Over 100 student artists exhibited

The Bay Area Friends of Fine Arts (BAFFA) held their annual juried invitational high school exhibition at their gallery in Gillette House.

With submissions from high schools throughout Suffolk County, there were over 100 pieces of original art throughout the two-room gallery.

The high schools included: Bayport-Blue Point, Bay Shore, Bellport, Brentwood, Commack, Connetquot, Eastport-South Manor, Longwood, Patchogue-Medford, Sachem East, Sachem North, and Sayville.

“Every student who has had their work selected to be exhibited at the gallery is already a winner and should be very proud of their accomplishment,” said Donna Smosky, president of BAFFA.

A number of awards were granted to the student artists, including:

The Olivia and Harlan Fischer Award

Best in show: Vivian Castelli

Second Best in show: Lena Gannotta

Women Sharing Art Scholarships

Amira Hussein, Vivian Castelli, Vita Mazza, Kathryn Wood

Jacqueline C. Palmer Award

Robert Pizzingrillo

Bell Street Artists Scholarships

First Place: Morgan Carberry

Second Place: Vita Mazza

Nancy Ruth Cronin, Nancy Maia, and Will Ryder served as judges for the program.

Cronin has work in pen and ink, acrylic, pencil, mixed media, fabric, wood, and found objects. A dual member of BAFFA and Bell Street Artists, Cronin painted the domed ceiling in the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Maia, a self-taught photographer, specializes in landscapes and flowers.

Ryder, a founding member of Bell Street Artists, has exhibited work all over the tri-state area and is a retired New York City professor who has authored two art education books. In the community, Ryder has created two exterior mosaics at Temple Beth El in Patchogue.