In AP Art, students work to master several materials and have a rigorous schedule of when are projects due. The program only runs on years where there are enough students who enroll. This year it continues to serve students serious about art.
The AP art program looks to help artists improve their techniques and their art in general.
“A portfolio of work is created with a minimum of 27 works of art that are submitted to the AP College Board. The portfolio is broken into three sections: quality, concentration and breadth. Five quality works of art that are minimum sent to the College Board, 12 works of art are based on a concentration of studies with a connecting theme and 12 works of art show the breadth of styles and media of the student artist. Written statements are also a part of the concentration,” said AP Art teacher Susan Foecking.
Students who are interested in AP Art must take a few classes before they can enroll in AP Art.
“Students who are interested in the study of art for a college major or career choice should consider taking AP or Honors Studio. Four previous art classes are considered for a prerequisite to this course. Honors Studio is approached as a Pre-AP class, in which they begin working on their portfolios,” said fine arts department chair Mark Lard.
The class contains a super rigorous course and requires concentration.
“AP Art contains a heavy workload. It is a college level courseload, so much time is also spent outside of class time working on projects. With 18 weeks in a semester, and 27 projects minimum due by May, you can calculate the amount of time per project needed. You move at a quick pace. The more art classes that you have had, the more comfortably students can work at a faster pace, but also a more thoughtful approach to creating works of art with a theme, message and meaning,” Foecking said.
Students implement many different materials in their art throughout the year. Being exposed to many different materials is critical for students who want to pursue art in college.
“Students use drawings, paintings, printmaking, and mixed media collage with a variety of media like graphite, acrylic, watercolor, ink, oil pastels, oil paint, charcoal, chalk pastels, colored pencil to name a few,” Foecking said.