Gallery • 2 Photos

Art by Hannah Hurst

As first semester comes to a close, AP Art students are preparing for the concentration portion of their AP Art Portfolios due in May.

Rather than taking a cumulative AP test in May, AP Art students are required to submit a portfolio of 12 pieces of artwork accompanied by a written statement for each.

The portfolio is separated into two sections: breadth, or a collection of pieces in different mediums that is used to display the artist’s multiple abilities, and concentration, a collection of pieces that are focused around a central idea and are often created in the same medium and style.

Some artists choose a concentration that is more personal or based on life experiences.

“I’m thinking about painting the appearance of different men and women and their cultures around the world,” Senior Erica Kelly said. “I have family that had been adopted from Guatemala and China so I think it will be interesting to learn about other cultures.”

Other AP Art students choose to base their concentration on a specific style of genre of art, such as realism or still life.

“I am considering doing self portraits of different perio

ds of my life. I really enjoy doing self portraits and I feel that I have gone through many changes and evolved a lot throughout my life, specifically in my high school years, so I wanted to represent this through my art,” Senior Haley Ledford said.

Often, AP Art students will select a concentration that comments on different aspects of society.

“I want to do something based on inner beauty and how society focuses too much on what appears on the outside,” Senior Hannah Hurst said. “I just want to show people through my concentration that what is on the inside is what’s important and that there is no reason to stress out about what you look like or what you have compared to others.”