Hana Elizabeth's ap art

I am a huge procrastinator. I wait till the last minute to do my work and then cram all my ideas into my work during a little crunch time. Usually my work turns out better when I'm put under pressure. Many ideas come to mind that I would love to do and create but pursuing the project without messing up is usually what gets me stuck. Once I free the ideas I have though; it feels so good. It's like telling a huge secret and a weight is lifted off my chest. It's like my own little way of sharing how I feel and the crazy things my imagination can come up with.

For my concentration I focused on struggles following up to new beginnings. Throughout high school I’ve faced too many struggles to coujnt but optimism and eagerness were the keys to finding the silver linings in it all. You must be eager for the result of the struggle because that’s going to be the next chapter in your life. To be optimistic makes a big difference in how each struggle impacts life. There will be lessons and there will be memories forever from everything.

During this school year, my youngest cousin found out she’s going to be having a little girl. She’s only sixteen years old and is scared like you wouldn’t believe. Luckily our family is very supportive and there for her. We know that there’s going to be many struggles to come from this; but optimism is definitely our key. It’s a new beginning in her life and for the whole family. Her and her boyfriend will be new parents to the baby; it’s a new chapter that will have many giggles and smiles, tears and frowns, and lots of love all for a little girl named Amiyrah Sylvia Rose. It’s the start of a new life; a very precious and new optimistic beginning.

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.

My Amazing AP Art Studio Students

It's that time of year again. Over the next few days my amazing AP Art Studio students will each take a turn at posting their favorite pictures and explaining some of their work from their AP Art Studio 2013-14 entries. They have each worked hard to develop their Breadth (12 works), Concentration(12 works)with a short essay, and Quality (5 works)for their AP Art Studio Portfolio Exam. Check back each day and Enjoy!

Schoology-paperless artroom here we come!

I found a great online site for secure student group management  www.schoology.com . I looked at it over the summer, but have not had a chance to set up classes and groups till recently.  As I've mentioned before our district uses Moodle. I'm not overly impressed with the user friendliness and overall appearance of Moodle.  Apparently others feel the same way, because as a district we are starting to look at other options that might be out there...yeh!  The www.schoology.com site is far more user friendly and is set up similar to facebook so the students have no trouble navigating through it. You can link it to your Moodle site too if you want.  As a district with student email account difficulties the, to say the least, an invite code rather than email option is wonderful.  I can just give them a preset code and they can log in to their course or group.  There are separate codes for each section/group and you can change them as needed and/or remove students that you don't want in that group or section.  If you do have reliable student email accounts they can register with them as well. www.schoology.com has a gallery(albums) you can set up for students, which I love for online critiques!.  Also included are discussions, attendance, tests, links, apps, calendar of events, and the list goes on.  Oh, and did I mention it's FREE! I think I found a good fit for my students and I. I'll let you know how things go.

Give it a try if you haven't and let me know how it goes.  If you are using it or have in the past let me know what you think too.    www.schoology.com

Emily N's AP Studio Art Blog

It's been a long year in AP Studio Art. It was all worth the worries, all the things that we've had to do and all the projects. This has been one of the best classes that I've had it was well worth taking. It's made me a stronger photographer adn I've learned a lot of new things along the way through this journey. My pictures all have a story behind htem. I love taking pictures of old things outside. I never thought you could capture such good pictures from just the simple little things you find laying around. Something that was fun was finding things I liked and that I wanted to take pictures of. I found that I love weird angles and that my images come out better that way that thats my way of expressing myself in them. I also found out that I have to take pictures alone, I cant have anyone around.  I like the old rustic things and barn wood and the color that it is. All my photos have to do with things that are around me everyday and things that I see all the time. I'd like to keep photography in my life after high school. Maybe as a side job or as a full time job, you never know.

Abigail's AP Studio Art Blog

AP Studio Art has really made me look at my own work and discover my own style. My work has really grown this school year alone. The central theme of my work has been an intense use of lines, color, shape, and surreal imagery. Initially, I incorporated other people's works into my own by relying on images and outside resources. I gradually spun off of that and began to use my own imagination in my work by using unique lines. I like to stretch reality to the greatest degree, but leave a touch of what is real. I can be very random and in the moment when I paint; I see something and become inspired. Painting and drawing is a way for me to relax; I play my music and am free to be myself and get lost in my own world. Just because I am graduating this year does not mean I am saying goodbye to art. I plan on continuing to create art for the rest of my life, it's my hobby and is a part of me. My future plans include taking my general education either at a tech college or online, then transfering to a four-year college. AP Studio Art has given me confidence to make art a part of my future plans. I would like to pursue either art therapy or art education working specifically with children. I am thankful to have had this opportunity, thank you! =D

Kelsey's AP Studio Art Blog

This year has been, if nothing else, a learning experience to me.  I have learned that whether I liked it or not, procrastination and messing around was NOT the way to go, heck, it wasn't even an option!  You get behind so fast, it's hard to blink because you have to play catch up.  But from the start, I wanted my pictures to touch people, and they HAD to be sharp.  Working on my portfolio throughout the year, I learned how to better myself and my photography.  My macros were always my strong point, and they're my favourite way to make an image really pop!  I also learned how each photo captured a unique story that can be shared throughout the years.  People tell me a picture is worth a thousand words... they also tell me "A penny for your thoughts!"  But in all honesty, these thoughts and memories are priceless, and the love, laughter, tears shed, and days spent doing "absolutely nothing" can't be marked with a price tag either.  The sentimentality of each photograph and the subjects in them are an indescribable thing, much like keeping an old stuffed animal or a baby blanket until the very day you die.  Which is why my concentration was simply titled, "Sentimentality".  Taking something you have a personal attachment to, and making it into the work you do every day is what this year was about for me, and it is what I hope to make my future about as well.                                                                                 I plan to take classes in photography this year, and I hope to make a lasting career out of it, whether it is starting my own photography business, or getting hired at a (hopefully) well known magazine label or advertising company that needs photographers for nature, fashion, or just pictures to fill a void.  Although I am not too experienced with taking photos of live subjects, I hope to make that more and more prodominant in the future, and I hope to take some senior pictures and family photoshoots.  My hopes for the future are high, and though sometimes my goals seem unreachable and unrealistic, with enough hard work and determination, I have learned that anything is truly possible.