by Ben Zhao ’22
In mid June, Montgomery Township School Districts held its first Virtual Art Extravaganza that showcased student artwork from grades 5-12. This beautiful online gallery was made possible by Montgomery High School’s NAHS (National Art Honor Society), wonderful art teachers, and students’ hard work.
The virtual gallery was a massive success in its ability to showcase students’ artistic accomplishments during distance learning as well as the tremendous artistic talent in the Montgomery community.
Ms. McGrail, one of the main leaders of the project and the MHS Studio Art teacher, described that a main challenge of building the event “was trying to collect all of the artwork from the students when we could not be in person.” NAHS poured hours and hours of work into making the gallery.
The students’ work deals with “serious world, social, and mental-health issues; explores nature and our environment; expresses emotions from joy to sadness and from fear to courage; and discovers shared beauty and life,” as the Virtual Art Extravaganza puts it.
For Ms. McGrail’s Honors Portfolio and AP Portfolio classes, student’s works are displayed with their own pages that showcase each artist’s individuality and creative expression.
Very often, student artwork is paired with a thought-provoking written description that provides insight on an artist’s messages or themes.
For AP Studio student Fiona Pan (’20), her artwork “urges people to be more aware of the influences that affect the way we act and think on a daily basis.” She builds her ideas in her art with the use of saturated, vivid colors and her depiction of routine life.
While looking at student’s collective works, it is clear that the art teachers and staff have put a tremendous amount of time and thought into putting together projects that teach students to introspect and reflect on the times.
The PawPrint 