Solehi Artists Achieve Key to Success
The inspiration for this photo is Diane Arbus, an artist who specializes in macabre photos.
Many students at Southern Lehigh are proficient at drawing, painting, photography, calligraphy, poetry, and many other forms of visual art. The Scholastic Art Awards gives these students an opportunity to broadcast and receive recognition for their talents.
Twelve Southern Lehigh students entered their artwork into the East Central Pennsylvania regional competition which includes submissions from Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, and Berks counties. The eleven Solehi students who received awards were senior Amanda Andreucci, junior Lexi Brown, senior Jocelyn Burns, freshman Sophia Buonanno, senior Kaitlyn McAuliffe, sophomore Maggie Moerder, senior Jordan Munoz, seniors Alec and Peter Natkin, senior Mason Pellegrini, and junior Caitlin Roth. Eight of the eleven winners won Gold Key awards, and Alec and Peter Natkin won awards in particular for their comprehensive Art Portfolios.
Senior Kaitlyn McAuliffe was one of the students that won an award for their artwork.
“I was very surprised that I won,” senior Amanda Andreucci said, “I entered the competition last year and didn’t receive any awards.”
First held in 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards are the oldest art competition in the United States. Visual art pieces must be submitted to a regional competition before a set due date, when a panel of judges evaluates their work. Students can receive an honorable mention, a Silver Key award, or a Gold Key award.
“I feel relatively confident in my artistic abilities,” junior Lexi Brown said. “A lot of what I do involves a lot of experimentation. If it happens to turn out good, that’s great. It’s trial and error, mostly.”
The eight Solehi students who received Gold Key awards will be moving onto a national competition in New York City, where their work will be judged alongside other Gold Key recipients from other regional competitions. The winners of the national competition will be announced on March 14. Throughout the month of April, the regional winners’ works, including those from Southern Lehigh, will also be on display at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts.
Many of the Southern Lehigh students who won awards at this year’s competition plan to compete again next year.
“I want to be a little bit more experimental with my photography next year,” junior Caitlin Roth said. “I like to think of my work as ‘the weirder, the better.’”
Senior Jamie Kish is a former three-year staff reporter and two-year entertainment editor for the Spotlight. This year Jamie continues to serve as a contributor...
Caitlin Roth, a second-year staff member, has followed an unusual path towards success at the Spotlight. Her first year on staff, as a junior, Caitlin...