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2019

CUSHING ACADEMY VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

2019

CUSHING ACADEMY

VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Each year, Cushing students produce an extraordinary number of creative pieces. This magazine highlights some of the artistic creations produced by our talented artists during the 2018-2019 academic year. We commend our students for their hard work, talent, progress, and willingness to share their work with others. We hope you enjoy their work as much as we do. FACULTY

Robert F. Johnson - Department Chair Dr. Susie Carlisle Deborah Gardner Joan Hathaway Linsey Laserte DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY

Philip Wexler EDITORS

Heather Hill ‘90 Claudia Markey Folakemi Olorode ‘19 MISSION STATEMENT

Cushing Academy exists for students and develops curious, creative, and confident learners and leaders. Cushing Academy 39 School Street Ashburnham, MA 01430 (978) 827-7000 www.cushing.org COPYRIGHT ©2019 CUSHING ACADEMY All rights to illustration, photography, and text are reserved by Cushing Academy. Artwork may not be copied, reproduced, or translated in whole or in part without written permission of Cushing Academy.

Vivian Lu 2

Judy Song CUSHING ACADEMY

CUSHING ACADEMY VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM Cushing Academy is home to one of the most highly respected visual arts programs in secondary education. We feature classes from beginning to advanced levels in a variety of mediums, including silversmithing, ceramics, painting, drawing, architectural design, photography, and stained glass. Within our state-of-the-art Emily Fisher Landau Center for the Visual Arts, we are able to offer unique courses of study and activities using an array of professionallevel equipment. Students in the Visual Arts program encounter many avenues for selfexpression. Our supportive environment allows young artists to grow and learn from distinguished faculty and from each other, and to appreciate talent and creative spirit. In addition to the major coursework offered by the Academy, there are also other opportunities for artistic expression and education. These include visits by guest Kit Tang

artists as well as field trips to museums and studios throughout New England for students to experience practical applications

COURSE OFFERINGS Drawing

Fused Glass

Painting

Silversmithing

Advanced Painting

Advanced Silversmithing

Photography

Ceramics

Advanced Photography

Advanced Ceramics

Architectural Design

Art History

Stained Glass

Portfolio

of artistic endeavors. Cushing also offers an intensive five-week summer program in Studio Art and Portfolio Preparation.

Simba Xu

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

DRAWING & PAINTING Cushing’s 40’ x 80’ art studio is filled with natural light and is the ideal space for students pursuing painting, drawing, and architectural design. The studio also serves as a space for art shows, demonstrations, and workshops.

Ethan Ekberg

Atlas Wexler

Ty Tang

CUSHING ACADEMY

Salina Cai

Kit Tang

Shea Frost

Salina Kim

Kit Tang

Judy Song

Alana James

Kit Tang

Ty Tang

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Victoria Slattery

Julie Zhu

Atlas Wexler

Cindy Zeng

Judy Song 4

CUSHING ACADEMY

Atlas Wexler

Tao Lambert

Mya Yang 2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Billy Pan

Abigail Wood

Sean Conway

Alisha Sahi

Brooke Stevenson

Judy Song 5

Julie Zhu

Krystal Ham

EunSoo Kim

Ty Tang

Krystal Ham

Eva Li

Adam Canfield

Roxette Xu

Katherine Hu 6

CUSHING ACADEMY

Christopher Gomperts

Juan Dominguez

Atlas Wexler

Krystal Ham

Mya Yang

Alex Oh

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Mackenzie Whitney

Ava Humler

Rinka Asakura

Katherine Hu

Simba Xu

CUSHING ACADEMY

Atlas Wexler

Ava Doyle

Rinka Asakura

Abigail Wood

Yewon Kim

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Alex Oh

Anna Fitzgerald

EunSoo Seul

METALSMITHING In our state-of-the-art silversmithing studio, students learn to make jewelry as well as flatware and hollowware. This space is ideal for learning the full range of stone cutting and faceting. The Academy also has an impressive collection of historic metalsmithing tools—some dating back to the 1800s.

Dominique Biron

Matthew Bertin

CUSHING ACADEMY

Daniel Hung

Lexie Lin

Wesley Zeng

Reed Zhang

Dominique Biron

Lexie Lin

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Dominique Biron

Dominique Biron Name

Lexie Lin Name

Matthew Bertin

Lexie Lin

Lexie Lin Name

Lexie Lin

Dominique Biron

Allison Green

Kyra Parris

Name

Jessie Gao

CUSHING ACADEMY

Kyra Parris

Katherine Hu

Jessie Gao

Alexander Zornada

Kyra Parris Name

Matthew Bertin

Jessie Gao

Alexander Zornada

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Wesley Zeng

Zerui Zheng

Jessie Gao

Sara Abrahamson

Dominique Biron

Allison Green

Nicholas Lynch

Dominique Biron

Zerui Zheng

Alexander Zornada

Steven Jackson

CUSHING ACADEMY

Allison Green

Kyra Parris

Dominique Biron

Jalynd McDonald

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Jessie Gao

GLASS STUDIO Cushing’s glass program combines the ancient art of stained glass with contemporary methods. Our students study glass cutting, soldering, and painting on glass. They also learn to create glass beads and work with lead came, copper foil, and fused glass.

