STUDENTS EXPRESS ART IN AND OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

Story by Ian Receveur.

Creative freedom is something that is not necessarily commonplace in high school, whether it be an essay prompt or project rubric; there are always rules to follow. Advanced Placement art, however, provides full creative freedom to its students, and the resulting work is truly unique.

Art teacher Lauren Baker explained that students select a theme to explore through a portfolio of 15 unique pieces of artwork. Students can make this portfolio drawn, 2D, 3D, or digital; giving the students full freedom to express themselves. “A lot of people don’t even achieve something like this until much further into adulthood. I think it really
is validating for a young artist to make works that continue branching off on one consistent idea, and it’s really exciting for me to see their voice,” said Baker.

Students have worked tirelessly this year and deserve recognition, so it is time to shed some more light on their hard work, and the ideas behind their creations. “We didn’t have long, but in the end it was worth it,” said senior Anna Thomas. The first portfolio belongs to senior Ava Fraley. The theme of her portfolio was grief, which Fraley explored through the five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

“I use the color blue a lot in my pieces to represent a melancholy feeling, and as my portfolio goes on it gets more and more optimistic, with brighter colors and more detailed backgrounds,” said Fraley. “It all blends together for a really rough emotional feel. My goal was to have my pieces represent a lot of expression and emotion, I wanted people to look at them and relate to it.”

Fraley intends to minor in fine arts, with a goal of going into the field of education. Another member of this class of fine artists is senior Maeve Smith, whose portfolio is focused on the idea of creating fake personalities or characters for oneself, through the imagery of clowns and circuses. “I really liked the aesthetics and imagery I used for my pieces,” said Smith. “But doing 15 pieces in the same theme and style, makes it hard to keep the same consistency.”

In the future, Smith plans to major in art and design. Next up is senior Sky Foxworth, who explored what makes us human, and how we are different from other animals. “I focused on concepts like religion which are inherently human, and others that are not like maternity
and childbearing; to keep a balance between what is unique to humans and what is shared by animals,” said Foxworth.

Foxworth chose the theme because of his love for drawing people, and Foxworth really enjoyed all of the experimentation with color and technique he used throughout his portfolio. Foxworth intends to major in drawing after high school, in hopes of becoming an artist. Senior Morgan Ellis has also worked hard to develop a unique exhibit,
focusing on how those with visual impairments view the world.
“I have always had perfect vision all my life and I think it’s interesting how so many people in the world can see the same world in a different way,” Ellis said.

Ellis also experimented heavily with her work, using white on black paper and other unique twists to truly encapsulate how others see the world. “It was hard trying to figure out how to incorporate different visual impairments and finding out how to visualize them on paper,” said Ellis. She intends to go to college for a studio arts degree, in order to go into bracket design or art education. Students have created so many unique portfolios this year, whether it be senior Jordan King’s theme of escaping reality, or senior Jackson Hofelic’s exploration of women’s fashion throughout history. However, the creation of these 15 pieces is no simple task, but these students rose to the challenge.

Senior Cadence Johnson explained, “We had the year to make our pieces, but each piece takes two to three weeks depending on how difficult they are.” Even with these time constraints, students still created art that is both beautiful and meaningful. In Baker’s words, “This is the culmination of what they have learned, it’s very validating as their instructor to see these individuals be self driven with what they’re creating, and that’s your goal as a teacher. I love seeing them having their own struggles, and figuring out how to overcome them, their successes and failures are equally significant.”

Fine arts department adapts to different school settings

Photo by Christiano Corwin-Reyes.

Story by Chloe Williams.

2020 has been incredibly unpredictable, and disaster after disaster has caused huge changes to the lives of nearly everyone. These changes can be seen most clearly in the education system. To combat the rising number of cases of COVID-19, schools made the decision to move their students’ education to a more digital format, meaning that many students will be working from home behind a screen. For many classes, this transition was difficult, while manageable.  A slide show presentation can be shown on an iPad at home as easily as it can be shown on a projector in a classroom, but not every course is as flexible. Fine arts classes have had trouble adjusting to the new online format.

Fine arts teacher Theresa Applegate has been teaching for 11 years and has been working with New Albany-Floyd County Schools for five. With all of her experience, Applegate described this year as “completely different.”

Applegate’s lessons cover a wide variety of art styles. She has had to adjust to giving instruction on classes that require heavy — and potentially dangerous — equipment to students at home. 

