Student Art Display at Paper Mill Showcases Talent

Helen Wang has been an artist since she was five years old. With years’ worth of art classes under her belt, Wang now works in acrylic, oil pastel and colored pencil, finding inspiration in Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollack and Monet.

Not bad considering she’s in the eighth grade.

Wang was one of more than 150 students who had their artwork on display Monday night at the Paper Mill Playhouse to celebrate the culmination of Youth Art Month in Millburn Township Schools. Her painting, a watercolor inspired by O’Keefe, was one of the pieces selected for the show. Art teachers from each of the township’s 13 schools selected 12 students to represent their school.

Samantha Straussman, a seventh grader, displayed a drawing she had done in pencil, colored pencil, and Sharpie^® called Monochromatic Mannequins. She explained how the piece had been inspired in part by her love of gymnastics – one of the mannequins is leaping through the air. She said although she enjoys working in colored pencil, she actually prefers clay.

“She’s been creating art ever since she could first hold a crayon,” said her mother, Wendy.

For sophomore Sarah Stern, photography is more than just a hobby. It’s a mode of self-expression. Her “Self-Portrait” was included in the show, and she explained how she took an existing photo of herself and manipulated it in Photoshop, adding colors, shades and shapes, until the resulting picture looked more like a painting than a photograph.

“She has a natural ability,” said her teacher, Katherine Macioci. “She really knows how to capture a mood, and that comes through so amazingly well. She’s truly unique.”

Hannah Geller, a freshman, showcased a piece from her studies of the book arts. Her domed-shaped alphabet book drew much attention as she fanned the pages – each stained and lightly burned to simulate age – and showed how each one had letter of the alphabet, written in calligraphy and, when it was folded down, an obscure word and definition for that letter from the dictionary. A dark red ribbon fasted in the center served as a bookmark.

Geller, who is new to Millburn this year, said she learned the art of paper burning at her previous school.

“I love book art because it combines literature and art, both of which I love,” she explained. “And I also love calligraphy, so that’s how the idea for this project came together.”

“Hannah is so talented,” said her teacher, Tina Vos. “She is very self-motivated and really worked hard on this, even working on it at home. Her work was inspiring the other students as well.”

Sophie Schneider, a junior, took her work in a different direction, displaying three portraits of an apple in a cage, representing the apple both as art and a snack, with a nod to the Big Apple Circus.

The upper and lower levels of the Paper Mill hosted the artwork of middle school and high school students. Across the walkway, in the Carriage House, there was even more art on display. These artists, while willing to talk about their art, were also getting close to their bedtime.

“Those are artists from the elementary schools,” explained Roger Keller, one of the Millburn School District art educators and event organizers. “They enjoy being able to see the artwork of the older students as well. It gives them a glimpse of how they can evolve if they stay with it.”

Kathleen Harte Gilsenan, who teaches advanced placement students, said the art program at Millburn is so impressive because of its diversity.

“Students can truly find their niche, whatever their strength is, and practice it and grow it,” she said. “It is so amazing to watch them evolve. Some of them we watched start when they were in elementary school, just like the younger artists on display in the Carriage House. By the time they get to high school, they’ve really found their personal expression.”

Superintendent Dr. James Crisfield was among those browsing the displays.

“Amazing,” Crisfield said. “Just phenomenal. As much as we enjoy celebrating athletics and academics and performing arts, it’s great to be able to celebrate the visual arts like this. There is so much artistic talent here.” Crisfield and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Christine Burton later publicly commended all the student artists and their teachers.

“The Perfect Fourth” String Quartet, made up of students Grant Gardener, Alyssa Ahn, Nathanael Kim and Michelle Lou, provided music during the evening.

The following students received awards:

National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Silver Key in Photography: Simran Malhotra, Millburn Middle School

North Jersey Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Gold Key: Emily Bary, Caroline Bencivenga, Chandler Bernstein, Chelsea Castro, Emily Draper, Hannah Flaum, Jade Gardner, Morgan Gruer, Saranya Kanagaraj, Maria Khutoretsky, Krystal Li, Emily Sefcik, Hannah Sotnick (2), Perri Wertheimer, Wenyun Zou

Gold Key: Simran Malhotra

Silver Key: Chandler Bernstein (2), Monica Carty (2), Chelsea Castro, Carina Chang, Jonathan Duan, Brianna Khong, Saori  Macinnes, Corinna Seto, Danielle Spinelli, Stephanie Tager, Nicole Weissman, Wenyun Zou

Honorable Mention:  Brian Baker, Chandler Bernstein, Monica Carty, Carina Chang, Irene Hoxie, Saranya Kanagaraj, Alexa Kaplan (2), Jawon Kim, Alex Maquet, Jake Oleson (2), Sona Roy,Samantha Schaevitz (2), Jordan Scharf, Jessica Solodkin, Margaret Tang (2), Wenyun Zou

Gold Key Portfolio: Hannah Flaum, Hannah Sotnick

Honorable Mention Portfolio: Jawon Kim

Millburn Art Advisory High School Art Awards

Senior Scholarship Winners: Saranya Kanagaraj, Annie Dolan, Stephanie Tager

Junior Award Winners: Wenyun Zou, Chelsea Castro, Chanthia Ma, Emily Draper 

Queen Sofia of Spain Children’s Gallery International Contest

Anthony Chen, first prize, second grade; Lilly McGarr, honorable mention, first grade

Hannah Rubinstein, honorable mention, first grade

AAA Traffic Poster Contest

Warren Sunada-Wong, Wyoming School, first place

The New Jersey Association for Gifted Children Student Art Contest

Michael Yuan, Millburn High School, first place

Ryan Sunada-Wong, Wyoming School, first place

31st Annual Student Photography Contest

Jake Oleson, Millburn High School, finalist

Ben Joffe, Millburn High School, finalist

Fresh Perspective Juried Exhibition, Morris Museum

Natasha Baskin, Selected Participant, Millburn High School

Puyun Tafreshi, Selected Participant, Millburn High School

Gorillaz Nomination Character Competition

Jonathan Drews, Millburn High School

Art Educators of New Jersey Youth Art Month Design Contest

Margaret Tang, Elena Khutoretsky, Millburn High School, finalists