In hopes of scoring a five on their AP Studio Art portfolio due in May, students of the class are beginning their compositions through brainstorming and experimenting. These portfolios take nearly the entire school year to create and require the rigorous efforts of these students.
The portfolios consist of two parts, Selected Works and Sustained Investigation. The Selected Works portion of the portfolios consist of 5 of the student’s best art pieces. These pieces are often created during the students’ time in the Drawing and Painting courses. Students have shown serious interest in the study of art as they have progressed through Drawing and Painting 1, 2, and 3.
The Sustained Investigations portion of the portfolios consists of what is created in the AP Studio Art classroom. It consists of a specific theme expressed through 10 art projects, including a written portion and 15 total pictures of their process.
Students began their year brainstorming ideas for potential themes to center their portfolio around. This brainstorming process consists of looking at past portfolios and considering how to write and explain their potential pictures. Each student in the class has narrowed down their ideas to one unique theme.
Drawing and Painting and AP Studio Art teacher, Lorena DeCristofaro explains, “Now everybody is just working on their independent theme or project. But they usually come in, get their stuff out and get to work.” The students are still in the early stages of creating their portfolios and are working on sketching out their potential ideas. The AP Art class is very individual and the students are able to express their own distinctive art and creativity. According to DeCristofaro, the best portfolios are often the ones that are the most personally connected to the artist. Though every portfolio is very different, DeCristofaro tries to help her students craft their most personal works.
Senior, Audree Davis, explains that her theme “is going to be centered around Christ and how Christ affects my art.” Davis plans on using the new mediums that she has been experimenting with in class to add to her portfolio. A variety of techniques and skills will aid the overall presentation of the project. Davis, taking advantage of having a variety of art supplies in the classroom, has been experimenting with black glue as well as utilizing paint swatches from Home Depot.
Senior, Bailey Jackson, describes her theme as “how time affects how we put value behind as we grow up.” She explains that as people get older they place more importance on different things. When she was young, she would place value on toys and board games, but as she grew up she would place less value on these seemingly childish entertainments.
The students of AP Studio Art have strong personal connections to their themes and have begun the process of composing their portfolios.