“The worst thing would be, I’m trying to deliver instruction and nobody at home can hear me, or something like that. It could waste a whole day, but there is always tomorrow, usually,” said Applegate.

Common problems Applegate have come across include technology issues, which often get in the way of giving instruction to her students. Part of the struggle is keeping her class on schedule. Applegate wants to keep the same material, but sometimes is forced to slow down due to unexpected obstacles.

“If we waste a little time because there is a technology glitch, it’s not the end of the world; it’s going to be okay. It’s just frustrating that we can’t move at the same pace.” 

Technology is not the only thing causing class to slow down. Many students have decided to stay virtual permanently this year, and this slows down progress for those who cannot access important machines such as a pottery wheel for ceramics. It has also been incredibly challenging to supply online students important tools used on assignments. As a way to keep those students included, Applegate developed a system.

“I have been making kits of things to send home whenever kids have requested [materials]. I’ve come up with a procedure of making a materials request form, because it was getting a little out of control. I couldn’t figure out who had what, who needed what, so I tried to put the responsibility back on the students,” Applegate said.

Fine arts teacher Lauren Longest has encountered the same issues. With many students either going back and forth between school and home or choosing to stay home, it has been difficult to provide supplies for everyone.

“They actually have to come to the school to pick those up, there’s a table by the front office that I put things out [on] and then they would make arrangements, whether themselves or someone in their family could come and get those,” said Longest.

Even with these kits being created, it is still a struggle for many students to gather their materials. Not everyone has a driver’s license, and students often have to work around their parents’ schedule. Most people have been able to grab their kits on time, others have been late, and one student of Longest’s was unable to do it at all. Officer Robbie Woodruff has taken it upon himself to deliver missing materials to a student who could not get them himself.

“Absolutely I’ll take it, especially since he couldn’t come to school, so I think it’s only fair for him to have his supplies,” Woodruff said.

The school administration is aware many students’ only way of getting to school before COVID-19 was through a school bus, and that there are many factors that could lead to a student falling behind. Because of this, the administration has been keeping a close eye on students and how they are progressing through the school year.

“They are reviewing students’ grades [and] talking to the teachers, so they were trying to figure out what would be best to serve that student,” Longest said.

For the students who got their supplies, there were other quirks to adjust to during class. During class, Longest asks her students to hold their art work up to the camera, she has discovered criticism is much harder to give over camera especially when she can’t see it very well.

“It’s hard to sometimes provide relevant feedback based on what you’re seeing across the screen,” said Longest.

 Even with all of the difficulties of online learning, Longest still sees the benefits of it. For students who might choose to pursue art as a career, transporting materials and delicate works of art is an important skill to learn.

“It makes it more like, honestly, how a college course would be if individuals pursue art after high school. They’d be transferring their own materials, borrowing things,” said Longest. 

Despite this being a valuable skill, it is still difficult. Senior Carrie Peredo is taking Ceramics III and IV this year, and transporting her projects is an incredibly careful process.

“I put it in a plastic bag, and I spray it, and I try to use as much cushion as I can to help it,” Peredo said.

Even with this much caution, taking pottery out of the safety of the classroom is treacherous. A student could trip on their way to the bus, bump into another student, or crumple their art on the ride home. 

“You never know what’s going to happen, your piece can be destroyed in seconds when it took hours [of] hard work and skill and creativity to make. People look at art and they don’t realize how much time and effort goes into it,” said Peredo.

Transportation is not the only thing getting in the way of students and their work, many of them have to deal with environments unsuited for art. There are many distractions that can be found at home, including animals and family members, and students have to find a spot in their home that can handle bulky equipment. Junior Meriel Althaus is one of these students.

“I try to stay as focused as possible. I have animals, I have pets, and my parents are working at home right now, so it’s a little difficult with us in the house,” said Althaus.

  Althaus is in Ceramics III and IV and Jewelry I and II . Keeping up with assignments has been a struggle for her as well, but unlike Peredo, she stays home. She does not have her license, so she has to work around her parents’ schedules, making gathering materials difficult. 

“There is a lot of doing work at home. I made a ceramic teapot today at my home. It’s a different atmosphere, it takes a little while [to get] used to. I’m a little less productive at home,” said Althaus.

This year has been a huge change for everyone, treachers have been struggling, students have been struggling, but they have been resilient. They have found a way around this obstacles. 

Peredo said, “People want to say this is the new normal and stuff, but there’s nothing normal about this.”