5 Summit Oak Knoll Students Win Scholastic Art Awards

SUMMIT, NJ — Five Summit locals and Oak Knoll School photographers and artists have been recognized in the 2017 Regional Scholastic Art Competition.

The Summit locals included: Erin Harvey, Christina Maurizi, Natalie Commesso, Grace Johnson and Caroline Westdyk.

Art and photography by students at Oak Knoll's all-girls middle and high school earned Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention awards amid more than 4,200 entries from private and public schools in northern New Jersey.

The competition, in which only a fourth of entries earn such distinction, also included drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramic submissions.

The Oak Knoll winners include:

• Shannon Costello '19, of Morristown, is a Gold Key winner for her photo "Pride."
• Kathryn Flanagan '17, of Green Village, earned a Gold Key for her photo entitled: "Happy 80th."
• Erin Harvey '18, of Summit, won a Gold Key for her photo "Egg Hunt."
• Christina Maurizi '18, of Summit, earned a Gold Key for her photo "Oculus."
• Allison Palmeri '17, of Franklin Lakes, is a Gold Key winner for her photo "Liberty." This photo of an Olympic boxer training was taken during a historic photography trip to Cuba a group of students, faculty and parents embarked on last year.
• Mary Kate Bucknam '17, of Chatham, earned a Silver Key in photography for her photo "Olympic Boxer." This photo was also taken during the historic Cuban trip.
• Natalie Commesso '17, of Summit, was awarded two Silver Keys for her photos entitled: "Snow Angel" and "Little Adventure." Last year, Commesso received an Honorable Mention for her photo "Autumn Face."
• Christina Nguyen '18, of Watchung, won a Silver Key in art for "All Creatures Great and Small."
• Emma Saheed '18, of West Caldwell, won a Silver Key for her photo "Dr. Eckleberg's Eyes." She also earned an Honorable Mention for her photo "Disturbance."
• Isabel Salas '18, of Verona, was named a Silver Key winner for her photo "Montclair and Adidas."
• Margot Christ '17, of Basking Ridge, also received an Honorable Mention for her photo "Time on Their Hands."
• Stacy Fortes '18, of Union, earned an Honorable Mention for her photo "Sunset in a Bottle."
• Grace Johnson '17, of Summit, received Honorable Mentions for her photos "Pieced Together," "Mateo," "Finally" and "Parents."
• Lily Sutton '17, of Chatham, received an Honorable Mention for her photo "Gone Fishing."
• Caroline Westdyk '17, of Summit, earned an Honorable Mention for her photo "I'm Not a Terrorist."

The students' work will be on display when the Scholastics Regional Exhibition opens on Thursday, Feb. 23 with a 6 p.m. reception at the Montclair Art Museum. The exhibit runs through Sunday, March 26.

Oak Knoll photography teacher Jennifer Breitenstein lauded the photo winners, noting how Costello's "Pride" marked the first time an Oak Knoll sophomore earned Scholastic Arts recognition for a darkroom print.

She also expressed pride in her students who have demonstrated a passion for photography throughout their high school years.

"It is one of my major pleasures to see a student who shows potential in the middle school grades continue taking photography through senior year and develop an individual style and subject matter in their portfolio," she said.

Nguyen's illustration is likely already familiar to the Oak Knoll community, as it was used last June as a program cover for an Upper School closing prayer service, according to Oak Knoll Creative Arts Director Will Cardell.

Nguyen later created a different version of the illustration, which she presented to charity: water CEO and Founder Scott Harrison when he spoke at the school in November.

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child is an independent, Catholic school, coeducational in elementary school from kindergarten through grade six; and all-girls in middle and high school from grades seven through 12.

For more information about Oak Knoll, visit www.oakknoll.org or call 908-522-8109.

(Images provided)

Photo 1 - Christina Maurizi's photo "Oculus."

Photo 2 - Grace Johnson's photo "Pieced Together."

Photo 3 - Photo by Grace Johnson.

Photo 4 - Natalie Commesso's photo "Little Adventure."

Photo 5 - Natalie Commesso's photo "Snow Angel."

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