AP Art
Johanna Stone
AP Art is one of those classes that you don’t hear too much about. But then you walk through the Art hallway and see all of the amazing works of art that your classmates have created while you suffer through AP Physics. I’ve always wanted to take AP Art, and I regret that I didn’t sign up. If you haven’t taken your art credit yet, I would definitely recommend even taking Art 1 to start off with. Ms. Callicott is an amazing teacher and her art classes are so fun.
The class is in a bit of a transition right now. Ms. Callicott is not teaching her students for the beginning of this year and the class will be handed over to an SOA visual arts teacher, Ms. Cimballa, temporarily. Although we do not know how long she’ll be teaching, the students are willing to go with the flow.
I asked Pilar Florez (12) a little bit about her experiences in the class so far. She describes to me their cumulative, year long project: “We are currently working on a sustained investigation of a specific part of art we enjoy. I am exploring the style of art nouveau, inspired by the architecture and art of the early 1900s,” she says. The project will include 15 original pieces, 5 totally completed, by the end of the year.
She also told me about the day-to-day work they do… “We go in and discuss our homework, then discuss our sustained investigations and do a practice activity before discussing homework and ending class.” Practice and homework includes regular sketching practice, and larger projects such as hand, object, and self-portrait pieces.
Next, I asked Bell Pansap, a senior who likes to draw people and cartoon characters with graphite pencils, what his impressions were of the class. “I’m really excited about this class as it gives me a more structured learning environment and feedback for my art. It also encourages me to find inspirations and people that I might not have considered before. These opportunities were harder to come by when I was learning by myself.”
We can’t wait to see what they create next! Make sure you congratulate your classmates on their beautiful art!!
