Stop by the Southwest Harbor Public Library from April 1st through April 30th to view a dynamic show of the 2025-2026 artwork of MDI High School’s National Art Honor Society. The artists exhibiting pieces include: Ila Boatright, Leaf Brehm, Alex Burnett, Abigail Butler, Abigail Daunt, Lolietta Ellis, Felicity Evans, Lily Guess, Fable Hansen, Pierce Holley, Maya Laplant, Cora Lester, Kieu McMullin, Wells Morehouse, Kate Murch, Zoe O’Connor, Fred Sebelin, Melia Smith, Cora VanDongen, and Angela Zhang.

The National Art Honor Society (NAHS) is designed specifically for high school students in grades 9-12. In 1978, the National Art Education Association began the National Art Honor Society program to inspire and recognize students who have shown an outstanding ability and interest in art.

The MDI High School chapter of the NAHS has run since 2007 and has engaged in community, school and virtual projects to promote the Visual ARTS. The Art Honor Society works on things such as annual exhibits at Island libraries and businesses as well as murals and paintings to decorate the halls and classrooms of the school. The student membership works to promote arts education in the school and community through these projects.

Into the Crayon Prompt: As part of a collaborative show centered around color, students chose a crayon at random from the Crayola 64-pack, and used it to guide their work. Whether they drew inspiration from the iconic names of the crayons themselves or the feelings and imagery each hue evokes, students fully embraced their color-driven creations.

Green by Cora VanDongen, acrylic on paper
I really wanted to combine my passion for art and cooking within this piece. It has always been really important to me to create art to break up the stress of daily life, and making simple meals at home allows me to do that. In my piece, I created Pollo Asado tacos, which include marinated chicken, cilantro, onion, and lime. These uncomplicated tacos bring me a kind of peace and serenity that's different than any other kind. There's something special about the delicate balance between the rich chicken, fresh cilantro, and sharp white onion. I constructed it with paper, watercolor, colored pencil, glue, and iridescent medium.