There are a number of things that you can do over the summer to make your time in AP Studio Art and Art Majors more meaningful. Here is a list of requirements for work to do during the summer. This work will be due on the first day of class when we return from summer recess. Each item listed will count as one major assessment. The grade you receive will be based on your level of completion and participation in each item.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to e-mail Ms. Amalfe at jamie.amalfe@wtsdnj.com
Part 1: Filled sketchbook (Art Majors)
Minimum size 4” x 6” or 5” x 7”. Although larger sketchbooks are permitted, smaller sketchbooks are preferred because they are easier to transport throughout your daily activities. Sketches should be rough, hasty, and fast. If you would like to develop some sketches into drawings, you are absolutely permitted to do so. However, do not submit a sketchbook filled with well-developed graphic representations. Your sketchbook may also serve as a journal, containing reflective writings and personal thoughts. It should also be an independent study that allows you to find your individual style. As each Summer Assignment is completed, you should write a one page reflection on your feelings regarding this work. Do you love/hate it? Are there any areas that you struggled with? Can you see room for improvement? Etc. Your sketchbook should also serve as an Inspiration Library (tangible or digital). It should contain found writings, images, and audio clips from photographs, magazines, books, or the internet. Each submitted sketchbook should contain at least 15 inspirational inserts with a written explanation as to why it was selected.
Part 2: Fine Art Assignments (All Students)
(Different for Art Major students vs. AP Studio Students)
Each piece will count as a Major Assessment grade, therefore calculating as a considerable part of your first marking period grade. Although I do not want you to alter the assignments too much, I would like you to use your creative judgment in the execution of each assignment. Assignments completed on computer paper or notebook papers are not acceptable. Reference images should be taken by you, the artist, if possible. If you use a reference image from anywhere else- please be sure to include the image for the first critique. Siting your reference is incredibly important in the world of AI. *Please refrain from creating artwork solely through AI. If any students have the opportunity to participate in a summer program at a local school, each work completed there will substitute for a requirement on the list below. The projects are due on the FIRST day of school. Failure to present projects on the first day of school may result in dropping the course.
*please see details below pertaining to each course*
Advanced Placement students must complete three (3) sustained investigation pieces.
Your sustained investigation should start with a question that you want to investigate. Please reference the "Sustained Investigation" information section on sites as well as the planning packet given to you before summer recess.
Art Majors must complete two (2) of the six following assignments listed, due the first day of school.
Minimum size 12” x 18"
1. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better- Create a mixed media (minimum of three—photography counts) composition in the style of a contemporary artist of your choosing. You may need to do some research in order to truly understand the artist’s creative approaches. Consider the scale of their works, the use and application of materials, and your own artistic integrity. You do not want to recreate a work by the artist, nor mimic their style; you want to accept their approaches, sample them, and develop them as your own. In your sketchbook, show the evolution of this style, either through sketches or in media application. Be prepared to present this artist to the class and showcase examples of their work for reference.
Hint: You may want to find contemporary artists from internet sources, such as Pinterest, Facebook, Tumbler, StumbleUpon, DuCret School of Art, SCAD, RISD, any other contemporary LIVING artist, and any other resource you find. You may discover one of these artists through a museum/gallery visit. You may Google “contemporary artist(s)”. Also, Google “contemporary _______ artist(s)”, and fill in the blank with any specific media you find interesting.
2. Internal Conflict Self Portrait- Complete a drawn or painted self portrait that expresses the duality of your identity, character, or personality. In one well-organized composition, you must visually identify inconsistencies within yourself. For example, perhaps you are both accepting and judgmental, depending on the situation; please try to avoid clichés, such as happy and sad or hot and cold. Think about the necessary collaboration of perspective color, value, and unity to effectively convey these specific and intended temperaments.
Complete a minimum of five small studies in your sketchbook before beginning your enlarged piece.
3. Autobiography Still Life - Create either a drawing or painting of a still life arrangement from observation. Your still life must include five of the six following items: 1) something shiny or reflective that is not only important to you but also aesthetically appealing (interesting to look at); 2) a favorite piece of ephemera (items designed to be useful or important for only a short time [Think paper!]); 3) a favorite stuffed animal or another object with actual or implied texture; 4) an item of footwear (sneaker, shoe, sandal, slipper, etc.); 5) something found under your bed, and; 6) an item that represents something intangible. Pay close attention to your compositional arrangement of the objects; be mindful to show depth (foreground, middle-ground, background) and do not forget/neglect your background/surface/environment (positive and negative space). Complete three-to-five sketches in your sketchbook before beginning the enlarged work.
4. Pick-a-something- The purpose of this assignment is to get you to investigate every angle of a single item. See the item from a different perspective. This one small scale sustained investigation of any object of your choice to practice this skill. Pick something and try to get a collection of images representing it. Represent this item in contrasting color and value methods (all black and white but reversed, all analogous… your choice) think creatively. You will create a composition of 6-12 individual illustrations on ONE surface.
5. One Word– Choose to illustrate one word. The word cannot be a person, place or thing (an intangible). Rather, choose a word such as pressure, deception, love, or disrupt. Write the word down on a separate piece of paper and bring it with your illustration to class. This class will attempt to guess the word that has been illustrated, and assess how well your word has been communicated by your illustration. You are encouraged to choose a challenging word, and, of course, don’t tell it to anyone! Hint: use a thesaurus to find synonyms. Begin with, for example, hate, which might lead you to abhorrence, abomination, anathema, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, black beast, bother, bugbear, bête noire, detestation, disgust, enmity, execration, frost*, grievance, gripe, hatred, horror, hostility, ill will, irritant, loathing, malevolence, malignity, mislike, nasty look, no love lost, nuisance, objection, odium, pain, rancor, rankling, repugnance, repulsion, resentment, revenge, revulsion, scorn, spite, trouble, etc.
6. Triptych Transformation- Making the Subjective Become Objective – This is a black and white only drawing, using Sharpie markers, Micron pens, India ink, ballpoint pen, or acrylic/oil paint. Students must choose a subjective (Think noun: person, place, thing) theme and transition the light sources into an objective design, showing one transition step between the subject and the object. Students should utilize pen and ink techniques such as, hatching, cross hatching, stippling, washing, resist, etc. The triptych (3 sections) arrangement only should mimic the following image; triptychs may be arranged vertically or horizontally and using other geometric or organic shapes.
If you have any questions throughout the summer, please contact me through remind, https://www.remind.com/join/apmajors2
I look forward to seeing your summer creativity,
Ms. Amalfe