2026 MAEA Recognitions Exhibit

Organization or School Affiliation: Boston Arts Academy, Boston Public Schools

Student Name: Brianna Mateo
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This piece is inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, which represents the vibrant culture in black music, art, and fashion. When making this, I used acrylic paint, tissue paper, and oil pastels. This work symbolizes a successful night at a jazz club, also known as a golden night.
Teacher: Kathleen Marsh

Organization or School Affiliation: Boston Arts Academy, Boston Public Schools

Student Name: Finuala Nevins
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: This piece is an acrylic painting of the Muddy River in Boston. It was created for a class assignment, and I chose this particular subject to challenge myself. In order to prepare for this painting I did plein air practice along the river to study natural lighting. The backlit leaves were very interesting to capture, as well as the reflections in the water.
Teacher: Kathleen Marsh

Organization or School Affiliation: Boston Arts Academy, Boston Public Schools

Student Name: Elianny Herrera Polanco
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This piece depicts a green portrait of a woman's head split into two segments, with flowers bursting from within. When creating this, I used acrylic paint on canvas and sketched out several thumbnails with colored pencils. Moreover, the separation of her head illustrated her breakthrough, and the vibrant elements emerging symbolize her new, growing values and ideas. The process of making this was
Teacher: Kathleen Marsh

Organization or School Affiliation: Boston Arts Academy, Boston Public Schools

Student Name: Alexa Nova Nuñez
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: My artwork explores identity using portraiture as a way to examine how different versions of self coexist and shift overtime. I’m interested in the tension between inner and outer perception, which I expressed by pairing a realistic figure with symbolic elements like flowers and birds. The bird functions as a double-edged symbol of intuition and guidance, both protective and lurking.
Teacher: Kathleen Marsh

Organization or School Affiliation: Boston Arts Academy, Boston Public Schools

Student Name: Yaslene Marizan
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This is a digital piece exploring character design and pattern. I illustrated the background and subject first so that the whole piece would be cohesive. This piece is about mother nature and how her energy powers the environment. Instead of traditional depictions of nature I took a more abstract approach. The eye in the belly and long hair were decisions inspired by deity-like figures I've seen i
Teacher: Kathleen Marsh

Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen High School

Student Name: Yandel Concepcion Castillo
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: Go big or go home is a saying I strongly identify with for my time spent at the pottery wheel. This piece is an earlier attempt at throwing a large vase. I intend to add chains made of clay and wire to the loops at the top of the vase.
Teacher: Rebecca Martell

Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen High School

Student Name: Rosa Alix
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: I am a ceramics artist who loves throwing on the wheel. It grew to be an escape for me to be able to make something functional that I know can live on for many generations. My art will reflect who and how I was as a person.
Teacher: Rebecca Martell

Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen High School

Student Name: Ariana Ulloa
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: For this piece, I wanted to portray the emotion, envy, through the use of color and sgraffito design. The star pattern on the vase is twisted and contorted and the glaze moves unevenly from a dark green to a bright chartreuse. The stars and uneven glazing represent the chaos and ugliness of jealousy. Through this piece I aim to capture the raw experiences of Envy and its effects.
Teacher: Rebecca Martell

Organization or School Affiliation: Methuen High School

Student Name: Lydia Plunkett
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: I created this bowl as a present for my father. I used the pottery wheel to make the bowl, then altered it using a fluting technique. I carefully hand painted the designs on the interior without overthinking any of the details and just let my mind wander to create an authentic doodle style. For the exterior, I used a cosmic oil spot glaze to further enhance the appearance of a space scene.
Teacher: Rebecca Martell

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Sandra Issa
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: The piece presented here showcases butterflies of different species travelling together during migration season. I captured the butterflies meeting at the same time and place because it's temporary. After, each will go their own separate way and meet up with a group of their species to continue their journey. It represents the beauty of the temporary things in life; unexpected but unforgettable.
Teacher: Laurie Mead McGrory

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Rowan Gloddy
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: I chose to do this portrait because it represents what it's like to be a kid. Though the front-on angle makes it seem like it should be a more serious picture, the girl is wearing paw patrol pajamas with messy hair and her tongue sticking out, contradicting the expectations of being serious and acting as herself.
Teacher: Laurie Mead McGrory

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Jolene Lamberti
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: I created this piece because I wanted to explore abstraction and value. I was inspired by Lee Bontecou’s soot drawings. I really liked the shapes and the contrast in values within her art, and I wanted to see if I could emanate that in my own work.
Teacher: Laurie Mead McGrory

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Aidan Feroli
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: The art I created is based on a picture of me and my younger sister from 2018. I chose the photo because of the different colors and textures I would be able to create through acrylic paint, watercolor pencils, colored pencil, marker, and oil pastels. I created the bubbles which separate the media to represent the separation and changes that you go through from being a child to a young adult.
Teacher: Laurie Mead McGrory

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Taisha Christelle Antoine
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This painting explores my identity as a Haitian Immigrant living in America. It's a self-portrait with me surrounded by Hibiscus flower; the national flower of my country. As I grow up I'm starting to realize I lose my identity in American culture. Before I leave high school I want to bring something that represents me and my story and how I've changed in four years. This is my story.
Teacher: Laurie Mead McGrory

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public High School

Student Name: Jose Zerpa
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: I explore memory and environment through organized minimalist pieces. Using layers and controlled palettes, to unfold the beauty of our planet–from natural biomes to iconic man-made structures taken back by nature–into slices of experience. Each piece invites exploration of depth and elevation through subtle shifts in control and color, revealing how simplicity can cause clarity and complexity.
Teacher: Elizabeth Mullaney

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public High School

Student Name: Taisha Antoine
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: My artwork is inspired by the Japanese red-string theory, which states that we are connected with our soulmate when we are born by a red string. I wanted to explore more into this by incorporating human hearts that represent love and being connected with someone spiritually and physically. The hearts are made out of painted air-dried clay and the cloud-like background is Gorilla Glue.
Teacher: Elizabeth Mullaney

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public High School

Student Name: Presley Tullos
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: The inspiration for this piece came from my love and admiration for fish and sea creatures. I was tasked with the challenge of creating a visual pun, and knew I had to do something fish-related. I ended up landing on the word fisherman. I created a sculpture of a fish fishing like a man. The fish I chose for my design was a golden trout, it has such contrasting colors, an overall beautiful fish.
Teacher: Elizabeth Mullaney

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public High School

Student Name: Bianca DeAlmeida
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: I am really proud of my sushi set, it makes me happy that I was able to make something for myself. I've always wanted something that could hold my sushi instead of me eating the sushi off of the plastic container. I am really proud of the result of my artwork.
Teacher: Elizabeth Mullaney

Organization or School Affiliation: Pentucket Regional Middle High School

Student Name: Benjamin Pierce
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: I wanted to create an artwork that would make people think about how Theodore Roosevelt changed the way people saw public lands and how he helped to preserve them, while at the same time acknowledging that this land was taken from Native peoples and the impact that had on their communities.
Teacher: Marcia Nadeau

Organization or School Affiliation: Pentucket Regional Middle High School

Student Name: Julia Swiniarski
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: Inspired by a poem I wrote + my body. I’ve been taught that Bigger bodies + having stretch marks (tiger stripes), is disgusting, but I see them rather as an indication of our bodies’ ability to adapt as women. This is why the tiger stripes on the woman’s body are in gold, a color of strength + status. The poem is set on a background of roses & leaves representing society’s chaotic view of women.
Teacher: Marcia Nadeau