Art: for some a profession and for others a hobby. It takes on various forms and is a way for individuals to create and show emotion or even convey a message to the viewer. It’s even helped shape our culture as we continue to see elements of today’s society in modern art. 

Now, young teens, who have been studying and developing their art skills since the beginning of their high school career, are preparing portfolios of their best work for their Advanced Studio class. These portfolios are comprised of artwork created throughout the semester that has been edited and finalized into a Google Site.

“One of the student’s final assignments is to create a digital portfolio as well as a physical portfolio,” art teacher Jenniffer Hoss-Miller said. “I show them how to photograph their art, edit their art and create a Google Site. We do these portfolios so if students want to apply for any sort of scholarships they have everything ready to go for it.” 

However, this was only a small part of this advanced class. In order to get here, students spent countless hours creating projects based around a theme chosen at the beginning of the semester.  

“The first term is more of an exploration period,” Hoss-Miller said. “I have students think about what kinds of ideas they would like to explore, so some may choose a different medium or topic they haven’t done much with. Then, students can either base each project off a certain theme or change the theme every time.”

Some of the projects that students created during the first term included things like a self-portrait that displays something unique about the student, a book that required students to create six panels that go along with each other and a reduction print.

“One of my favorite projects is my body sculpture,” senior Parker Speck said. “I created a sculpture of a woman’s torso which I then hollowed out and painted blue. I’m going to add some things inside of it like lights and spray foam to make it look like there are clouds.”

During the second term, students gained more independence as they had to come up and create the projects themselves, without any prior instruction. The only requirement was that the four pieces had to follow a cohesive theme and look “whole” when displayed. This freedom allowed student’s imagination to run wild, as they could use any method they desire to execute these projects.

“My portfolio is titled Urban Jungle,” senior Aryan Naik said. “The theme is mixing city elements and things that humans have made with elements of nature. It’s kind of an environmental stance on how we should be incorporating natural spaces in our cities.”

One of the opportunities that students have during the end of Advanced Studio is the option of submitting their completed portfolio to Scholastics, an organization that awards young artists for their work, which

must consist of eight cohesive pieces. In order to do this, students would have to continue the same theme throughout the entirety of the class, as well as complete an additional project of their choice that coincides with the theme. 

Throughout this course, students have gained valuable knowledge that will prepare any who wish to study art through college. These portfolios are just the starting point as students will use these to paint, draw, and shape their future.