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Arts & Entertainment

Edible Art at Catonsville High School

The 17th annual event was sponsored by the National Art Honor Society.

Last night, tables all over Catonsville High School cafeteria were covered with food.  But this was not just food--it was art.  Images of video games, sports fields, nature scenes, animals, even reproductions of paintings were rendered completely in edible materials.

Beginning at 5 p.m., individual artists and groups of artists, ranging from toddlers to event alumni, arrived carrying their entries.  Artists poked and propped their creations back into shape and then posed for photos with their works and answered questions from their admirers.  

When asked about his choice of cooked spaghetti to create the hair in his reproduction of an Alphonse Mucha image entitled "A Muncha of Mucha," Riley Goodman said, "We liked the flowy-ness of it."  

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For admission of $1 or a canned food item, about 250 visitors from the community turned out to celebrate this unique convergence of food and art.  Groups of friends roamed the room, eyeing sections of rice cereal treats or candy or chocolate, drawing or writing on the paper tablecloths, and discussing their votes for the “Peoples’ Choice” award. 

Mary Kay Graham, Arbutus Middle School nurse said, “I am impressed to see how creative these kids are.”

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The judging was done by members of the CHS National Art Honor Society for the elementary and middle categories and by CHS faculty for the high school/community categories.

At 7:30 p.m., the crowd gathered as art teacher and organizer Windy Spiridigliozzi announced the winners.  Prizes and support of various kinds were donated by many local restaurants and businesses.

Former CHS art teacher Marilyn Feit founded the event 17 years ago.  National Art Honor Society officer and CHS senior Zoe Dell has been entering the contest since first grade.  Her alligator mascot for the gradutaing class of 2011 won ninth place.

Maura Elliott, a freshman, is a huge Orioles fan.  She made her “Let’s Go O’s” in two days and won a $20 gift certificate to Sakura for her 12th place award.

The second place elementary award went to Sydney and Kendall Hogarth and Declan Carney, all from Catonsville Elementary School, for their work entitled “The Pass.”  Their prize was a Brunswick Lanes Bowling Party for six.

Katie Alexander, who joined the National Art Honor Society this year as a senior, said, “I wish I had joined before.  It was so much fun getting together with my friends, working on the project and bonding.”

Finally, the highlight of the evening arrived: eating the art.  As the projects were dismantled and kids began to gorge on marshmallows and graham crackers, event organizer CHS art teacher Windy Spiridigliozzi, looked around, smiled and said, “You don’t sleep for four days, but at the end you say, ‘Oh, that was so great.’  It’s kind of like childbirth!”

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