2023 Winner - Gianna Antonacci
of Parsippany Hills H.S. in Morris Plains, NJ.
The Warwick Valley Quilters’ Guild awarded the 2023 Phyllis Klein Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Gianna Antonacci of Parsippany Hills H.S. in Morris Plains, NJ.
Applicants from several high schools in three states applied for the scholarship this year. As you know the scholarship is offered to a graduating senior who plans to continue their education in a fiber arts or fine arts field who has also completed at least one course in sewing, textiles, design, and/or art during high school. Penny attended the ceremony on June 5 to present the scholarship to Gianna on behalf of the Guild.
Gianna’s outstanding application rose above the rest through her dedication to her art coursework through all four years of high school as well as her commitment to passing on her talent and passion to younger students at the local community center and art camp. The Scholarship Committee was particularly impressed with Gianna’s intention to pursue a career in art education and share her creativity, passion, and talent with the next generation.
A photo of Gianna’s sample work was accompanied by this description:
“This is a shirt I created for my first project for AP 3D art and design. I created my own fabric by mending wool fibers together using a wet felting technique. I then cut a pattern that I created out of the fabric and I used yarn and needle felting to create vines all over the shirt. Finally, I sewed it all together! I pulled my inspiration from the colors of nature and the outdoors itself. This process of creating fabric is something that I have never done prior to doing this project and I didn’t really have a full plan, but I learned so much from the whole process. With that being said, I was able to realize that not entirely having a plan from the start allowed me to really think beyond, and experiment more, which is something I found myself doing throughout all of my projects.”
