ASHLAND — Six Ashland High School students will have their paintings of the historic Mohican Covered Bridge featured in artist Tina Husted’s upcoming curated exhibit: Journey Through Ohio’s Counties.
The exhibition will showcase paintings from 18 counties in Ohio, highlighting local history, hidden gems, iconic landmarks and special places, according to the press release.
Husted started creating painting to represent Ohio’s counties four years ago, and she estimates she has completed 55 of the 88 counties so far.
The show will open Jan. 31, 2026, at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, located at 145 E. Main St., Lancaster.
Husted, wife of U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), invited high school students from across the state to share their own creative interpretations of those places.
Olivia Brannon, Eric Cao, Adi Helbert, K. Jai Hutchins, Madelyn Shenberger and recent Ashland High School graduate Riley Cline are the artists whose work will be in the exhibit.
They are all members of the Ashland High School Chapter of the National Art Honor Society: a high school visual art service organization of the National Art Education Association.
The artists volunteered their time and talent to create these works, which Husted juried and accepted for display in her exhibit.
How did Ashland students get involved?
Cameron Dedrick is one of three art teachers at the high school. He is also the chapter sponsor of the National Art Honor Society.
Last year, Husted reached out to Dedrick and told him about her exhibit. Husted already had a painting of the Mohican Covered Bridge, but she wanted the students to paint their own versions.
Husted said the bridge is not only “an iconic bridge and a landmark in Ashland County,” but she also once ran the Mohican 50-mile run across the bridge and her friend proposed to his wife there.
She chose to include high school students work in the exhibit because a representative at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio asked Husted how they could bring more guests to the exhibit.
Husted suggested collaborating with high schoolers “to make it more fun and interactive with other artistic impressions and let kids shine their work on Ohio, too,” she said.
“Art brings people together. We can share a common connection with art.”
Husted looked up schools in various counties across Ohio, and Ashland High school happened to be one of the 12 random schools picked.
Dedrick said there were numerous students on board immediately. They worked on the paintings for months last school year and sent in the final paintings in May.
“Those kids are some of my best artists: the kids that want to work for the department,” Dedrick said.
After five of the 15 Ashland paintings were accepted by Husted, Dedrick told the students they would have the option to sell their work.
“You have a talent and a skill that not most people have,” Dedrick told the students.
He said they can price it however they feel is reasonable.
Senior student Jai Hutchins is selling her painting for $500. She said she will use the money to pay for her college. She hopes to be accepted into the School of the Art Institute of Chicago or the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Hutchins worked on her photorealistic, acrylic painting for two months. She had not worked with acrylic paints much before, and she likes to paint portraits, so the bridge was a challenge.
“I figured it out through a lot of trial and error,” Hutchins said.
“It was cool to paint something like [the bridge]. I’ve really been there,” Hutchins said.
She said even if her painting does not sell, that’s OK too because she gets to keep her work, which she is proud of.
“Journey Through Ohio’s Counties” will be on display at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio from Jan. 31 through April 26.
Husted will give a curator talk on Feb. 15, at 2 p.m., where she will share the stories and inspiration behind her paintings of Ohio’s counties. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10, and $15 at the door.
The exhibit information is not yet on the website, but will be soon.
