Decorated student artists’ work on display at library

Twenty-one works of art by Oak Harbor High School students are being showcased.

By Allyson Ballard • July 8, 2025 8:00 am

Twenty-one works of art by Oak Harbor High School students — drawings, photographs and well-lit pictures of sculptures — are on display at the Oak Harbor Library throughout the month of July. Several pieces were created by award-winning artists.

All three winners for District 2 of this year’s Congressional Art Competition, a nationwide high school art competition first held in 1982, were Oak Harbor High School students. Tessa Meyer, Lillika Taitano and Peyton Bodenhafer took first, second and third, respectively. Meyer’s work will be displayed at the U.S. Capitol for a year in honor of her win.

Oak Harbor High School students secured eight of 15 regional spots in the OSPI State Art Show, co-hosted by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Art Education Association. Hannah Roberts and Madi Spanos received special individual awards and were invited to participate in the show.

Additionally, Oak Harbor students earned five Gold Keys in the Regional Scholastic Awards for their creations.

Meyer, Taitano, Roberts, Spanos and Lily Isaacs, one of the students whose work was recognized in the OSPI State Art Show, all have pieces on display at the library.

Oak Harbor High School art department’s success at regional competitions this year comes as no surprise to Kate Matwychuk. Responsible for coordinating the art on display at the library, including featuring elementary school students’ art every April and high school students’ every July, the school district’s “commitment to creativity” has been made clear to her.

Organized with the high school’s help, the gallery is another example of that commitment.

“The coordination that is necessary — that goes above and beyond what they normally do just with their departmental work with the students,” she said. “It just requires a lot of effort.”

Matwychuk explained many of the students whose work has been displayed at the library over the years have never had the chance to display their work publicly, a meaningful opportunity for young artists. Library visitors have also enjoyed the art.

“Displaying work in coordination with Sno Isle libraries helps build real community understanding of our students capabilities and creative pursuits,” Kit Christopherson, an art teacher at OHHS, said. “We are grateful they are willing to host OHHS work.”

Make no mistake, the library also benefits from the beauty.

“We like supporting kids doing their art, and then finding ways to get families to come to the library,” Matwychuk said, “because then once they’re here, they’ll look at books and see about all the different kinds of services that we offer families.”