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Three East Islip High School student-artists – Karley Kreuscher, Jocelyn Olds and Casey With – were recently chosen for the 28th annual “Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum” curated art show, hosted by the Heckscher Museum in Huntington. This year, 456 students applied for the show, and only 87 were selected. Kreuscher, Olds and With, all seniors enrolled in Dan Figliozzi’s AP Studio Art course, attended the show’s preview day on March 23 along with their family and friends. 

“Long Island’s Best” will be on view from March 24 to May 3.

Kreuscher’s piece “Embedded” is a mixed media work created on found wooden slabs. The radial lines on the piece mimic the rings of a tree and form an image of the artist herself and her twin sister. 
“Incorporating me and my twin into the rings of the tree stumps signifies and enhances the idea of the natural bonds that we share,” Kreuscher said. “The connection we have is embedded, meaning it’s permanently there no matter where we go in life. A tree holds properties of growth and change. Becoming embedded into the tree stump shows that we have also gone through both growth and change as well, but the connection we have will still remain permanent.”

Olds’ piece, “Bonnet,” is a large-scale chalk pastel drawing on paper. In addition to the use of chalk, she incorporated rhinestones in her piece, carefully gluing them to the surface to create a hair bonnet, further enhancing the concept of her work. 

“For my work, I wanted to create my own version of what I look like and how I usually lounge around at home,” Olds said. “Using chalk pastel, I made a self-portrait of myself wearing a robe and emphasized my bonnet by covering it in rhinestones, as these things are not usually worn outside of the house and are saved for days where you just want to stay home and relax.”

With’s piece, “Beyond Flesh,” is a mixed media drawing piece done in charcoal on raw canvas. To further enhance her idea, With used embroidery thread and beads to construct the kidneys in her piece. The work explores the uncertainty she feels related to her experience with FSGS, an autoimmune disease that affects the filtration abilities of her kidneys. 

“My piece provides a window to the unknown status of my kidney health,” With said. “Seemingly normal to the eye, but beneath is untold.”

“I’m really proud of these three for this accomplishment,” Figliozzi said. “This show is fantastic, and being selected out of this many students on Long Island is a huge honor. I’m really happy they get to be a part of it. I think these three works in particular showcase the unique sensibilities of our art students at East Islip High School. Each of them took risks with materials and experimented in unconventional ways.”

“I am so proud of our students who have been selected for this prestigious exhibit,” art teacher Heather Toomey said. “Jocelyn, Karley and Casey are extremely dedicated young artists and worked incredibly hard to create their body of work throughout this year. Seeing their growth as young artists is inspiring. It is such an honor to have multiple students selected from East Islip High School and shows the dedication and strength of our AP Studio Art teacher Mr. Figliozzi, a fantastic art educator.”

Date Added: 4/18/2024