The Board of Education featured art highschool students to be honored for their artistic accomplishments and diligence in their art class. They were acknowledged in the Board of Education February meeting on February 12th at 7 PM in the Watertown High School Lecture Hall. 

Here at Watertown High School there are a variety of Art Programs you can choose from that allow students to express themselves and engage their creativity in different forms.  The Art classes consist of Photography, Ceramics, Art Foundations 1 & 2, Typography, and much more! The teachers in this department, Ms. Rahal, Mrs. Schlatter, and Ms. Uryase, have chosen one student from their classes that they found showed proficient skills in this selected subject. 

Ms. Rahal has nominated Andrew Marshall as her top candidate as he’s shown dedication and interest in Photography. Andrew found an interest in his new hobby through spending time with his grandfather who was a camera collector and avid photographer. “Now as a senior and my teacher’s assistant for my film photograph class section, Andrew is consistently keen to assist students be successful in sometimes the trying processes of shooting, developing and printing film photographs,” Ms. Rahal said. He is always excited and eager to help students out and teach them all the techniques to succeed. When asked, “What does being chosen mean to you?” Andrew states, “Having my art be chosen does mean quite a lot to me, as I honestly never expected my art to ever be picked or chosen for some form of recognition.” Overall, Andrew has not faced many challenges in this class as it is one of his passions and has become one of Ms. Rahal’s assets for a thriving class. 

Mrs. Schlatter submitted Christine Brown to be recognized for her work. Art Foundation 2 goes beyond the basics of painting and drawing; it challenges students’ perception of perspectives and textures in art. Christine has shown that she can think outside the box and challenge herself to do more than just the basics in her Art Foundation 2 class. “Her approach to art-making is personal and often includes depth of emotion not often seen in high school work,” Mrs.Schlatter says. Christine acknowledges that this course is more rigorous and requires an open mind to face the different elements of art, but she explains how she has the well needed support to move forward, “As an art student I feel like I’ve already made such progress on my journey. All my art teachers have been so supportive of me and they see my potential as I continue to grow.” Christine has come a long way through her journey of exploring her interest in art and is now an extraordinary student to choose for this award. 

Last but not least, Adrein Epprecht has been chosen by Ms. Uryase. Adrein specializes in 3d art. She enjoys the challenges ceramics and sculpting brings. Working with clay provokes more thinking, you have to take in consideration the time it needs in the kiln or it not turning out as expected. This doesn’t stop Adrein to still pursue her passion for art. “Ever since elementary, I’ve worked my hardest to get nominated for an art award, and before this, I never had. I’m grateful that I finally achieved a lifetime goal, as art means a lot to me and is a big passion of mine,” Adrein shared. Her hard work has finally paid off and now is able to show her mastery through this recognition. Ms. Uryase explains, “She pays great attention to detail and has excellent craftsmanship.  She does a great job of working on all sides of her 3D work.  Even though this was her first 3D class, Adrein always added personal details and executed her challenging solutions to project prompts flawlessly.” 

The Board of Education presented the art students with a certificate for their achievement and recognition for their participation. The students nominated have worked hard to deserve this award and should continue spreading their pieces with others.