Kaitlyn's AP Studio Art

My experience in AP art has let me grow so much as an artist. It helped me develop my own art style and express major issues I believe in. It has helped me realize how much of a procrastinator I am. And has taught me not to give up on a piece you’ve been working on for a long time. AP art has given me a chance to make new friends and strengthen my art abilities as well as myself. I loved this experience and will never forget it. 

For my concentration I wanted represent losing your innocence. Everyone knows as you grow up you lose that innocence you had as a child. As you grow up you find out what the real world is like. Disappointing. Not all your dreams will come true, there will be obstacles, and getting what you want is going to take a lot work. For some people growing up is a lot harder for others. You are no longer in that fairy tale world of happiness and pretend.

As a child we are seen as innocent and that we can do no wrong. But unfortunately we are not. Grown-ups influence what we learn, and we all learn how to lie and tell secrets. Since we are so young we don't know that what we are doing is wrong. But as we age we continue to do it, the only difference is that this time we know it's wrong and that it can hurt people. When we are a child we use our imagination to make us happy. To pretend we are a king or queen, or to make best friends. But as we grow, we lose our imagination. I chose to represent this with the unicorn stabbing a boy’s head, killing his imagination.  As we grow into the teen years we learn how mean people can be. People get bullied daily because they aren't as pretty as other girls, or because they don't have as many muscles as other boys. Society has set standards on how you are supposed to look and act. So people try to fit those norms just to stop the bullying. But for a lot of people it doesn't go this way and the bullying goes too far. Causing depression and anxiety. I myself struggled from depression and anxiety for years because of rumors and lies that can be told. People who struggle with this problem turn to terrible things such as drugs to numb the pain, and self-harm to distract from the pain caused by other people. Sometimes the words and torture get to be too much, and these people think the only way to escape it and be happy again is to end their own life. Escaping to their fairy tale book once again.

Angela's AP Studio Art

This has been a crazy year for me. A lot of personal things happened in the beginning of the year. It was pretty hard to get through. Ap art allowed me to express how i was feeling through my art work. My artwork shows the changes i experienced with myself throughout the year. It also shows how everything has effected me in different ways. Ap allowed me to grow and test my skills with a variety of different art styles. It also allowed me to figure out who i am and who i want to be. It showed me that even though everything around me may suck at the moment it gets better with time. My concentration was the main focus of what i was experiencing throughout the year. It shows everything i was battling by myself in my own ways. It also helped me develop my new art style that I have today. Life may suck at times but never give up.

When you look at someone can you see all they have been through? Is their act pretty well put together? Can you see past their fake smiles and see how deeply they are hurting inside? I’ve always had to put up a front with others to save myself from more hurt, from dealing with how others react to my appearance, seemingly never ending depression and anxiety, to putting others problems onto myself. This broke me down and built me back up, always trying to please the world but not myself.

You can change for the better or worse, depending on how you react to it. i always keep things in & hiding my true feelings, wearing different masks every day just to get by to the next day. Simple anxiety can be very crippling, making simple everyday things seem almost impossible. Like having someone behind you saying “you aren’t good enough” or “Their just lying again”. There’s a little monster inside my head feeding me lies. Making me believe things that aren’t true, making me over think everything & everyone.

Depression, never ending pit of sadness & anger. Fills you up inside until you can’t take it anymore. Having random break downs. Taking it out on the people you love the most without really seeing it yourself. Makes you do things that you normally wouldn’t but you. Sometimes it comes without reason & stays like a leach slowly sucking you dry.

Being a wolf in a world of sheep isn’t easy. Always trying to fit in when you really don’t fit in at all. Trying to please others while destroying yourself. Becoming the complete opposite of yourself. I always tend to put others problems onto myself to make it easy for them. I’m to loving & caring, they just take advantage. Taking everything I have to give but giving nothing in return. It’s a never ending cycle but the world is already bad enough so I try to put good into it.

Katt's AP 2D Studio Art

AP has been a very interesting learning experience. I learned more about myself as an artist and I feel I have improved a lot over the year. Not only in terms of my abilities but also as a person. I still am a perfectionist and a bit of a procrastinator, but I have become more accepting of my mistakes and instead of giving up right away, I have gotten better at trying to solve the problem and incorporate it into the piece. All in all I think AP was a very fun experience and one that taught me a lot and strengthened my friendships with my fellow APers.

My concentration is based on stories. These stories were passed down orally until they were written down after being told and retold for generations. These storytellers would often edit the endings to make them less violent for children. But take Grimm’s fairy tales for example, they didn’t censor themselves; they left the brutal endings as was intended. Not everything has to have a happy ending. I took the child-friendly stories and twisted them back to include the darker themes.

When I was younger I loved to read fairytales and myths. The vivid imagery they brought to mind has continued to inspire my art as I got older. I wanted to explore this passion while taking it in a new direction. I intended to give a darker take on my favorite stories while exploring them through a variety of mediums. Images 2-4 were inspired by watercolor illustrations often found in children’s books. They have a child-like feel to them. As I continued my exploration my lines became harsher and more defined as I explored colored pencil as a medium in images 5-7. Skeletons are also a more prominent symbol from image 7 on. I felt they added a sinister element, contrasting with the rich colors of the acrylic paint. I feel image 8 especially is an exceptional example of this. Several stories are repeated throughout my concentration as I delved into different themes. Image 1 shows Rapunzel turning into her tower from waiting so long, while image 12 shows her having died during the wait. By the end of my investigation I’m pleased with the variety of poses, colors, and mediums I’ve included. I chose each subject matter and composition carefully based on what I intended to convey to the viewer.