Enrique Ochando

Enrique Ochando 16

Mia Sacco CUSHING ACADEMY

Zoe Wilcox

Mia Sacco

Brendan O’Donnell

Clara Berger 2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Enrique Ochando 17

SCHOLASTIC ART AND WRITING AWARDS After receiving Gold Key Regional Awards, Art Portfolio students Simba Xu ’19 and Mya Yang ’20 were announced as winners in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Simba received a Gold Medal for his portfolio submission, one of the highest awards that he could have earned. Mya’s painting titled “Hair Dye” received the Silver Medal, an achievement demonstrating high honors in a competition that saw nearly 340,000 submissions of art and writing!

Simba, one of only sixteen students in the nation to take home the Gold Medal Portfolio Award, which includes a $10,000 scholarship, plans to attend an award ceremony at Carnegie Hall for fellow portfolio award winners in June. Out of the eight art pieces in his portfolio, three works will be on display in a traveling exhibit for Scholastic over the next two years.

Not long after taking home the Silver Medal, Mya became one of three Cushing students that took home a cash prize for their work at the 36th Annual Regional Exhibit of High School Art at Mount Wachusett Community College.

Congratulations to these talented artists! Simba Xu

Mya Yang 18

CUSHING ACADEMY

36TH ANNUAL REGIONAL EXHIBIT OF HIGH SCHOOL ART Congratulations are in order for several Cushing artists who were recently recognized for their work at the 36th Annual Regional Exhibit of High School Art at Mount Wachusett Community College!

CASH AWARD WINNERS: Mya Yang ‘20

Mya Yang

Judy Song ‘22 Alex Oh ‘21

HONORABLE MENTION: Jenny Wu ‘19 Yinshu Cai ‘21 Billy Pan ‘21 Great job, Penguins!

Alex Oh

Jenny Wu

Judy Song

AN UNPRECEDENTED VISUAL ARTS DONATION A very rare and special gift for our Visual Arts department arrived on campus in early 2019. Tom Elliot ‘92, a longtime gemologist and jeweler, sent Visual Arts Department Chair Bob Johnson two boxes full of rough-cut turquoise stones from New Mexico. Mr. Johnson opened this unique donation for the first time with his class present to much excitement and awe. Over the course of the spring semester, Advanced Silversmithing students had the opportunity to create extraordinary jewelry that incorporated these stunning turquoise pieces. (Below, Mr. Elliot’s wife displays a pendant our students designed for her.)

Our many thanks to Tom Elliot ‘92 for this remarkable gift!

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

CERAMICS Students interested in trying their hand at pottery and sculpture have the very best equipment and supplies at their fingertips in Cushing’s ceramics studio. The studio offers nine Brent wheels as well as a slab roller, an extruder, and several kilns, both electric and raku. The large space provides plenty of room for instruction as well as individual work.

Patrick Keegan

Joseph Sharib

Becca Martin

Cheng Zeng 20

Maximilian Bogdanovich

Becca Martin CUSHING ACADEMY

Maximilian Bogdanovich

Fan Chu

Patrick Keegan

Fan Chu

Maximilian Bogdanovich

Guqi Zhang

Fan Chu

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Patrick Keegan

Sylvia Ding

Victoria Slattery

Kate Montigny

Abigail Wood

Kate Montigny

Jenny Wu 22

Atlas Wexler CUSHING ACADEMY

ARTISTS’ JOURNALS & BOOKS In the winter term, Joan Hathaway led an afternoon activity called The Artist’s Journal Workshop. This activity provided an opportunity for students to write as well as draw, paint, and create images in a variety of media. Such journals are powerful creative tools, offering students a place to experiment, explore, consider, and express. Work generated in the art journals can inspire other artwork.

Dominique Biron

Angela Tao 2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Saraiah Boudreau

Katherine Hu

Alisa Canney

Clinton Yu

Art Journaling Class 23

PHOTOGRAPHY At Cushing, photography students learn the entire process of traditional black and white film photography. Our studio includes an area to develop black and white film and a group darkroom with ten enlargers for students to make their own black and white prints. For more advanced photography students, we offer a digital photography class where students use Macs, Photoshop, and Epson printers.

