AP ART: SHOULD I EVEN TRY?

This picture of a tornado is not cheerful or pretty, but I feel it aptly describes the last week before the AP Art portfolios are sent in. I, in my usual manner, put everything off until the very last second and stayed up until 2 AM to finish the very last piece the night before everything had to be shipped off. Not a reccommended approach, but I always do things that way and I do not see change coming any time soon.

So, if AP Art is so horrific, should I attempt it, you ask? Here is my answer: Do you love art? Are you planning to have a future in it? Do you want to improve? If you answered Yes, then AP is right for you. The AP Art experience may be your very first time as an artist when you have had to worry about anything other than the process of art. Because professional artists have to work quickly and still make high quality work. To meet a deadline, they may have to spend the night painting or drawing. Editorial cartoonists have even crazier deadlines. Ap will prepare you for your future in college and your career, so I really do think it is a wise choice to take it if you can.
   Since you really should attempt it, there is no reason why you should make the mistakes so many make in the class. I saw people make these mistakes, so believe me when I tell you what to avoid.
1. Don't Change your Concentration More Than Once.
You heard me: DON'T. If you don't know what a Concentration is, here you go: The Concentration is the 12 pieces sharing a similar theme that you will do over the year. The second you find out that you have been accepted to AP, start thinking about your Concetration. Think of your favorite things and your favorite medium. The goal is to come up with a theme that will not bore you or the AP judges. Some kids choose something like "Fruit" or "Sweaters", and that is certainly allowed, but be aware that you will need to make 12 pieces with that theme. And sometimes we really can't tell what we like or dislike until we try everything, and decide to change our concentration. And thus comes a lot of the AP stress: making all new pieces in an all-new theme. It's normal, I did it. But I did it 2 pieces in at the beginning of the year, and I was able to catch up. I did not change it again. I knew a person in the class who was very talented, but she changed her Concentration 3 times. This caused her so much stress! She managed to finish everything, but I really was afraid she would not.
2. Don't be unwilling to make new friends in class.
This might seem strange to put on the list, but I know that the people sitting at my table helped me alot over the year, and I was able to help them as well. If you work best alone, do your actual art at home and use the class time to brainstorm. Those other people are in the class for a reason, and are most likely intelligent and well-rounded. Whenever you feel stuck in a rut, odds are there is at least one wildly creative person in class who can help you. Why do I bring this up? Because my AP class split up for most of the year. One group of people who already knew each other hid out in one room, and the other group hung out in the other. I didn't know anybody in those groups, I knew just one girl in the class. We sat together with her friend, but we made sure to be welcoming to anyone else. We gradually got to know some of the other people not in the two groups, and I made some great art friends! We were all super different, but who cared?
3. Don't Goof Around
Unless you have had to do large projects before and know how you work best, DON'T be lazy in class, because, odds are, you won't do any work at home. There may be some people in the class who seem like they are being lazy, but those people probably do their work at home. Don't think that putting everything off until the last moment will be fine, because only some people can pull that off without loosing their minds.
4.Don't Listen to the Realism Police
In Drawing 1 and 2, Oils and Acrylics, you struggled to make everything look as precise and realistic as possible, and you reveled in the OOHS and AHHHS you recieved when you drew that perfect angsty eye in Freshman Year. But now you are a senior. No great artist ever said that to be good, you need to make everything look like a picture. "But I hate Modern Art!" you cry. "It doesn't look like anything!" Do some investigating into the depths of art history, and you will notice that very few of the great painters have work that looks like a photograph. Good realism painters are Vermeer and Caravaggio, and even they maintained a very tight atmosphere in their work. You don't need everything to look photo-realistic! Of course, the photo-realists get all the lauds, but what's more important? Lauds or Artistic Integrity? It is a descision that you will need to make for yourself. I actually think I want to do a blog post on that subject, so please check that out!

 Ok, that's everything for now. I hope this was helpful in some way:)
Besos, Erin