The Great Frame Up, an art and frame store in downtown Menlo Park, hosted an awards ceremony titled “The Creative Self-Expression Show,” to celebrate students in the M-A Art Department on Thursday, April 28. M-A art teachers submitted the artwork that was on display, after choosing the work of students in Drawing and Painting, Ceramics, Photography, and Art Studio classes. At the hour long event, participants, families, and members of the community viewed the artwork of 34 students that hung in frames provided by the store. In addition to the catering by Brittney Gorman’s Food and Nutrition class, attendees enjoyed a presentation of awards and the opportunity to admire the artwork on display.
Marcy Magatelli has owned The Great Frame Up for 26 years and has hosted this event for 21 years. Magatelli explained that she felt inspired to showcase the work of M-A artists because of her passion for raising awareness about the importance of art in the lives of young adults. “All I ever hear about is math and science. This is important too…I need people to have more respect for kids who have artistic talents.” She understands the pressure high school students face and sees artwork as a wonderful outlet for their creativity.
Magatelli presented all participants with awards and announced the winners for each category. Below are the names of winners and runner-ups:
2-D Advanced: Aliza Katzman (senior) and Amanda Taylor (junior)
2-D Intermediate: Tori Rarick (sophomore) and Cameron Lindsey (sophomore)
2-D Beginning: Miranda Nugent (sophomore) and Jessica Gomez (sophomore)
Photography Advanced: Abi Reichow (junior) and Tania Miranda (senior)
Photography Beginning: Edgar Lopez (junior) and Ruby Wycich (sophomore)
Ceramics Beginning: Abigail Howell (junior) and Greta Sten (senior)
Poster Design for the event: Lauren Koenig (senior)
Winners of each category received 100 dollars and runner-ups were awarded 50 dollars by The Great Frame Up store.
Mia Szymkowski, a junior in AP Art Studio, described her experience taking art at M-A: “I really really like it. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I go to school and of course there’s math and English and all that. But then my fourth period is art, so I just go make art for an hour and that’s great.” Szymkowski looks forward to continuing creating artwork at M-A.
Senior Aliza Katzman won first place for her watercolor titled “Geisha.” Katzman’s admiration for Asian aesthetics and ties to the East Asian culture inspired her piece, which she impressively finished in two days. Like Szymkowski, Katzman loves having the opportunity to create art at M-A. She explained, “I think it’s really nice to have an allotted amount of time where you can just work on your artwork and it’s something you’re supposed to be doing because a lot of times I’ve found I have to focus only on academics and there’s no space for art.”
Through this event, Magatelli and The Great Frame Up employes honored participants and allowed the community to enjoy the work of talented student artists.
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