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STUDENT ARTISTS HONORED AT STIFEL ART EXHIBIT

Oglebay Institute fosters and celebrates the talent and creativity of young artists. The 36th annual Regional Student Art Exhibit is on display at Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling through February 7.

An opening reception and awards ceremony took place January 16. Top artists in each category received ribbons and cash prizes.

The annual exhibit provides high school students the opportunity to display their artwork in a professional gallery, see what other students are doing in the world of art, and collaborate and get feedback from art teachers, college professors, and other students from throughout the region.

“Every year I’m amazed at the quality of the artwork coming out of the region. As a former high school art teacher, I’m very fond of young artists and seeing their talent brings me back to those days,” Oglebay Institute curator of exhibitions Clancy said. “The Stifel Center is uniquely situated to elevate these fledgling creators and give them a platform to display to a wider audience, while getting some accolades in the process. All it takes is something like this exhibit to hook a student for life.”

 

Best is Show: Anneliese Schupbach, Brooke High School, “Flourishing Anticipation.”

First Place Digital: Jessica Nissley, The Linsly School, “Eve Has Green Eyes”

14 Schools from 3 States Represented in the Show

Fourteen high schools from three states and eight counties are represented in this year’s show. Schools include Bridgeport High School, John Marshall High School, Wheeling Central Catholic High School, Union Local High School, Martins Ferry High School, Bellaire High School, Wheeling Park High School, Brooke High School, Avella High School, The Linsly School, River High School, Oak Glen High School, Fairmont Senior High School, and West Virginia Virtual Academy. Homeschool students also participated in the show.

More than 250 pieces were submitted and 98 works in a variety of media from 79 student artists were selected for the show by juror Aaron Anslow.

First Place Photography: Kaden Mosa, The Linsly School, “Blue Invasion”

Juror Aaron Anslow

“Thank you to all the folks that made this show possible. The strength, sophistication, and range of the students’ work is incredible,” Anslow said. “I take great pride in being part of this art community and I am extremely grateful to all the parents, teachers, and fellow students who have supported and encouraged these young artists. The future of studio art in our region is bright, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.”

A practicing artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally, Anslow teaches at West Liberty University and owns and operates Earthsmith Studio in Bethany, West Virginia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in ceramics. He has studied at Bethany College, West Virginia University, Regents College in London and in Jingdezhen, China. He also served as a Sergeant in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

First Place, Rowyn Scott, Avella High School, “Death Stare”
First Place Drawing: Maddie Tingler, Union Local High School, “Of Rats and Men”

Award Winners

Best of Show
Anneliese Schupbach, Brooke High School, “Flourishing Anticipation.”

Painting
First Place, Rowyn Scott, Avella High School, “Death Stare”
Second Place, Cam Harris, WV Virtual Academy, “I Am My Mother, and My Mother is Me”
Third Place, Cameron Fullerton, Wheeling Park High School, “Bioluminescence”

Sculpture
First Place, Kai Brehm, Bellaire High School, “The Black Hawk”
Second Place, Christian Yost, Wheeling Park High School, “Bone Collector”
Third Place, Rhys Poole, The Linsly School, Even Immortals Have Weaknesses

Mixed Media
First Place, Leo Miller-Wudarski, Wheeling Park High School, “Collage Portrait”
Second Place, Lillian Tomana, Fairmont High School, “Replication of Claude Monet’s Sunflower Field”
Third Place, Rowan Criswell, Wheeling Park High School, “The Parlor”

Photography
First Place, Kaden Mosa, The Linsly School, “Blue Invasion”
Second Place, Raven Pettigrew, Bellaire High School, “The Vote”
Third Place, Mahkenzie Poggi, Bellaire High School, “Slay 1800”

Drawing
First Place, Maddie Tingler, Union Local High School, “Of Rats and Men”
Second Place, Savannah Springer, Union Local High School, “Star of the Show”
Third Place, Hannah Shephard, Homeschool student, “Peek-a-Boo”
 
Digital
First Place, Jessica Nissley, The Linsly School, “Eve Has Green Eyes”
Second Place, Bella Mahley, Brooke High School, “Beauty of the Extinct”
Third Place, Juliette Manukin, Wheeling Park High School, “Sunset Warrior”

America’s Treasured Landscapes, Best in Show
Kaelyn Pritt, Brooke High School, “Wild Turkey”

Scholarship Awards
Ryhs Poole, The Linsly School, received a partial scholarship award to West Virginia University. Kyleigh Leach, Union Local High School, received a partial scholarship award to West Liberty University.

First Place Sculpture: Kai Brehm, Bellaire High School, “The Black Hawk”
First Place Mixed Media: Leo Miller-Wudarski, Wheeling Park High School, “Collage Portrait”

America’s Treasured Landscapes–partnership with WSO

A new aspect of this year’s Regional Student Art Exhibit is the America’s Treasured Landscapes project, which is a new category in partnership with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.

