Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Congratulations to the following Saint James art students for being named Gold and Silver Key Scholastic Art and Writing award recipients! The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States though the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. #wearesaintjamesschool

Gold Key

High School Gold and Silver Key winners.

Katie Irving - Photography (HS)

Silver Key

Emerson Hagen - Mixed Media (HS)

Charlie Jenkins - Drawing & Illustration (MS)

Stella Sponseller - Mixed Media (HS)

Cole Williams - Drawing & Illustration (HS)

Honorable Mention

Middle School Silver Key winner, Charlie Jenkins.

Sullivan Bixby - Digital Art (HS)

Phu Lam - Drawing & Illustration (HS)

Natalie Magee - Art Portfolio (HS)

Matthew Ohliger - Drawing & Illustration (HS)

Mae Puckett - Drawing & Illustration (HS)

Wendy Stombaugh - Mixed Media (HS)

Tiffany Tran - Mixed Media (HS)

Elaine Vo - Sculpture (HS)

Madison Walton - Digital Art (HS)

STJ Arts in the Summer:  Exploring and Inspiring

by: Dr. Sallye York, Arts Department Chair

Senior Natalie Magee in Savannah, GA learning acrylic painting techniques and fashion design at SCAD.

Junior Austin Oh at the University of Montevallo’s week-long Young Musicians Camp.

At Saint James School, the arts are a part of every student’s path.  We are truly proud of our visual and performing arts programs and all they have to offer the whole child education.  STJ Arts not only educate, but they also inspire!  The arts programs at Saint James School inspire so much that students further their art exploration into their summer breaks!  Many STJ students spent their time off from school attending arts camps and programs throughout the Southeast.  

Senior Natalie Magee spent a week at the Savannah College of Art and Design learning acrylic painting techniques and fashion design.  Students from around the nation come to SCAD for this summer program where they receive instruction from professors who are truly experts in their crafts.  Students also get to enjoy dorm life and spending time getting to know new friends from all over our country!

Junior Erin Waggoner at the Washington School of Ballet’s Summer Intensive Program.

Junior Austin Oh spent a week at the University of Montevallo’s Young Musicians Camp where he furthered his studies in choir and vocal performance.   At YMC, Austin was able to perform in the camp’s choir, receive instruction from college professors, and attend music seminars.  Austin was also able to enter a composition competition with fellow campers in which he was one of the winners!  He even was selected to sing a solo in the final camp concert.  

Sophomore Lily Everett in Memphis for the Orpheum Theater’s Summer Camp Intensive.

Junior Erin Waggoner danced in the upper division of the Washington School of Ballet’s Summer Intensive Program.  She stayed on campus at American University, danced 6 hours a day, and got to explore nearby Georgetown and the District with new friends!  Classes she attended were technique, pointe, flamenco, partnering, and variations under the instruction of Kristina Windom, Cece Farha, Tamás Krizsa, Françoise Thouveny- Doyle, Nancie J. Woods, and Rafael Bejarano.  Truly an amazing experience!

Sophomore Lily Everett applied for and was accepted to the Memphis Orpheum Theater Summer Camp Intensive.  She spent a week in their "Technical Theater Strand" and spent each day in a different realm of the backstage operations of the theater.  Lily spent a day in each of the following intensives: set design, lighting, sound, costuming, and stage management.  She is so excited about bringing the new things she has learned back to the Saint James Theater Program!

Eighth grader Abigail Roark performed at Summer Show Offs and attended The Red Mountain Theater’s Acting Out Academy.

Eighth grader Abigail Roark attended the Acting Out Academy at the Red Mountain Theater in Birmingham.  During this week of young actor training, Abigail studied with some of the country’s best acting coaches.  The week ended with a showcase that was attended by agents, managers, and casting directors.  In addition to this camp, Abigail also attended the beloved Summer Show-Offs here in Montgomery with many more STJ students at the elementary and middle school level!

These are just a few examples of our amazing arts students here at Saint James School.  Be sure to check them out in action this coming school year as they perform and create!

