Some students are still working on the last day of school, trying to finish projects. However, most students are packing up and getting ready for summer fun! Before we go, I wanted to share a few of the final Seesaw posts. These students worked hard, developed skills, took risks, experimented and did all the other things artists do. 

"This project was most definitely my most successful because I broke out of my old shading method where I would spend days just blending in the shading to a new, more cartoon like, blending style of just harsh change of color to make it POP more. I’m also working on doing more logo like things so I can build a good portfolio in order to get a logo designing job in my future." ~Lainey 

"This piece that I call the spider web is the one that I learned the most from. This was one of the first pieces that I did when first starting this art class. I learned how we can be creative with just lines and dots to put together to form a oddly satisfying piece to look at. I would later use this technique in some other pieces but with some contrasting colors. This also transferred into some 3D pieces as well inside a fortune teller. " ~ Lexey

"I chose to redo this project because I didn’t like the first one. When I redid this piece I decided to make it bigger but couldn’t find paper big enough so we found a glass to paint on. I added more colors to it and tried blending some more into it. Once I was done I decided to shine a light through the glass to see how it would look. So now it is painted of a different canvas and a bigger image." ~ Amandelyn​

"I choose to redo my fabric sloth because I felt like I could have done better if I had chosen to do acrylic paint (which I like using that medium anyway). Simon is currently sitting in a case alone and I feel like he should have a friend join him, so her name is Sami. I had a really fun time creating her. I even repainting her like, 5 times, finding a brown is hard. I’ve come a long way since 6th grade and I hope to only improve" ~ Ashton

As part of their final exam, students were asked to Redo one of their previous projects. For the redo students could choose to remake their project better (demonstrating improved skills or techniques), or make it different (demonstrate a use of a different medium), or rearrange it (Demonstrate a different composition). 

The redo project are currently in progress but here is a look at some of the ideas our artists are working on. Above, making it different. Recreating an original marker drawing and recreating the image using an actual hand.

Redo demonstrating improved skills. The image on the left if the original. The remake (still in progress) demonstrates improved use of texture, brighter colors and more detail.

The original on the left, the redo (still in progress) demonstrating a different composition and different medium.

'Meanwhile the results of the Young Artists Patriot Competition came in. Keely won third place for her piece. Parker took second and Gail's piece won first place. Gail's piece has advanced to the state level!

Ashton painting the canvas blue and purple and then covered it with strips of tape. Later she decided to paint an eyeball. i'm not sure why. When it was dry, she removed the tape, which was fun to watch so I captured the process with these photos. Overall, its an interesting piece, don't you think?

This art one student decided to create a stencil of the artist Khalid. But first, she created this large collage. Hidden in the collage are titles and lyrics captured in both word and images. How cool is that? Look below to see what I mean. 

The giant reverse color Tweety Bird is now hanging in the cafeteria. Best way to end a weekly post!

There is one question that is often asked specifically in regards to a choice-based program. The question is; does choice-based teaching meet the standards and if so, how?  The answer is a resounding yes. The Standards align perfectly with choice-based teaching, and in particular, they align with TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior). Here’s how. ​

Read the full article in the Summer issue of SchoolArts Magazine here.
You can also read more about Aligning the Standards here.
More about how we align the standards with Learning Targets here.
More about aligning the standards with Writing Prompts here.

A look what the AP class wrote on the whiteboard sums it up. We completed all 12 Breadth and all 12 Concentration pieces. We matted all the quality works and packed the box, ready to ship. AP Art 2019 is done!

Here is a look at the student's Sustained Investigation; the concept of producing a series of sequential visual forms to explore in greater depth a particular visual concern.

"My concentration  is a series of original characters that are interacting and showing emotion to the implied environment around them while exploring contrast, color theory, and proportion. "

"My concentration is a series of stylized self portraits depicting different aspects of my personality through either accurate proportions or exaggerated features while exploring the relationship between the background and the foreground of each piece." 

"​My artwork is a series of abstracts using a technique called acrylic pouring. This technique interested me because I had to experiment with different densities of paint mixed with my medium and water to get my desired consistency that would flow smoothly when doing different pouring techniques."

"My concentration is a series of humanoid figures depicting various emotions and various positions, as I demonstrate this by using watercolors, pencil and markers in a cartoon style."

"My concentration is a series of original works of art symbols inspired/depicting things found in history with tribal arts and patterns found in different cultures while emphasizing the darkness and lights in each cultures, movement and balance."

"My concentration is a series of original animal shapeshifters that are placed in different positions/perspectives and backgrounds some of which are interacting with their human counterparts. All pieces were done in  mixed media most of which was water color paint and colored pencils."

"​My concentration is a series of kids in Guatemala depicting the experiences and relationships formed throughout my trip while exploring a creative way to incorporate Guatemala through the background ,with the contrast, value."

"​My concentration is a series of Crow/Ravens. With each Image I started with a drawing/painting using traditional materials. I then imported those art works into Photoshop where I digitally edited each one. My projects depict the beauty of crows through their actions, such as flying patterns."

"​My concentration captures lights reflecting our culture. My concentration depicts the complexity of how much life lights brings to our culture. My concentration stemmed off the idea go how light reacts to the photograph."

We are back from spring break and heading into the last few weeks of the 2018-2019 school year. Next week we will present our last unit of the year and the week after that we start our final project. So wow, it's going quickly. Still, lots of fun stuff happening as the year wind down here's a look at some of the happenings....

Tie dye stuffed turtle! There is no more that needs to be said!

