GHS Art: Sea o' Art

The Art Department has had a balanced and creative year. Some students have shown immense talent and passion, and the advanced classes have had to be deeply thoughtful in their projects. I interviewed a few students asking questions about the classes and their favorite projects and mediums, getting some interesting answers.

There are many different kinds of mediums and majors in art. Architecture, Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Photography, and Sculpting are just a few majors. Additionally, Pencil, Charcoal, Watercolor, Pen, and Acrylic Paint are just a few of the many mediums. They’re all different and special, and every artist has preferences. That’s why Art 1 and 2 offer diversity in their curriculum; the classes are meant for you to learn those preferences.

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Art 1

Art 1 has had many fun and engaging projects so far this year. A big highlight and favored has been their Candy Sculptures. I interviewed Chloe Stowe on her thoughts about art this year. Her most recent project was a sculpture of a Baby Ruth. She completed this through trial and error; first making a blueprint and then painting and framing it. She learned her blueprint didn’t get her the end goal, so she disregarded her blueprint and took a different route. She favors Watercolor as a preferred medium, and when asked for her favorite art piece, she described a piece where she experimented with warm and cold colors. She described her year in the class as standard and tedious.

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Art 2

Art 2 has had some mature and creative projects so far this year. I got some insight and opinions from Alyson Pyles on the class. Currently, the class is designing and building 3D sculptures of a bedroom; their goal is to make it as realistic as possible. Alyson’s model was inspired by her actual bedroom and her dream bedroom. She has been using pre-owned and provided materials to create this model. So far her favorite project this year has been the home exterior design plans, and her favorite medium is colored pencil. When summing up the year, she explained it as being “less restrictive than her previous art classes''. She was happy that she could be freer in what she created, and she loved that she was allowed to explore more interests.

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Art 3

Art 3 has been a busy and dynamic 3D class; working with ceramics and sculpting. Recently, the class has been working on pieces to enter in an Art Show. Abigail Green’s most recent project is a beautifully stained glass piece. She got her inspiration from Pinterest and went to a relative’s home over spring break to learn how she could make her idea come alive. She learned the intricate process and shared a bit with me- you first have to choose a glass cut and then wrap the edges with foil after you weld and then can add different elements, such as more glass, beads, and wire. You can use a wood block to hold your project up and silicone to hold it together. Her favorite piece this year has been her latest ceramics project she completed where she explored texture and color. All in all, she described her year as "experimentative".

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Art 4

Art 4 has been very thought-provoking and conceptually challenging. AP Art students are asked to come up with a deep question or idea; they then create artwork centered around this idea or question. This is called a Sustained Investigation. It’s one big project that has works centered around the same idea and all relate to one another through a single aspect. Allison Brumley’s Sustained Investigation is over the struggles of femininity. Her most recent project was a self-portrait of her RBF. The piece was centered around the idea “you should smile more”. She completed the portrait in Oil pastel and the background in acrylic paint. She then filled the background with the words “smile more”. One of her favorite pieces was one she centered around the views of women wearing “too much makeup”. When asked about the class, she described it as her "favorite year of art”. It has been very eye-opening and meaningful to her; she loved creating likable material and the freedom of exploring different ideas and mediums.

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Standard, Tedious, Free, Experimenting, and Meaningful were all words used to describe the classes in the art department. The overall consensus was very positive and interesting, however, that is not to say some students don’t have negative views and critiques. In the next blog, I talk with students whose opinion isn’t positive but understanding and enlightening.

Written by Emily Pyles