“Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbor.”
The words of Giotto di Bondone may reference painting specifically, but when considered in more general terms, they easily translate to describe the production of any work of art, regardless of the medium.
On Thursday, September 5, the Padua Franciscan High School Fine Arts community celebrated 16 of its students who have taken a similar journey in production of their works of art with induction into the Giotto di Bondone Chapter of the National Art Honor Society.
“This evening is aimed to celebrate the passion and creativity of our 16 amazing inductees who have sacrificed their time and energy to earn these seats tonight,” said Ms. Stefanie Cook, Padua’s MyTrack® Studio Art Moderator. “To bring our students’ already existing arts scholarship, character and service to the level of national recognition was an inherent progression.”
During the 2023-2024 school year, Padua established membership with The National Art Honor Society with nine seniors. They were grandfathered into the program based on previous community service opportunities, such as the annual Christmas For Others campaign and All Faiths Pantry Pet Portrait fundraisers. Those nine students completed four years of career and field exploration in the MyTrack® Studio Arts Program, and all are pursuing degrees in creative careers.
This year’s inductees included Jenna Manson ’25 (Chapter President), Hayden Baker ’25 (Chapter Vice President), Elizabeth Frank ’25 (Secretary), Natasha Rehlender ’26 (Treasurer) and Nicole Parla ’25 (Chair of Public Relations).
Fellow seniors Kaylee Yarberry, Nathan Krayzel and Richard Schuler joined juniors Marissa Castro, Ella Ruminski and Ariana Thompson, as well as sophomores Riley Flowers, Winnie Zhang, Elizabeth Wirtz, Anthony Sacha and Annabelle Thiry in the class of inductees.
“As a child, when I wasn’t busy with playing softball or riding horses, I was drawing,” Manson said in her address to the crowd. “Creating, expressing and experimenting with art is something I have practiced since a young age. I can still remember the first-ever ‘real’ drawing I made of Taylor Swift when I was eight years old. I knew from the beginning that art is my passion. It is a staple in my life. It was a way of self-expression that I was most comfortable with.
“I also knew I wanted to share my love for art and creating with others. My biggest dream was to find like-minded artists and build a community around that passion for the arts, and today, I am honored to say I have done just that….Despite our aspirations being so different, we all have one thing in common. We all have a mutual understanding that art gives meaning to life, and each and every one of us has a flame that is fueled by the endless possibilities art gives to us. Art is timeless, and every one of us knows just how important it is.”
Throughout the summer, the 16 artists who were honored were tasked with creating an artwork on a 12×12 canvas with the prompt of “Portrait of an Artist.”
Whether it was a painted selfie or drawing of a baseball cleat, mitt and cap, the artists used their talents to convey messages to the world. They did so while balancing other commitments, including to their academic pursuits, athletic teams, jobs, other school clubs and time with family and friends.
Each student received their certificate of membership and took the following oath: “I will, in my life, to the best of my ability, through my talents and art, help to create a more beautiful world for myself, for humankind and all living things.”
In closing, Padua Principal Bob DiRocco addressed those in attendance, and first lauded the students for their talents by simply saying, “Wow,” and describing how he was moved by the creations and their explanations. Then, DiRocco urged the honorees to continue sharing their talents and passion for arts with the world.
“Whoever has done art in any way — I am not much of a painter or a drawer. I try to do my artwork with six strings, a piece of wood and a microphone — there’s a vulnerability to being an artist because what you put out there for everybody to see is your heart and your soul,” DiRocco said.
“I would just assume talk about what I believe in faith before I told people who I really was, and that’s a picture of you and it’s beautiful. I want to thank you for sharing that talent because it’s a gift that God has given you. You have to share it. I thank you for having the courage because when you paint a picture, when you write a poem, when you sing a song, you tell the whole world, ‘Look at me,’ and there’s some risk to that. It takes risk to be an artist. When you share your art, there’s an eternal impact.
“I thank you for sharing it because it takes risk, because you have to be vulnerable. But I will also tell you, I think you have to because it’s that gift that God gave you to share back with the world, the love that He has put into your hearts, in your heads, in your hands, and in your creativity.”
