On November 30 and 31 the National Art Honors Society (NAHS) hosted the third annual Holiday Bazaar in the main lobby after school.

At the bazaar, students sold a variety of items ranging from homemade bath bombs, photo frames, christmas ornaments, to homemade dog biscuits.

NAHS members created all of the art with supplies that the club purchased. Students submitted designs for art projects to the President Austin Freund and Vice President Makayla Phoebus. These projects needed to have the ability to be mass produced.

Club members had to submit requests in September, and they have worked to create large quantities of their designs both in school and outside of school hours.

Planning for the bazaar began in September, and shortly after this, NAHS purchased the supplies and encouraged students to begin to work on their projects soon.

“All the products that we have are really great, and the students have put in a lot of time and effort into this,” Phoebus said.

There are fourteen members in the NAHS club, and all fourteen work to create the art and crafts that are needed for the bazaar.

Advisor Erin Bastian also required the students to assign prices to their projects, which were due on December 28. Bastian did oversee the prices, encouraging some students to create higher price points as necessary.

This is the first year that members of NAHS will split the profit fifty-fifty with the club on items that they sell at the bazaar.

“It helps us feel more valid; it validates the professionalism of the entire event and of our making art,” said NAHS member Jack Gaul.

“I believe it makes it seem more professional and valid, but I don’t want any profit from mine because I just want to give as much as I can to the club, but I don’t disagree with those that want to keep theirs,” said NAHS member Paije Carbonell.

Other than creating the art projects for sale, students put in a great deal of time and effort into other parts of the bazaar; for example, setting up the event. Students used part of their tenth period to help display all items in an appealing way for shoppers.

“A lot of planning, prep, pricing, and setup goes into the event, but students, teachers, and staff seem to enjoy the event, which makes it all worth it,” said Bastian.

Last year NAHS turned a profit of around $500 on their Holiday Bazaar.

“I love being able to support our students, and I get to brag about them when I give the gifts. Every year there’s something new and creative that you can’t find anywhere else. I know I’ll always be able to give one of a kind gifts,” said English teacher Rachel Appleby.

Other staff also love supporting the bazaar and value the students’ creativity.

“I always try to support our student run organizations in whatever way I can and especially love shopping.  The artistic and creative abilities of the student work available to purchase at the NAHS Holiday Bazaar is amazing.  I’m always on the lookout for unique and creative ideas so this is always an opportunity to find just the perfect, meaningful 

gift,” said secretary Lori Kunkle.

Items left over from the Holiday Bazaar will be sold at a number of other events, including breakfast with Santa and the Friday fun day.

When asked to describe NAHS, Bastion said: “National Art Honor Society is an honor organization for those students deemed as strong artists and passionate about the visual arts. We work on many international, local, and school events each year to promote the importance of art and creativity.”

Students may apply to the art department to join NAHS, but must also present an art portfolio for review when doing so.