Avon Middle School Students Excel at Scholastic Art Show

Avon Middle School Art Students Exhibit in the 2020 Regional Scholastic Art Show

The Lorain County Regional Scholastic Art Exhibition has been providing a program to recognize, exhibit and honor excellence in visual art from grade 7-12 students for over 50 years. The 2020 exhibition kicked off last month at the Beth K. Stocker Gallery on the campus of Lorain County Community College and includes artwork from several Avon Middle School students.

The Scholastic Art Awards program is the largest annual art competition in the country.  Students in schools across the United States and Canada create the 150,000 entries each year. The local exhibit draws from public, parochial, and private middle and high schools from Lorain, Erie, and Huron Counties. Each year, over 1,400 original works of art from the regions’ students are entered by art teachers. Professional judges choose up to 700 pieces of art that are hung salon-style in the Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery at Lorain County Community College.

Avon Middle School art teachers, Stacy Cislo and John Yagoda, entered a variety of two and three-dimensional works this year. Work was juried by an esteemed panel of art and design professionals and professors from northeast Ohio. Work was judged by originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision and voice. Grade 7-8 students compete in one division with all categories mixed. Students earn third place “Honorable Mention,” second place “Silver Key” and the first place of “Gold Key.”

The categories of art include architecture, ceramics, glass, comic art, design, digital, drawing, illustration, editorial cartoon, fashion design, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video game design, and Senior portfolio (high school students).

There were only 10 Middle School Gold Keys to award and Avon Middle School took six of the 10 in the region.

28 Awards in all for Avon Middle School (all works are by 8th grade students, unless otherwise noted).

Gold Key Awards: Angelina Gergis, Simona Jacono, Isabella Keller, Christine Kim, Isabella Lane, and Joshua Stitchick

Silver Key Awards: Jordis Issac, Isabella Keller, Isabella Lane (two Silver Keys), and Molly Rak

Honorable Mentions: Anna Argabright, Alexandra Downing, Molly Drenik, Julie Dushaj (two Honorable mentions), Lauren Fischer (7th-grade), Angelina Gergis, Isabella Keller, Isabella Lane, Krista Lehlbach (two Honorable mentions), Sydney Machovina, Clare O’Malley, Reilly Small (two Honorable mentions), Joshua Stitchick, and Natalie Thomas (7th-grade).

The exhibit is hosted at the Stocker Center gallery, 1005 N Abbe Rd, Elyria, on the campus of Lorain County Community College and sponsored by the Nordson Corporation with additional funding from the C. Paul Stocker Arts Foundation and Lorain County Community College.  The exhibit runs now through Feb. 20 and is open to the public. Beth K. Stocker Gallery hours are Mon. – Fri. 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with Tues., Wed., and Thurs. evenings 4 to 6:30 p.m.; and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. The gallery is also open during Stocker Center Hoke Theater performances.

The exhibit may also be seen by appointment by calling 440-366-4140.