Cheltenham HS Abby Salem, Printmaking, “Moody Blues”(Instructor: Connie Berger)

Harriton HS Hannah Wheeler, Fiber Crafts, “Self Portrait”(Instructor: Peter Murray)

Hatboro-Horsham HSEva Graglia, Color Drawing, “Food Blueprint”(Instructor: Lauren Weisberg)

North Penn HS Brittany Crosson, Digital Imaging/Computer Graphics, “Paper Crane/Flashenstein”(Instructor: Michael Werner)

North Penn HS Carter Yanagawa, Drawing – Black & White, “Starve the Ego, Feed the Mind”(Instructor: Kolleen Keefer)

Plymouth-Whitemarsh HS Lydia Ciaffone, Digital Photography, “Burnt”(Instructor: Candance Maggioncalda)

Souderton Area HS Elise Tompkins, 2D Mixed Media, “Bling”(Instructor: Ginny Perry)

Springfield Township HS Brennan Grimes, Painting – Watercolor, “Mirror”(Instructor: Mark Kobasz)

Spring-Ford HS David Hunter, Jewelry/Metals, “Concrete Reflections”(Instructor: Karen Gallagher)

Upper Dublin HS Marina Duka, 3D Mixed Media, “Untitled”(Instructor: John Rodgers)