Wednesday, April 29, 2009

2009 Fine Arts Outstanding Seniors Announced


DGS Fine Arts is pleased to announce the 2009 Outstanding Seniors, Zach Munoz in music and Andrea Piekarczyk in visual art. Each artist has achieved tremendous success in their products, however, both leave a strong legacy in their process. Their humility, work ethic, and quiet manner of artistic leadership provides a strong example to which student artists can aspire in future years. Andrea will attend Drake University, studying illustration and journalism; Zach will attend Butler University, studying Pharmacology. Congratulations and kudos to Zach and Andrea, our 2009 Outstanding Seniors!




Monday, April 27, 2009

North Shore Concert Band @ DGS


On Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 3:00 PM the renowned Northshore Concert Band performed in our DGS Auditorium. This event was a partnership between District 58 (Herrick and O'Neill) and District 99 (South and North.)

After a fabulous performance, 12 students from all four represented schools joined the NSCB on stage to perform two concluding selections. Eileen Sejnost, DGS Fine Arts Department Assistant, also joined the students and the NSCB for the final two selections.

"Special thanks to our colleagues in District 58, especially to Christine Kaminski for making this event possible." "When our two districts work together, great things happen for students."

For more information about this event or about DGS Fine Arts, please contact Glenn Williams at 630.795.8681.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Anything Goes!!!













Kudos to the cast, crew and prodution staff of the 2009 DGS Musical Anything Goes. The opening last evening was on a professional level in nearly every aspect of performance and production.
The show continues this weekend: April 17 @ 7:30 PM, April 18 @ 7:30 PM, and Sunday, April 19 @ 3:00 PM. Tickets are available at the door. Be certain to experience this production first hand!!!!!


Raku Firing/Primitive Firing









Today is our annual RAKU FIRING/PRIMITIVE FIRING Ceramics field trip. Student artists prepare their pieces and fire them either in a super-hot Raku kiln, or, in a primitive fire. The intense temperatures and fire fodder create amazingly unique, random, beautiful final glazes. Special thanks to our Ceramics team of Kathy Myles and Molly O'Brien-Prusa for working to put this experience together for our student artists.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Inaugural District 99/Woodridge Public Library Art Show

Participating student artists from North and South High Schools.


Best in Show winners from North and South High Schools.










On Wednesday, April 15th, the inaugural District 99/Woodridge Public Library Art show opened in the gallery of the Woodridge Public Library www.woodridgelibrary.org/ This event emerged out of a desire for cooperation and collaboration between and among various governmental constituincies that have an impact on the students in District 99. The opening was attended by hundreds of artists, parents, and community art enthusiasts.
30 oustanding student pieces from Downers North and 30 outstanding student pieces from Downers South are represented in this exhibit, which will run until April 30th at the Woodridge Public Library.
Student artist from DGS with work in this show are: Nisha Chauhan, Julianna Estall, Sunnie Farrar, Alejandro Garcia, Neetu Hariharan, Michael Hernandez, Anina Jimmy, Emily Johnson, Lizzy Kleyweg, Sara Kurey, Stephanie Landrosh, Elena Matos, Krystal McBride, Mike McDonald, Robyn Mikyska, Kelsey Pavesich, Kari Prada, Nicole Radek, Briana Richardson, Eric Rose, Mike Stapleton, Anna Taus, Tamaris Thomas, Britney Trezzo, Nick Wilson and Abby Zurliene.
Every DGS piece was adjudicated by the DGN Visual Art staff. Categorial award winners chosen are:

Painting - Julianna Estall
Jewelry - Neetu Hariharan
Mixed Media - Anina Jimmy
Ceramics - Krystal McBride
Drawing - Britney Trezzo
Photography - Shaina Kassanof
Additionally, Britney Trezzo's Drawing was selected as the DGS Best in Show piece. Britney's piece will be sent the the national Creative Self Expression Show sponsored by the Great Frame Up. Suzyn Mills, Woodridge Great Frame-Up owner, will sponsor the best in show from North and South and enter the student work in the national contest.
"We are pleased with the community collaboration involved in this show, and, to have such a stunning platform to display our student work." said DGS Fine Arts Chairperson Glenn Williams.
The D99/Woodridge Public Library Show will run until April 30th. For more information about this show, or about DGS Visual Art, contact Glenn Williams, Fine Arts Department Chairperson at gwilliams@csd99.org.


Monday, April 06, 2009

Scholastic Art Awards National Winners Announced


"Release"
Shaina Kassanof, artist
Silver Medal Winner



From left to right: Shaina Kassanof, Suse LaGory, Andrea Piekarczyk






"All in a Day's Work"




Andrea Pickarczyk, artist








Gold Medal Winner








"Sustainance"
Suse LaGory, artist







Gold Medal Winner




















3 students from Community High School District 99/Downers Grove South High School have received a prestigious national Award for their outstanding artwork through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the 86 year-old national program that recognizes outstanding creative teenagers and offers scholarship opportunities for graduating high school seniors.

This year’s Award recipients from Downers Grove South High School are:

Senior Andrea Piekarczyk was awarded a Gold Medal for her Graphic Story piece titled "All in a Day's Work"; Senior Suse LaGory was awarded a Gold Medal for her Photograph titled "Sustainance", and Senior Shaina Kasanoff was awarded a Silver Medal for her Photograph titled "Release."

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the national nonprofit organization that presents The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, will honor these students on June 4, 2009, at a gala celebration at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Selected award recipients and high school seniors recognized with top honors for portfolios will have their art/writing exhibited in Manhattan at the World Monuments Fund Gallery.







These students join the ranks of some of our country’s most revered artists and writers who have received Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in the past, including Robert Redford, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, John Lithgow, Bernard Malamud, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Philip Pearlstein, Zac Posen, Sylvia Plath, Richard Avedon, and Robert Indiana.

The first level of recognition for these students’ outstanding work took place through Chicagoland Regional Affiliate, one of 81 affiliate organizations nationwide that, in partnership with the Alliance, conduct The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in Illinois. 56 DGS student artists won 90 awards, including 1 American Vision Award, 23 Gold Key Awards, 33 Silver Key Awards, and 33 Honorable Mention Awards.


After receiving awards locally, the work of these three students was evaluated by an esteemed panel of jurors in New York City, alongside thousands of entries from other regional affiliate programs across the country. Notable past and current jurors include Robert Frost, Chuck Paluhniak, Gary Panter, Elizabeth Bishop, Frank McCourt, Billy Collins, Judy Blume, William Saroyan, KiKi Smith, Faith Ringgold and Andy Rooney.

Since Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, media and education company, founded the program in 1923, more than 13 million of America’s most talented junior high and high school youth (grades 7-12) have participated in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and 2.5 million have been recognized and shared in $30 million in cash awards and college scholarships. The Awards bring teenagers’ visual art and writing to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. In addition to awarding annual scholarships to top portfolio award recipients, the Alliance collaborates with colleges across the country that make an additional $3.9 million in financial aid available to award recipients.

The work of the Alliance is made possible through the support of Scholastic Inc., the Title Sponsor. Presenting Sponsors include The New York Times Company, Command Web Offset and Ovation TV. Generous leadership support is also provided by The Maurice R. Robinson Fund and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.




"We are all extremely proud of Andrea, Suse and Shaina for their continued artistic success." said Fine Arts Department Chairperson Glenn Williams. "Having three national Scholastic Award winners at DGS is unprecedented, and, is idicative of our tremendous staff and the overall strength of our program."

For more information about Fine Arts at Downers Grove South High School, contact Glenn Williams, department chairperson at gwilliams@csd99.org