Oil Painting by Hannah Neri (I)
More than 40 Milton students received recognition in the 2018 Massachusetts Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The students earned 78 Gold Key, Silver Key or Honorable Mention accolades in the competition, a “banner year” for the School, says English department faculty member Lisa Baker. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards began in 1923 and are considered the most prestigious awards for teenagers in the country. Milton’s 21 Gold Key pieces are submitted to the national Scholastic competition, and results for the national contest will be announced in March.
Hannah Neri ’18 received seven awards for painting and photography. Hannah says she is inspired to “define beauty for myself and find beauty in my surroundings.”
“My work, at least this year in oil painting, centers around creating confrontational and non-idealistic portraits and I think I do that well in my portrait of my friend, Hannah H. My photography, for the most part, takes place when I’m travelling. I love photography because it is one of the most portable forms of art. I don’t have a certain photography style; I just try to capture what I find interesting or beautiful. At Milton, I’ve become more relaxed as an artist. I’ve forced myself to work faster and more loosely, focusing more on elements of play and creation rather than tedious, but perfect, replication. Visual art challenges me to explore the unknown. When I start a painting, I have no idea how it will actually turn out. I can plan out the composition of the canvas, but when I go to create the colors I want or go to put paint on to canvas I can only hope that when I step back from the canvas, I’ve created something that I like.”
Adi Gandhi ’18 received two Gold Key awards, including one for a writing portfolio, along with an honorable mention for his poem “Mango Picking.” “Before coming to Milton, I was very interested in writing, and would write on my own, but without any professional guidance. Milton has an outstanding English department and offers courses in creative writing. I took full advantage of these offers. My creative writing teacher, Mr. Connolly, has been fundamental to helping me grow as a writer. As he likes to say to his students, he is my ‘reader’ and not my teacher. The resources and support I found at Milton have allowed me to grow so much as a writer.”
Complete list of award winners
(GK: Gold Key; SK: Silver Key; HM: Honorable Mention)
Ann-Josephine Auguste (I), HM Poetry: Black Girl
Eliza Barrett-Cotter (III), GK Poetry: Lies
Eliza Barrett-Cotter (III), SK Poetry: Ghazal for a Love Story
Erin Brady (II), SK Drawing and Illustration: Distorted Portrait
Andrew Chan (I) GK Poetry: Sonnet
Andrew Chan (I) GK Poetry: The Raven
Andrew Chan (I) GK Poetry: What I Own
Andrew Chan (I) SK Poetry: Exodus
Malia Chung (III) HM Poetry: The Art of Eight Limbs
Alyssa Dunn (II) GK Poetry: Dear Grandpa,
Serena Fernandopulle (II) SK Poetry: Hit Her
Aditya Gandhi (I) GK Poetry: Fasting during Navratri
Aditya Gandhi (I) GK Writing Portfolio: Scenes from a Black-and-White Western
Aditya Gandhi (I) HM Poetry: Mango Picking
Hannah Hachamovitch (I) SK Art Portfolio: My Art Canon.
Sophia Hitt (II) GK Printmaking: Save The Bees
Sophia Hitt (II) HM Photography: halibut #2
Sophia Hitt (II) SK Painting: self portrait
Sophia Hitt (II) SK Photography: alaska
Edowaye Idahor (I) SK Poetry: Police Brutality
Ainsley Iwanicki (III) SK Ceramics & Glass: Wood Waves
Kiely Johnson (II) SK Poetry: Old Friend
Dong Ju Kim (I) HM Painting: Play With Me
Lucy Landau (I) HM Mixed Media: Apples
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) GK Sculpture: Meat Coat
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) GK Drawing and Illustration: Nostalgia
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) GK Printmaking: Kitty Cones
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) SK Painting: Dew Drops
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) Silver Key Painting: Rainy City
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) Silver Key Sculpture: The Ecosystem
Jiseo (Sophie) Lee (I) Silver Key Design: Butterflies and Bees
Victoire Legrand (I) HM Poetry: Elegy for my Body
Victoire Legrand (I) HM Poetry: What I’m Sorry For
Max Li (I) SK Short Story: Blessings
Kelly Tsing Sum Lo (I) GK Poetry: a letter to the teachers who never did get my name right
Caroline McCarthy (I) HM Sculpture: The Playground
Tatiana Meyer (II) HM Poetry: Unbecoming
Tatiana Meyer (II) SK Poetry: Mix
Anna Mikhailova (II) HM Sculpture: Sagittarius
Alexandra Millard (I) SK Poetry: Husked
Edward Moreta Jr. (I) GK Poetry: Tuesday, May 30th, 1961
Hannah Neri (I) GK Painting: Gentle Stern
Hannah Neri (I) GK Painting: Squeeze
Hannah Neri (I) GK Photography: Death of Tsujiki
Hannah Neri (I) GK Photography: Family of Five
Hannah Neri (I) GK Photography: Oblivion
Hannah Neri (I) SK Painting: Pretty in Pink
Hannah Neri (I) SK Photography: Anchoring to Umapad
Beatrice Ojuri (I) SK Poetry: Take a Moment
Toya Ora (I) SK Poetry: Seven Trouble
Akua Owusu (II) SK Poetry: Bonding, Bleaching
Alexandra Paul (I) SK Poetry: Find Yourself
Jenna Peters (III) HM Poetry: College Graduate
Liv Pouliot (III) HM Poetry: Your Ring
Liv Pouliot (III) SK Poetry: Teddy Bear
Claire Raposo (I) SK Poetry: Rock City Road and Hartigan at 7:30
Amaya Sangurima-Jimenez (II) HM Painting: The Ecuadorian Working Girl
Navpreet Sekhon (I) HM Painting: Hot Cheeto
Nina Subkhanberdina (I) HM Painting: Koi Fish
Evita Thadhani (III) HM Poetry: Villanelle for a Hospital Waiting Room
Evita Thadhani (III) HM Poetry: Drunk
Alexandra Upton (I) HM Poetry: Parallelograms
Alexandra Upton (I) SK Short Story: Stars
Abigail Walker (I) HM Poetry: Last Sunday Night
Abigail Walker (I) SK Poetry: Euphemisms
Abigail Walker (I) SK Flash Fiction: Taking Out the Trash
Jessica Wang (I) GK Short Story: Child From the Stars
Jessica Wang (I) GK Poetry: Raw Meat
Jessica Wang (I) GK Writing Portfolio: Child From the Stars
Hannah Widerman (II) GK Poetry: Aubade
Hannah Widerman (II) HM Poetry: Half Daydreams
Hannah Widerman (II) HM Critical Essay: Boundaries
Peter (Young Yoon) Won (II) GK Ceramics & Glass: Don’t Stop Running
Jonathan WuWong (I) GK Ceramics & Glass: Nymphaeaceae
Jonathan WuWong (I) HM Ceramics & Glass: Stratus
Jonathan WuWong (I) SK Ceramics & Glass: Cornucopia
Erika Yip (III) HM Poetry: Princess
Erika Yip (III) SK Poetry: Penny Girl
