At the start of this year, the school began offering AP Studio Art. This class, taught by Jesse VanderBand, allows students who are passionate about art to learn and excel in an advanced manner. This class is a year-long course, one where students develop a portfolio of artwork called a sustained investigation, which has them focus on one main topic. Students get to choose to do either 2D or 3D, and they have to demonstrate their exploration of art making ideas and skills. Students who are involved with 3D art work with mediums like clay, things that can be built or created by hand, and students who work with 2D art typically work more in things like drawing or painting.
Students who take the class and pass the Advanced Placement test can receive college credit. Since it is a college course, this means the class is quite rigorous and demanding. “There is a good amount of classwork involved, but it is all focused on art-making and portfolio development,” said VanderBand. Since the class only began at the beginning of the school year, the coursework hasn’t been too challenging so far. “It’s just started so right now it’s not too hard but in the future it will get more difficult with the amount of projects we will have to do,” said senior Sydney Scholtens.
An AP class that is as demanding as this one means that not everyone is fit to take it. VanderBand said “the students that should be taking this class are ones that love to make their own original artwork and are willing to work at it.” For someone who has taken most of the offered art classes and enjoys them,
AP Studio Art might be the class to take, as it can prepare one for potential college or just be a way to enhance current artistic skills. “I’d recommend this class because it will be such a good experience with seeing everyone else's different art style and also learning what you can do. It is also just a place where you can show off your skills and enjoy the class and hobby,” said Scholtens. VanderBand also would recommend this class to aspiring artists. “I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone who has the prerequisites and is willing to work hard to develop their voice through their artwork. It is a great class to be in tocreate awesome artwork,” VanderBand said.
Unleashing Creativity with the New AP Art Course
Ava Byers