He wants to take AP next year but recreates a lot of copyright characters. We talked and I let him know if he wants to take AP then he has to create original works. so he drew his classmate sitting next to him. I don't think we'll have much trouble with AP ;)

This is a landscape by one of our beginner art students. And this is one of her first paintings. Imagine were she'll be next year. 

This is a diorama of a mountain that was created from a chunk of plaster that dried in a container. The plaster was carved to resemble a mountain with a river and water fall. The two bears and tree were printed on the Makerbot 3D printer.

Who doesn't like a good stencil? Another beginner art student creating a series of large, stencils displayed in the hall. 

Art, need I say more?

To kick off the week before spring break, we decided to start with an eggciting .... Art Eggstravganza!

We bought just a few eggs and laid out a few suggeggstions in our Tuesday preseggntation.  Zentagle eggs, art history eggs and character eggs were all suggested starting points.

​Like all Tuesday Tables, the project was optional but we did have a good amount of participation. Check out these eggcellent eggxamples.

This is a really nice oil painting, don't you think? The photo isn't so great with the shine from the lights but once you get past my shabby photography, its a well done work of art.

So why the blog title, the good and the bad you ask? The painting is obviously good. I agree but what you can't tell from looking at the painting is that it is by Gracie, one of the AP Art students. You may remember Gracie from previous posts. Her concentration was photo digitization. Well she decided she didn't want to do digital photography. It was boring. so she decided to change her concentration.... with Three Weeks Before the Deadline! So, that could be bad. Stay tuned. 

Claude was rocking the pencil drawings so we gave him Prisma colored pencils. So he rocked the Prisma colored pencils so we gave him oil paint. Now he is rocking the oil paint. Good! A little too good. Like, how about you take AP Art next year good. And that is good.

​The Bad? Copyright infringement. Claude is gonna have to lose the copyright images and replace them with his own ideas and photo references. I think he is up for the challenge. Stay tuned.

This group of three has been developing characters for D&D. That's good. First, collaboration is always good. They're are totally engaged in the creation. They even brought me in on it. My character is 1/2 orc and a bard who plays music. He's an orc with a sensitive heart that writes love songs. 

The bad: Have anyone ever tried to explain the rules of this game to you? It's crazy amounts of stuff going on. The other bad is that I'm not sure if my sensitive orc is going to last very long. 

Our Table Tuesday was tie dye​ and, by student request, we also added reverse tie dye. What's that you ask? It's bleaching a dark shirt instead of coloring a white shirt. So obviously good when a student requests an addition to the Table. It's all student-directed after all.

​The bad: The smell of bleach. also, the smell of vinegar which is used to stop the bleaching process. so the art room smells like a pickle went for a swim in a community pool.

The Waterway Arts Association dropped off some art supplies and asked if we wanted to participate in an event to raise money for scholarships. They'd give us small, 5 X 7 canvases as well as paint and we'd paint on the canvases with the paint. Then they would sell the art and the money would go back towards scholarships for the students. So we took their art supplies ;)

This project (as are all projects) was optional (also cause there were only 15 canvases). Anyone who wanted to participate was free to paint on a canvas the subject of their choice.  

The art is on display April 29 to May 3, 2019 at Southwest Brunswick Branch Library 9400 Ocean Highway West Carolina Shores, NC, or you can check out our paintings right here -->

As always, there are a lot of different things happening here at South B. First  up, Isabella created an illustration in this month's issue of SchoolArts Magazine. Now she is a published artist. She famous! Click here to see the article.

Austin is trying his hand at oil painting for the first time. He went with a classic, ​Marilyn Monroe. 

Claude is rocking the Prisma colored pencils, learning to blend like a beast!

Mandy decided to try out this week's Table; pinatas. Dinosaur pinata in the works.

Trip is designing another student's character in his style. It's much different but still looks like the original character (which i wish i had an image of to show the similarities and differences.)

Natalie worked on an etching of the pier on Oak Island. I think she should enter this piece into the NCMA Teen's Inspired contest. The theme this year is 'Home'.

Gail is also working on a piece for a contest; the Patriot Contest. She is also trying out the Prismas.

I dropped my Popsicle on the floor and it melted. JK. Another pour painting in the works. 

This is our second year offering AP Art at South B. This year, we are offering both AP Studio Art as well as AP 3D Art, so that's cool. Last year we had 14 AP students enter and pass the AP Studio portfolio exam.  This year we have 12 students working on their portfolios.  Most have completed the Breadth section and have completed a good percentage of the Concentration. Here's a look at a few of the student's Sustained Investigations... 

​"My concentration is a series of original works of art symbols inspired by tribal art and patterns found in different cultures. There is emphasis on the darkness and also movement and balance. "

"My concentration is a series of animal shape-shifters living on an imaginary island. I've placed them in different positions/perspectives and backgrounds. Some of the animals are interacting with their human counterparts, all done in a mix of watercolor and colored pencil."

"My concentration is a series of Crow/Ravens. With each Image I started with a drawing/painting using traditional materials. I then imported those art works into Photoshop where I digitally edited each one. My projects depict the beauty of crows through their actions, such as flying patterns while exploring new techniques."

"My concentration is a series of digitally manipulated photographs with appropriated from iconic movies and TV shows. Friends who share a common interest are the models for my photos. The photos incorporate juxtaposition by exchanging props and settings in contrary an unexpected ways."

The photos posted here are samples of experiments created as Graci explores the techniques she will use for her final concentration pieces.