Since the fall, AP 2D and 3D Art and Design students have tackled a variety of projects and mediums.
As summer approaches, AP Art students are wrapping up the yearlong course and reflecting on how they’ve been creatively challenged.
The courses, taught by art teachers Mr. Scott Rodgers and Mrs. Jennifer Rodgers, follow the AP’s curriculum to guide students through a sustained investigation and selected works.
“You take a full year to go in depth into a theme of your choice, and in that year you create 15-20 pieces to explore that idea,” senior AP Art 3D student Kate Fox said.
This exploration-based schedule allows students to be flexible in their creations and manage time independently.
“We make our own curriculum in a way,” senior AP Art 3D student Amber Motsch said. “Everybody just works on their projects for the sustain investigation.”
The yearlong time frame gives students time to master their craft.
“AP Art is a year-long class, so it’s both semesters, and we just get to spend the whole year making art,” senior AP 2D Art student Anya Agha said.
While both follow a similar curriculum format, AP Art branches out into two courses: AP Art 2D and AP Art 3D.
“AP 3D isn’t necessarily just ceramics, but for us it mainly is,” Fox said. “You could make anything, sculpture wise using any materials. And then there’s an AP 2D class, which is painting, drawing, and some graphic design.”
Due to a mixture of mediums, each student’s yearlong focus is wholly unique.
“I love asking people, ‘What’s your topic?’, because it’s always very different and unique to them,” Agha said. “I know one of my friends does a lot of landscape-type stuff, and then someone else is doing surreal art, someone’s doing mythical creatures, and I do a lot more portraits. Everyone’s on different pages.”
Motsch has focused her investigation on the ceramics aspect of AP 3D, with a human theme in mind.
“My sustained investigation right now is trying to find a way that I can confuse the human eye,” Motsch said. “Recently, I’ve been using a lot of black and white and carving a lot of patterns on my pieces to create some funky designs.”
Fox brings her pieces to life with a more environmental aspect in mind.
“What I’m trying to explore is how to show nature and botany through my work,” Fox said.
With little cap on creative freedom, the AP art environment differs from that of a typical classroom.
“Being able to do something that’s not just crunching numbers, or reading and writing, it’s just really nice to have a different outlet,” Fox said.
Not only is the environment different, but so is the subject matter. Free from tests and assignments, AP Art challenges students in other ways.
“We spend the whole year making art to fit into our portfolio that we’re developing, and then at the end of the year, we turn in our whole portfolio to get AP credit for the class,” Agha said.
Many AP Art students have been taking art electives throughout their four years of high school, leading to a bonded community of creatives.
“We’ve been together for the last couple of years, so it’s a nice little family that we’ve created in the ceramics studio,” Motsch said.
In addition to their peers, students have formed bonds with instructors Ms. Rodgers, who leads AP Art 2D, and Mr. Rodgers, who leads AP Art 3D.
Due to a broken kiln, adviser Mr. Rodgers has taken a more hands-on approach to ensure a speedy turnout of pieces.
“He’s helping us maintain a fast turnaround by working with us, helping us clean, and just doing more than he usually has to do,” Fox said.
With a busy year coming to a close, AP Art remains a steadily enjoyable course for students to sculpt connections and tap into their creativity.
“It doesn’t matter how hard my classes are during the day, because at least I have ceramics during fourth block,” Motsch said.