Kayla's AP Studio Art

AP has been an amazing experience. It has allowed me to have freedom in the work I do. I have learned a lot about how to work with the images to get them exactly how I want them. AP has given me the chance to see what I am capable of doing in certain amounts of time. Being the biggest critic of my work, it is hard to get things done as quick as they should be because I work with my things more than I should because I want them to be just right. In the end AP has made me realize how fun it is and how much of a reward it is to be in a class like this.

My concentration focuses on my childhood memories of growing up in a small town. The images show places I enjoyed while growing up and who I have become as a person today because of them. This project gave me a chance to reflect on my favorite memories while capturing the essence of those memories through the medium of digital photography. My childhood memories of experiences have shaped who I am today.    

My images show important memories and their effects on me as I transition into who I am today. My first image is of great importance because girl scouts helped my at a young age learn how to be a young lady and helped me become part of everyday life around me. The next few images are places form my childhood that I enjoyed playing at and remember with fond memory. Being outdoors is a big part of my life and always has been. These places taught me that it’s okay to just relax and have fun. It is the simplest of things that sometimes matter the most. Whether it is camping, fishing, or simply just being outside, I always found a way to have fun. That all has made me realize that we don’t need electronics and things society deems important just to have fun. The fifth image is a transition into who I am today. Everyone goes through their share of ups and downs to get to where they want to be.  That is exactly what I did. I believe this image portrays that very well. The last few images show me and the struggles and happiness in my life and within myself today.  I know I am a better person because of my experiences.

AP Studio Art Student Posts Coming Soon!

The AP Studio Art Students have finished their portfolios and all have been submitted to the College Board for review.  Now they are ready to share some of their work with the world. As in years past each student will have an opportunity to post their thoughts, concentration focus, and images to the Artroom 411 Blog over the next two weeks.  Please check back daily to see whats new. Remember the students really appreciate your comments and feedback.  They have worked hard over the past 9 months to develop their portfolios. A little positive feedback can go a long way!

McKenna B. AP Art

Taking AP Art this year really helped me to grow as an artist. Through the process of creating my portfolio, I learned more about both myself and my art.My medium of choice ended up being watercolors, as I feel they are one of the most expressive mediums to work with. My concentration in AP Art was linked to personal experiences.

COMMENTARY
1.) The central idea of my concentration has been overcoming my internal battle with depression and anxiety. The stark black and white details in my art work represent the depression always lingering in day to day life, despite how small the amount may be. The watercolor represents anxiety. While the bright and beautiful colors represent how the world as a whole tends to see me, the messy patterns of it all depict the turmoil inside; disorganized yet coinciding to create an interesting image.

2.) My concentration has developed into a strong focus from a single painting. I first painted a portrait of myself in simple colors and tones, but with a chaotic scheme of patterns flowing together to create the picture of myself. This idea is what developed into my concentration- the idea that seemingly disorganized brushstrokes can coincide to create something beautiful. As I continued with this idea, I watched it form to include the depression and anxiety I’ve faced from a young age. I worked to include various issues I’ve faced psychologically, and use the material to create a piece of art. This theme further developed by implementing single features, which I feel can be the most expressive traits a person can use. I used the facial features to convey a morose tone; the black and white once again used to display darkness or emptiness, with a variety of watercolor splats being used to symbolize the idea of something pleasant being created from chaos. This ties in with my final piece in my concentration, the mouth holding the pentacle; this displays the strain associated with rising above stereotypes of the social norm, with bright fiery colors, and of course the pentacle, symbolizing this. I feel that the colors implemented in my concentration are what complete the emotions which are meant to be conveyed to the viewer.

Chris M. AP Art

My year was good. I had a good time.

Concentration:

I’ve always been interested in the change and evolution of people. Not just physical transformations but mental as well. My concentration explores these ideas through self-portraits. It began as a study of physical change and styles over time. After a while my self-portraits began mimicking my feelings while creating them.

My concentration became a personal experience as I created these self-portraits. Through each drawing, the viewer can see my evolution as an artist and as a person. As I started my concentration, I was just setting out to show my physical changes. But as I continued drawing myself over and over again, a lot of my insecurities and thoughts about myself started showing in my drawings. Soon my drawings started looking more and more unlike me. The process of drawing myself started to become a very personal experience for me, sometimes showing things about myself that I had never really thought about before. Constantly drawing myself became therapeutic in a way. It made me come to some realizations and I became more comfortable with myself.

Savannah L's AP Art Studio

I have always had an obsession with putting my thoughts down into an art journal. My concentration focuses on my journey through journal pages I have made throughout the year. It is a reflection of my year as a whole through my personal journal and photography. I started with the idea of a blossoming young love and continued through the representation of that relationship. Which then leads through the ups and downs every person feels when they are experiencing that tremendous first love.

My idea in my pictures was to showcase and emphasize the feeling from the journal page. When you look at the photo and the journal separately, there is no real uniformity, it doesn’t make sense. Layer them together and you can honestly see what the intent is. It’s not a picture you’re looking at, it’s a feeling. My intent is for the viewer to feel what I felt or sympathize with my emotions. Image twelve displays this, the girl, isolated and lonely underneath a journal page about sadness and how serene it is. Each page I have made reflected all of the emotional challenges I have faced through the year. Such as image six, the theme of freedom and flying away shows just how I felt stuck and wanted to be free. Followed by image seven which has that air of acceptance and knowing that while you may not be the happiest you’ve ever been right now, you know you are free. My emotional rollercoaster through the year in a few photos doesn’t completely show everything I went through, but reflects it best.