Amanda Kinsley

Jack Xu

Christopher Maskas 24

Amanda Kinsley

Rebekkah Grimaldi

Christopher Maskas

Rebekkah Grimaldi

Christopher Maskas CUSHING ACADEMY

ADVANCED PHOTO SHOW In April, Advanced Photography hosted Going Home, the class’ major exhibit of the year. The images shared a visual story of what home means to them.

Christopher Maskas

Jack Xu

Rebekkah Grimaldi

Christopher Maskas

Rebekkah Grimaldi

Jack Xu

Amanda Kinsley

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Amanda Kinsley

Molly Mahoney

Emilie Leger

Chas Klammer

Emilie Leger

Barry Wang

Emilie Leger

Haruto Arita

Breanna Wilson

Justin Zhuang

Jay Smith

CUSHING ACADEMY

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

ARCHITECTURE In the Academy’s Architectural Design class, students learn to draft a blueprint and construct a sustainable structure. Students explore the conservation of natural resources while designing safe, healthy, and attractive living spaces.

Meiran Xu

Garrett Young

Jordan Silver

Alicia Martin Kato Yuki Seki

Jack Xu

CUSHING CUSHING ACADEMY ACADEMY

Yuki Seki

Chas Klammer

Patrick Keegan

Enrique Brantley Liam Connelly Mark Goldsher Patrick Keegan Chas Klammer Alicia Martín Kato Yuki Seki

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

Jordan Silver Jack Xu Meiran Xu Garrett Young Peter Zirnkilton Bradley Zona

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Meet some of the art students from the 2018-2019 school year. We wish them well as they move on to college next year and look forward to seeing the works they create in the future.

Simba Xu ’19 I’ve been here at Cushing for the past four years and I’ve been working with teachers in the Art Department all four years. It is my honor to call Cushing’s Visual Art Department my second home. The years working with Bob Johnson and other faculty in the Art Department have extended my vision beyond what’s obvious, giving me the most precious gift of all: the freedom to explore, to juxtapose, to doubt, and to create. The care, love, and laughter shared amongst us in the air of that room; that studio with a jarringly high ceiling, linger still. My experience working across the fields and the encouragement I have thus received will continue to carry me in my future careers: to take risks, to explore even the most trivial, unlikely of ideas.

Allison Green ‘19 When I first got to Cushing, I never would have called myself an artist. And if you had asked me, I would have told you that I didn’t have an artistic bone in my body. It has only been during the last few months that I’ve begun to call myself an artist. Since I started metalsmithing my sophomore year, I’ve found comfort in the Art Building. It has become a home for me and metalsmithing itself a therapeutic release of energy. I’ve learned that you don’t need standard artistic ability to be successful in metalsmithing. You need to be willing to try, fail, and try again. Things burn and break. Stones crack. Silver melts. But through trial and error, you find what works for you.

Atlas Wexler ‘19 During my four years at Cushing -- in the summers and the academic year-I experienced a broad range art. I’ve used every single studio this school has to offer and have had a great time in each. I have been encouraged and pushed to do my best to fill my portfolio and grow as an artist. I was taken on trips to all kinds of beautiful places full of art, and I met professional artists who gave me advice to succeed in my future career in the arts. The friends I met in my classes both inspired me and encouraged me to go further with my ideas and my creations. I’ll never forget the time I had in the studio and it will always be my home.

CUSHING ACADEMY

Dominique Biron ’19 I am a three-sport varsity athlete, but Bob Johnson and the metalsmithing program are the reason I chose Cushing. I fell in love with the metalsmithing studio as soon as I walked in. Bob Johnson has been the best part of my Cushing experience. Mr. Johnson is the most amazing metalsmith, and his ability to teach metalsmithing while constantly trying new techniques and skills is astonishing. My metalsmithing abilities have increased substantially under his guidance. I have spent two wonderful years in Bob’s advanced metalsmithing classes. My favorite thing to do in his metalsmithing class is to cut cabochons. It is so satisfying to take a piece of rock and turn it into a beautiful polished stone that is ready to set into a handmade bezel. I was extremely lucky that Mr. Johnson invited me to join him and Mrs. Gardner at the East Coast Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show. I learned so much about uncut stones and how to choose the best stones for my projects. Thanks for your wonderful mentoring, Bob!

