Bracelet by Amy Walczak Katherine Mojzsis’ art students at Sayreville War Memorial High School earned recognition in a national contest that showcases students with talent in creative fields.
Five 12th-grade students ranked in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, an annual contest run by Scholastic and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. The contest gives art and writing students an opportunity to display their works and to receive recognition for their pieces.
“The awards cover sculpture, print-making, fashion and many other categories,” Mojzsis said. “Teachers are invited to submit
[works by] as many students as they want. The awards are very competitive, and they get more competitive every year.”
Three of Mojzsis’ students — Alyce Brewer, Helen Kwok and Amy Walczak — are “Gold Key” recipients, students whose creations rank in the top 5 percent of entries. Elizabeth Moreira and Nakiya Wong-Chong were designated “Silver Key” recipients. The students crafted original jewelry designs as part of the art curriculum at Sayreville.
Bracelet by Nakiya Wong-Chong Mojzsis said this year’s entries mark two milestones. This is the largest group of students from her art classes to place in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. It is also the first year in which all of the entries she submitted received awards.
“It’s amazing that all our students ranked,” Mojzsis said, adding that there were more than 4,500 submissions to the contest.
Alyce, Helen and Amy’s works were exhibited at a ceremony and reception at the Montclair Art Museum Feb. 28. Their jewelry will be on display at the museum through March 9.
“Montclair is gracious enough to set aside space, and for a few weeks they exhibit all the Gold Key awards,” Mojzsis said.
Necklace by Elizabeth Moreira Mojzsis said she chose to mentor the five ranking students after noting their interest and talent in jewelry making.
“What I find remarkable about this is that these students were in the beginning class,” Mojzsis said. “I saw their potential … and I asked if they wanted to go for it. They were up to the challenge … and they knocked it out of the park.”
Mojzsis’ metalworking students learn to use tools that aren’t found in the typical art class. Instead of brushes and paints, her students use soldering tools and metals to turn their ideas for bracelets and rings into real, wearable works of art. The class, an art elective at the high school, teaches jewelry making and metal object work to classes and as independent study.
Art by Alyce Brewer “The class is available to all the students — I have freshmen who are 13 years old and seniors who are 18,” Mojzsis said. “It’s a nice mix of students who all do an amazing job.”
She said the Jewelry and Metalworking class at Sayreville is one of only a handful of metalworking programs for high school students in New Jersey.
“The students all saw, solder, use torches and an enameling kiln to work with metal,” Mojzsis said. “It’s a one-semester course open to all students.”
Ranking in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is particularly meaningful for students in metalwork since opportunities to show work are logistically limited, she said.
“Because jewelry and metalworking pieces are small and harder to display, a lot of competitions are only interested in twodimensional work that can be tacked to a wall,” Mojzsis said. “It’s a rare opportunity for me to submit students’ work. What’s great about this particular contest is that it’s prestigious, and they all did so well.”