#wearesaintjamesschool

Draw Montgomery

The Draw Montgomery Art Competition, sponsored by the Montgomery Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, is a juried art exhibition for students 7-9 and 10-12 in South Central and Southeast Alabama. The environments of the River Region were the focus of the subject matter for entires (architecture, interiors, structures, landscapes, etc.). This year there were a total of 139 pieces submitted for judging. The five Saint James School winners, along with other selected works, were exhibited at the Anita P. Folmar Youth Art Gallery of Montgomery at the Armory Learning Arts Center. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

1st Place

Title: A Date in Downtown

Medium: Watercolor & Ink 

Artist: Mae Puckett

Grade: 9

2nd Place

Title: Street Corner 

Medium: Pen & Ink 

Artist: Luke Beasley 

Grade: 12

Honorable Mention High School

Title: Isolation

Medium: Gouache

Artist: Wendy Stombaugh 

Grade: 10

1st Place High School

Title: Changing Views

Medium: Pen & Ink

Photography Artist: Cole Williams 

Grade: 10

(Not pictured) 2nd place, Middle School

Title: Windows

Artist: Kaleigh Soto

Grade: 7th

Medium: Watercolor, Pen & Ink

Gouache Botanicals

Middle school art students were inspired by nature for a recent project. Students researched flowering plants and selected a plant to study more in depth. Paying close attention to bark, leaves, berries, petals, and other elements of the botanicals, students created a painting. Gouache, which is a heavily pigmented and opaque watercolor, was used for this project to allow texture and color to shine through. #wearesaintjamesschool

Virtual Art Competition of Alabama

#wearesaintjamesschool

The Virtual Art Competition of Alabama is a state-wide art competition sponsored by the Alabama Arts Education Association. Saint James is proud to have three students' artwork selected for the 2021-22 Virtual Art Competition of Alabama. Winning art is featured on the VACA website.

Congratulations to the following winners: Sierra Boles (class of 2022), Aroa Jung (class of 2022), Natalie Magee (class of 2023).

Chalk It Up! 2022 MMFA Flimp Festival

Saint James School art students put their creativity to the test at this year’s Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Flimp Festival. Our talented artists, grades 6-12, turned a simple parking space into a masterpiece. This year’s theme was inspired by the museum’s exhibition, Pairs and Partners: The Road Less Traveled. This year’s Flimp Festival featured traveling chalk artists who worked alongside students as they planned and executed their art. Each parking space took about six hours to complete from start to finish. Thank you to our visual arts teachers Ms. Shoults and Ms. Davis for their guidance on this endeavor.

#wearesaintjamesschool

District 2 Visual Art Achievement Program Exhibition

Congratulations to Mrs. Shoults’s high school students for placing at the District 2 Visual Art Achievement Program Exhibition.

Ann by Alice Chen

Luke Beasley: 2nd Place, 3D/crafts

Aora Jung: 2nd Place, painting

Natalie Magee: 2nd Place, drawing

Cole Williams: 3rd Place, photography/film

Alice Chen: Wild Card selection, drawing

Alice Chen’s artwork was chosen as a wild card and will move onto the State Visual Art Achievement Program for a second round of judging at the state level next month.

L to R: Monster Energy by Luke Beasley, New Shoes by Aora Jung, Famine by Natalie Magee, Crown of Decay by Cole Williams

Beauty from Nothing

By: Dakota Alexander, senior

How can a simple sheet of white printer paper be beautiful? Given just a few materials, we were able to explore light and dimension, ultimately discovering unexpected creativity.

Mrs. Shoults opened our Photography II class by explaining that we would each be given two sheets of paper: one called “the practice sheet,” which we could crinkle, fold, or destroy without much consequence, and one “final sheet.” We would be taking photos of this sheet, and it would not be replaced upon being damaged. Each crease, tear, or crinkle (made by accident or not), or any other marking would remain on the sheet. She then gave us one miniature lamp, a bucket of colored balloons to stretch over the lamp’s bulb (Voilá! instant colored lights), and two pieces of foam board as a backdrop. She instructed us to take twenty-four decent photographs with these materials, producing three finals to be displayed for critique.

Naturally, a lot of the class was intimidated or at the very least puzzled by the assignment. How does one take interesting photos of such a bland subject as paper? That is not even to mention the stipulation that the final paper could not be replaced, meaning we had to carefully plan out our future photos so as not to produce unwanted creases that would interfere later. It was intimidating to me at least, since I started out with no idea of what to do, but also provided an exciting challenge.

We were given a week to photograph our sheets. During that time, we experimented with different colors and folds, adjusting the angle at which the light struck the paper. This produced a complex interplay between light and shadow, highlighting the forms that we made. Going further into the week, we noticed a certain obscure beauty in that blank sheet. It was something universal, a blank canvas, unto which we may convey a message (albeit not written). Each of our final sheets, despite being torn and ripped, had become true art captured through an 18-55 mm lens.