Katherine Hu ’19 I’m Katherine Hu from Shanghai, China. I have been part of Cushing’s Art Program all four years, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my experience here. I’m most grateful for Mr. and Mrs. Johnson -- they have been my main source of inspiration and motivation. When I told Mr. Johnson that I wanted to make a portfolio to apply for a fashion design major, he provided me extra facilities and working space without hesitation. I would not have become the artist that I am right now or accomplish what I have accomplished without them and the program. They supported my art career without any constrictions on my ideas and helped me improved my skills with endless patience. I will always remember the memories I made in Art Portfolio and cherish them wholeheartedly.

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

FACULTY FAREWELLS JOAN HATHAWAY I am so grateful to say that I had Mrs. Hathaway as a teacher for four years. Freshman year I signed up for the art journaling class and enjoyed every aspect of it, so I proceeded to join it again and again. This year, my senior year, Mrs. Hathaway became both my photography and art history teacher. Seeing her teach three different subjects that she is passionate about is very inspiring for students. When she shows her work, it is easy to see just how much she loves what she does. Over the course of four years, Mrs. Hathaway became someone I could turn to, go to for advice, and crack jokes with. Thank you for the positive impact you’ve had on me and many other students. Good luck with your future endeavors! - Bekkah Grimaldi ‘19 Mrs. Hathaway is the most influential art teacher I’ve ever had, in and outside of Cushing. During my first year at Cushing she welcomed me like no other; it’s hard not to feel welcome with the class environment she creates. Beginner or advanced she equally devotes her time to each individual student to make sure they get the best guidance possible. Besides Mrs. Hathaway’s warm welcomes, her talent and knowledge for pottery is unmatched, allowing her students to learn from the best. In my years working with her I transformed from a beginner student to a two-time advanced student. With Mrs. Hathaway by my side, I have not only excelled in pottery -- I have found a true passion in the art. - Patrick Keegan ’19

SUSIE CARLISLE

Although my time at Cushing has been short with Sooz, she’s made a huge impact on me that I will forever remember! Coming in as an athlete and not knowing any art skills whatsoever, she opened up the art of fused glass to me with open arms. And she was there to celebrate each piece of art I made! Now, because of Sooz, I use fused glass as my escape and a place to let my emotions come to life. I can officially say it’s my favorite art class I’ve ever taken! I wish Sooz the best of luck in her retirement and her future endeavor. Know that you touched many students here at Cushing! Forever a Penguin xoxo - Mia Sacco ‘19

Susie loves passing along her artistic expertise to students in the glass studio. She has mastered both contemporary fused glass as well as traditional stained glass. Her winning personality and nurturing qualities have provided her students the inspiration they need to become successful in her class. Susie encourages students to challenge themselves by trying different techniques and experimenting with various color and decorative patterns. She teaches students to respect one another and they form a wonderfully strong bond. Although Susie sets high standards in the arts, she makes classes exciting and fun! -Bob Johnnson, Visual Arts Department Chair

CUSHING ACADEMY

VISUAL ARTS AFTER CUSHING

Anna Fitzgerald, Dominique Biron, Allison Green, Katherine Hu, Lexie Lin, Simba Xu, Barry Li Kit Tang, Robert Johnson, Jenny Wu, Atlas Wexler, Abby Wood, Victoria Slattery

Advanced art students who are in the process of preparing s portfolio of their work for college applications have the opportunity to participate in our Art Portfolio course. This allows them to develop a cohesive body of work that represents their overall achievement in art. Portfolio students devise projects that cover a variety of media, techniques and themes. Instruction in presentation is also offered. Students can choose one or a combination of the following: drawing, painting, ceramics, metalsmithing, stained glass, photography, and architectural drawing. Portfolio may be taken each semester and earns credit as a major course or a major afternoon activity. Many Cushing graduates have gone on to prestigious art schools and are enjoying professional careers in the arts. Below is a list of colleges and universities attended by recent alumni.

Art Center College of Design

Roger Williams University

Boston University

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

School of Visual Arts

Carnegie Melon University

Champlain College

Skidmore College

Montserrat College of Art

Stanford University

The New School/Parsons School of Design

Tufts University

Purdue University

University of California, Davis

University of California, San Diego

Rhode Island School of Design

More than 150 Cushing Academy alumni are accomplished artists: photographers, painters, sculptors, architects, metalsmiths, art historians, fashion designers, gemologists, graphic designers, industrial designers, and more. Cushing Academy’s Arts Affinity Group aims to help bridge the connection among alumni artists and allow future alumni a glimpse of what they can do in their professional lives. To join, visit www.cushing.org/artsaffinity

2019 VISUAL ARTS MAGAZINE

LEARN MORE ABOUT CUSHING ACADEMY! CushingAcademyFans @CushingAcademy

Cushing Academy 39 School Street Ashburnham, MA 01430

cushingacademy www.cushing.org admissions@cushing.org

978-827-7300

Cyvian Chen Mya Yang