AP Studio Art

Semester 1 Reflection

In the beginning of the year I was only comfortable using certain materials I had used for years and stuck to a similar theme in my art. While staying with my theme of female sexuality, I also explored new materials and perspectives throughout the semester. I have especially grown with the use of ink, pastels, and mixing medias. I never used to like using these materials, but I pushed myself to use them and ended up loving my results. I also explored photography and screenprinting. I would like to continue to explore these mediums in this class next semester.

I have struggled somewhat with making sure not all my pieces are in a frontal view. This is also something I would like to work on next semester. I aim to incorporate multiple/different subjects in my art, as well as exploring diverse perspectives.

Though I have grown in my art, I also have much more to learn. I wish to push myself out of my artistic comfort zone more in the upcoming semester. My goals are to focus less on details in some of my pieces and try different styles of art such as abstract, contemporary, and surrealism. I also would like to become more comfortable with using acrylic and mixing medias.

Overall, the way I have grown the most in this semester, is by how I approach my art. I can now proudly say and believe that I am an artist. I understand how art can apply in most situations and and is always around us. I have decided to pursue art school as a possibility and am excited to see if I can get in. I would never have applied had I not taken AP Studio art this year.

Semester 2 Reflection

I have really enjoyed exploring more materials this semester. I think I have had a lot of success with finding new ways to express femininity and the female body. I have definitely found a theme by using similar colors and shapes in my art. All of my pieces have had a warm color theme of reds, pnks, oranges, and yellows. I think this is a good reflection of fertility that is associated with the female body. I have also used shapes and patterns that emphasize the female body such as swirls, curving lines, flowers, and such. I have also grown in my own expression and composition of the female body. Drawing anatomy has always been very intriguing to me, and having the past months to focus on one aspect of human bodies has been very beneficial.

During this semester I struggled sometimes to stick to my sustained investigation while also trying to find new and creative ways to express it. Sometimes I got too caught up in finding ways to make art that was different from what I had done before. This caused my art to steer away from my focus on the anatomy of the female body. For the contests when we were given a prompt, I also found myself struggling to find creative ways to answer it. Eventually I would come up with something, but it was interesting to notice that I would have a harder time expressing something when I was given a prompt.

I have a feeling not much art is going to be happening during the summer while I'm working in order to pay for college. However, I do plan on majoring in Fine Art at Saint Michael's College next year. I'm extremely excited to continue to create and learn new artistic skills. I'm so grateful for the AP Studio Art class this year because I really could feel myself grow as an artist and have new confidence in my work.