Gallery • 5 Photos

Artist: Lissette Adame, senior

For an artist, a space to openly create, share ideas, and think about new concepts and challenges is vital. Niles North’s three AP art classes offer that environment in a school setting.

Each class, AP 2D Design, AP 3D Art and Design, and AP Studio Art, runs for two semesters. The classes focus, respectively, on digital art/photography, sculpture/ceramics, and studio art. 

Students taking AP art classes create a portfolio of 8-10 pieces based around a central focus, called a concentration, that they create. Some examples of concentrations students are basing their portfolios around this year are juxtaposition, women throughout history, and storytelling through art. 

“Typically in AP classes you have to follow a really strict curriculum, but in an AP art class you get a ton of freedom, you just pick a topic and you roll with it. You get to explore that topic however you want and I think that’s really special,” AP 2D Design senior Rachel Harris said.

Students in AP are encouraged to make pieces about topics they feel strongly about. AP 3D Art and Design senior Lissette Adame is creating her body of work about a personal issue that she has struggled with. 

“I like that we are able to do our own thing,” Adame said. “…we get to choose a topic [that] we’re passionate about, and…it’s therapeutic for me. It helps me take a bigger view of my challenges.”

Art students are guided by their teachers.

“I am inspired by the passion that goes into each piece,” AP 3D teacher Kristin August said. “Each student comes up with a unique idea and then has to work through the creative process. It can be challenging at times, but I am inspired by each student pushing through creating something that is important to them and their audience.”

Rather than taking an AP test at the end of the year, AP art students submit their finished portfolios to the college board and receive a score based on their body of work. 

AP art students also have access to some incredible opportunities, such as submitting their work to galleries, using high-quality supplies, or applying for art scholarships.

Even aside from the artistic expression they foster, AP art classes at North allow for the betterment of students beyond the classroom.

“I hope AP art students carry this experience with them outside of the classroom so that they are comfortable taking risks [in] artistic practice whether or not it is related to their college or career choice,” AP Studio and AP 2D Design teacher Melissa Connell said.

Check out AP students’ art on display in the main lobby, by the auditorium, and in cases around the school.

If you want to check out AP Art classes or other art classes at North, talk to your counselor, and see the art class course progression below.