Students were asked to submit works in any medium that were inspired by West Virginia’s natural beauty and the National Parks of the United States. These works are included in the America’s Treasured Landscapes exhibit that will be showcased during the WSO’s Masterworks concert Nature. Beauty February 8, 2025.

America’s Treasured Landscapes, Best in Show: Kaelyn Pritt, Brooke High School, “Wild Turkey”

Prior to the concert and during the post-concert reception, the exhibit will be on display in the Capitol Theatre ballroom. Also, during composer Matt Jackfert’s “Foggy Moon over the Gorge,” large scale digital images of student artworks inspired by nature’s beauty will be displayed for concertgoers.

The 36th Annual Regional Student Art Exhibition can be viewed free of charge now through February 7 at Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center, 1330 National Road, Wheeling. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturdays. Evening hours are dependent on classes and special events taking place.  For more information, visit www.oionline.com or call 304-242-7700.

The annual exhibit is open to students in grades 9-12 within a 50-mile radius of Wheeling. Award winners receive ribbons along with cash prizes.

The show is part of Oglebay Institute’s art exhibition season, which is sponsored by United Bank.

Part of the nonprofit Oglebay Institute and housed in the historic Edemar Mansion, Stifel Fine Arts Center is a public arts center with galleries, classrooms, and performance space. Through year-round exhibits, classes, and special events, Stifel serves as a gathering place for artists, emerging artists, art lovers, students, educators, and families—connecting and engaging the community in creative pursuits.

Explore Glass, Decorative Arts at OI Museums with Expert Holly McCluskey

By Phyllis Sigal

When Holly McCluskey talks about Wheeling glass, her eyes sparkle like the brightly lit pieces on display at Oglebay Institute’s Glass Museum.

McCluskey, curator of glass at Oglebay Institute, has 40 years of knowledge fused into her brain— knowledge that fuels her passion and could fill the giant, 16-gallon Sweeney Punch Bowl and a myriad other vessels in the collection.

And, not only is she well-versed in glass, but also in the decorative arts found in the period rooms at Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum.

McCluskey will impart stories, facts, details and data at two sessions during the Institute’s winter class offerings: “From Crystal to Carnival: The Story of Wheeling Glass” and “Decorative Arts a la Carte.”


A Duval punch bowl. The Glass Museum features 13 pieces of Duval Glass, dating back to 1825 to 1837.

Making Glass History Chrystal Clear

•    Do you know that one out of 10 people in the Ohio Valley worked in the glass industry in its heyday?

•    Do you know that Wheeling’s J.H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Co. was the largest glass producer in the world?

•    Do you know that Wheeling glass can be found in collections all over the world? McCluskey has met people from Australia who collect Wheeling-made pieces.

•    Do you know that terminology currently used in glass industry unions goes back to the early days of glass making? The “carrying-in boy” and the “carrying-out boy” are two examples, and harken back to when children actually manned the tongs carrying molten glass pieces.

One out of 10 people in the Ohio Valley worked in the glass industry in its heyday. In her classes, McCluskey remembers the glassworkers by discussing and crediting the people who made the glass.

During the glass class sessions, the small group will sit around a table in the shadow of that famous punch bowl. (Shadows aside, McCluskey has seen the early morning sun hit the punch bowl creating a rainbow.)

Class members will not only learn these and other interesting tidbits, they also will hold and examine pieces of glass with their own two hands.

Touch, Hold & Examine Glass:  Rare Behind-the-Scenes Access

“You can’t learn about glass without handling it, touching it,” she believes. “We’ll handle glass, we’ll talk about the companies and the history.”

She’ll teach how glass is made and about the colorization process. She will share a timeline, detailing how glass fits into Wheeling’s history.

Hobbs, Brockunier Daisy and Button Pattern.

Remembering The Glassmakers

She’ll also talk about who made the glass. “My class is designed to remember the people who made glass. …

“When you look at a piece of glass, you look at who the people were who made it, not just at a pretty piece of glass.

During the last class of the session, participants can bring their own pieces of Wheeling glass for a show-and-tell or to have McCluskey identify it.

Deco Art Behind the Barriers

•    Do you know that chairs have knees and ears and ankles?

•    Do you know that, in the Federalist period during the “Age of Reason,” furniture makers calculated the sizes of drawers in a dresser based on a mathematical formula?

•    Do you know what objects at the Mansion Museum belonged to which Oglebay family member?

•    Do you know the difference between Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton furniture pieces?

•     Do you know who lived in the Mansion Museum?

•    Do you know the meaning of “conspicuous consumption”?

Empire Bedroom in Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum.

What is Decorative Art?

