Advanced Placement (AP) Art students, led by AP Art teacher Mrs. Van Veenhuyzen, are responsible for creating numerous and fascinating themed projects over the years.

This year, AP Art students will be responsible for creating ten pieces of art that illustrate a type of sustained investigation.  In other words, each student will pick a sustained investigation which is a statement that identifies what our theme will be throughout the school year. 

Two AP Art students involved in the sustained investigation are seniors Ava Rich and Callan Barbosa. It took both students some time to decide on their theme, but once narrowed down it became easier to navigate and develop ideas for their work.

Rich ultimately chose the theme of endangered animals and why said animal or animals are going extinct.

“I think that the most difficult aspect of art is being able to come up with original concepts without using photos or images, so it definitely took me a while to decide what I wanted to create,” Rich said. “Since it’s a year-long project, I wanted to be invested in my work.”

Barbosa’s chosen theme is perception of self within all aspects of life; it’s an important part of today’s society not to lose one’s identity.

“Oftentimes I find inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram, or vision boards I make before a project.  It helps me focus on theme,” Barbosa said.

Along with contests and projects, AP art students must take information from broad ideas and make it into their own designs. The overall goal for these students is that as they move through their journey in the creative process, the artists will flourish and overcome their own hurdles.

The AP art students will also have a multitude of opportunities that include field trips, entering contests, using different mediums for their artwork, and more. Two upcoming events are the ‘Doodle for Google’ contest and the infamous ‘Memory Project’, both coming up in December.