Giving Back to the Community NGAG’s Scholarship Program

TRICIA MOORE

In 2016, The North Georgia Arts Guild realized its longheld dream of providing scholarships for talented high school seniors who wished to continue their study of art in college. Scholarships have been awarded every year since, with the exception on 2022. The scholarship fund is mainly supported by the guild’s premier art festival, which, up through 2021, was “Celebrate Clayton.” Due to the switch from “Celebrate Clayton” to “Sassafras Art and Artisan Market,” there was no festival in 2022. In 2023, the guild welcomed and celebrated their new festival Sassafras and continued the tradition of awarding scholarships. To date, the guild has awarded thirty-three scholarships and $33,000.

In addition to the festival itself, a raffle is held during the festival for the opportunity to win one of two beautiful canvas totes, hand painted by two of the guild’s talented artists. These totes are filled with pieces of original art donated by the guild members. Tee shirts are also sold to raise money for the scholarships. These tee shirts feature the art of Celia Durand and Paula Van Huss. A scholarship was also named in honor of Celia and Paula, as well as Rodney Roe and Rennie Davant, all beloved and long-standing guild members who have passed away.

Guild President Randy Sells stated, “The longtime goal of an art scholarship program was realized with the first three scholarships awarded in 2016. From the beginning, our members supported fundraising efforts, donating their time and original artwork. We are so proud of the 33 talented students who have been awarded NGAG Art scholarships. I am confident each can achieve success in their chosen field and pass on the rich traditions of art and crafts to future generations.”

Much thought and work went into the forming of the criteria and guidelines for the scholarships. In 2015, the board decided this was definitely something the guild wanted to do and was able to do because of the guild sponsored festival. When volunteers were being recruited to form a committee to create criteria and guidelines, Carolyn Hill, a retired educator, immediately volunteered. Tricia Moore, a retired art teacher, joined her, and not long afterwards, Jo Mitchell, a retired

The scholarship winners for 2024 include the following:

Sophia Moore, Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, Art Teacher, Terri Manoogian, awarded The Celia Durand Memorial Scholarship, to attend Emerson College, Boston, MA to study cinematography.

Victoria Darnell, Rabun County High School, Art Teacher Amy Jarrard, The Paula Van Huss Memorial Scholarship to attend SCAD, Savannah GA to study video animation.

Ryleigh Brotherton, Rabun County High School, Art Teacher

Amy Jarrard, The Rennie Davant Memorial Scholarship to attend University of North Georgia, Gainesville GA to study Art Education.

Molly Mitchell, Tallulah Falls School, Art Teacher Stephanie Steufer, The Rodney Roe Memorial Scholarship to attend University of North Carolina, Charlotte NC to study architecture.

Guild members were privileged to view a presentation of their artwork at NGAG meeting held Thursday, April 16.

Previous winners of the scholarships include: journalist and book author, joined the committee. Present members of the committee include Penny Bradley as Committee Chairman, Kathy Beehler, and Dietrich Hoecht. In addition to the $1,000 scholarship award, each recipient receives hardcover sketchbook with an encouraging quote. This year’s quote was by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. “Practicing art no matter how good or badly is fuel for the soul. So do it!”

Jessica Durand, Benjamin Guevera, Olivia Leviton, and Moranel Gober in 2016

Julliane Harrod, Heather Geovino in 2017

Autumn Raye Dixon, Kelly Nix, Keilani Shaw, Aldora Wang, Zack Zhou in 2018

Camille Magoogian, Elizabeth Walrod, Olivia Travolacci in 2019

Sophie Baiso, Sarah Decker, Brendalyn Welch in 2020

Chandler Hensley, Abby Thompson, Mary Isabelle Martin, Timurs Grigorjans, Oluwatomison Sarumi in 2021

Rebecca Ramey, Abigail Carver, Ruichen (Sarah) Zhang, Kailyn Neal, Autumn Smith, Zoey Townsend, Ella Loveland in 2023

North Georgia Arts Guild looks forward to continuing the tradition of awarding scholarships to deserving art students. Through your support of the Sassafras festival and purchasing the guild tee shirts with the beautiful art of Celia Durand and Paula Van Huss, the guild can do this. The tee shirts can currently be purchased at the guild booth at Butler’s Gallery on Main Street.

Tricia Moore is a retired teacher, having taught both English and Art in public and private school settings. She is currently an active member of the NGAG and has held several positions on the board. With her background in both art and writing, she feels that writing the NGAG featured artist article in the Laurel of Northeast Georgia is a good fit and something that she will greatly enjoy doing.