“Decorative art,” explained McCluskey, “is different from fine art.” Furnishings and glass pieces that are functional are considered decorative art — chairs, tables, vases, for example.

Those who attend the “Decorative Arts a la Carte” sessions will peek behind the barriers at the Mansion Museum. The velvet stanchions will come down, and McCluskey will hold classes inside the period rooms.

The class allows attendees to get up-close and personal. Look closely at the carvings and inlays on the pieces of furniture. Examine the patterns in the area rugs. Learn about the fun aspect of “social history” of the times — for example, why the furniture is arranged just so in the rooms.

Victorian Parlor in Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum.

Holly’s Passion

It was in 1984 that McCluskey began her job as curator of education, with a fresh master’s degree in public history from West Virginia University under her belt.

She wasn’t born a glass aficionado nor was she an expert on period furniture when she arrived. But it was the importance of glass to the city’s history that entrenched her in the subject.

Holly McCluskey polishes the famous Sweeney Punch Bowl, which stands five-feet tall and weights 225 pounds.

Part of her responsibilities was giving tours at the museum, so she began to study glass as well as decorative arts.

“I didn’t know anything about glass when I started here,” she said. But she “learned so much” from those who came before her. Her teachers included international glass expert Robert DiBartolomeo, director of the Mansion Museum from 1963-73, whom she never met, and her boss, John Artzberger, the director from 1975-1998.

In fact, she’s learned so much over the years that, in the early 1990s, she contributed a chapter about Hobbs-Brockunier in “Wheeling Glass: The Collection of the Oglebay Institute Glass Museum.”

“DiBartolomeo brought the museum to national prominence because of his knowledge of glass,” McCluskey said. He was slated to speak at a seminar at the Corning Glass Museum — “the pinnacle of glass conferences” — but died tragically before he could give his presentation.

“He developed great ties,” with area glass leaders, McCluskey said. In fact, Oglebay Institute’s 4,000-piece collection carries the name the J. Ralph Boyd Memorial Collection. Boyd served as the secretary of the Imperial Glass Corp., a huge glass company in Bellaire, Ohio.

Central Glass candlestick made in the image of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge sandstone tower.

McCluskey — along with other researchers — still consults a collection of index cards where DiBartolomeo recorded what was happening in the Wheeling glass world. Sometimes he digressed to other topics — such as Tunnel Green ghost stories.

“They were fascinating,” she said.

Happy Two-Year Anniversary of Reimagined Glass Museum

When McCluskey started her job, the Glass Room at the Mansion Museum held the glass collection. In 1993, the collection moved to the Carriage House Museum, a few hundred feet away. And it was early in 2022 that a catastrophic water issue forced a major renovation.

“We were forced to do it, and had the opportunity to make [the museum] relevant. We are very pleased with the results,” she said.

November 2022 saw the unveiling of the renovations. Updates included improved lighting in the display cases, luxury vinyl flooring, soothing gray walls, new seating, information panels focusing on the people, product and process of the glass-making industry.

(Read more about the renovations here: https://oionline.com/oglebay-institutes-glass-museum-renovation/.)

Ready to Sign Up? Class Details.

“From Crystal to Carnival: The Story of Wheeling Glass”
An overview of the five major companies that operated in Wheeling during the height of local glass production: Pre-Civil War Wheeling (Ritchie 1829-1837 and Sweeney 1835-1868); Hobbs-Brockunier (1845-1893); Central (1863-1939); and Northwood (1902-1925). Participants will have the rare opportunity to study representative pieces up close at the Glass Museum while it is closed to the public. Mix ’n match or attend all four sessions. Class meets at Oglebay Institute’s Glass Museum, located below the Carriage House Glass Gift Shop in Oglebay Park. Pre-registration required. (Limit 10)

Ages: adults
Meets: 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 7 (Pre-Civil War Wheeling), Jan. 14 (Hobbs-Brockunier), Jan. 21(Central) and Jan. 28 (Northwood)
Cost: $15/$13 OI members (per class).

Register online or Call 304-242-7272.

Federal Bedroom in Oglebay Institute’s Mansion Museum.

“Decorative Arts a la Carte.”
This class is an introduction to popular American decorative styles: Federal (1790-1820); Empire (1810-1840); Victorian (1840-1900); and “Oglebay” (1901-1926).  Social history, lifestyles, furniture and the decorative arts will be highlighted. Participants will have the rare opportunity to go into the Mansion’s period rooms. Mix ’n match or attend all four sessions. Pre-registration required. Space is limited. (Limit 10)

Ages: adults
Meets: 6:30-8 p.m. Feb. 4 (Federal), Feb. 11 (Empire), Feb. 18 (Victorian), Feb. 25 (“How the Oglebays Lived”)
Cost: $15/$13 OI members (per class)

Register online or call 304-242-7272.