AP Studio ArtFriendly High School

2013-2014Summer Assignment - DrawingMs. Anna Guiles anna.guiles@pgcps.org

Dear AP Studio Art Parents and Students,

Welcome to AP Studio Art at Friendly High School for the 2013-2014 school year!

The AP Studio Art portfolios are designed for students who are seriously interested in the practical experience of art. AP Studio Art is not based on a written examination; instead, students submit portfolios for evaluation at the end of the school year.

The AP Program offers three portfolios: Drawing, 2-D Design, and 3-D Design. The portfolios share a basic, three-section structure, which requires the student to show a fundamental competence and range of understanding in visual concerns (and methods). Each of the portfolios asks the student to demonstrate a depth of investigation and process of discovery through the concentration section (Section II). In the breadth section (Section III), the student is asked to demonstrate a serious grounding in visual principles and material techniques. The quality section (Section I) permits the student to select the works that best exhibit a synthesis of form, technique, and content.

The AP Studio Art class at Friendly High School is designed to allow students to participate in a college level studio art course while still in high school. By submitting an AP Portfolio to the College Board for review in May, students can potentially receive college credit.

The portfolios require that students submit 25-29 high quality works of art by the end of the year. Students are allowed to include work in their portfolios that they have completed previous to the AP year. In order to be successful, students must complete some of this work over the summer. They must complete other assignments that will help them become adept researchers and generate ideas for the work they will create during the school year.

The AP Studio Art Summer Assignments are as follows:

1. Sketchbooks : Students must purchase a new 8”x10” or 9”x12” black hard bound sketchbook that contains at least 100 pages. Students are expected to fill 30 pages in their sketchbooks by the first day of school in August.

The sketchbook should be your “new best friend” this summer. You need to carry it with you every day, everywhere! Open it up first thing in the morning and last thing at night and many times in between. Draw in it, write in it, scribble in it, paint in it, glue things into it, cut the pages, tear the pages, change the way it looks to make it look like your own book. At the end of the summer it should reflect YOU and your experiences throughout the summer. Work in your sketchbook is an ongoing process that will help you make informed and critical decisions about the progress of your work. Your sketchbook is the perfect place to try a variety of concepts and techniques as you develop your own voice and style.

RULES for working in your sketchbook:1. DO NOT make “perfect” drawings. Make imperfect drawings; make mistakes; make false starts. Let your hand follow your feelings, not what your brain is telling you to do.2. ALWAYS FILL the page you are working on. Go off the edges whenever possible. Do not make dinky little drawings in the center of the page. Make every square inch count for something.

3. Do not start something and abandon it. Go back later, change it, and make it into something else. Finish everything you start.4. DO NOT DRAW FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, magazines, etc. The use of published photographs or the work of other artists for duplication is plagiarism. Draw from observation, things you see in the world. Learn to translate the dynamic three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional world.5. NO CUTE, PRETTY, PRECIOUS, ADORABLE, or TRITE (No Cartoons!) images. This is a college-level art class. Expect your ideas about what makes good art to be challenged.

Ways to work in your sketchbook: Here are some sketchbook suggestions if you are struggling with how to begin your book.

• Draw, paint, draw, collage, etc.• Use pencils, pens, crayons, sticks, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, and acrylic; basically anything that will make a mark. • Draw what you SEE in the world. No drawings from published images (plagiarism) or personal photographs. You need to learn to draw without the crutch of someone else’s composition or flattening of space.• Use gesture, line, and value in your drawings. Try to create a sense of light and depth in your images.• Use the principles of perspective to show depth in a drawing.• Build the pages up by layering things, paint on top of collage, newspaper, and drawing. Attach pieces of fabric and photographs and paint over parts of them. Conceal and reveal. • Express yourself! Work to develop mastery in concept, composition, and execution of your ideas.• Make decisions about what you do based on how things look. Go for the tough look, not the easy solution. Do not be trite; say something important about the world you live in.• Play around with geometric and organic forms, interlocking and overlapping to create an interesting composition. Use color to finish the work.• Create a self-portrait using distortion, or Cubism, or Impressionism, or Minimalism, or Pop.• Create a drawing of the interior of your room but add collage elements for the lamps, and furniture. • Make at least 100 gesture drawings from observation of the figure. Make at least 25 contour drawings from observation of anything around you. Remember to use the whole page! Fill the space behind the objects you draw. Make it count for something.• Make a simple contour drawing of an arrangement of objects. Repeat the drawing four times. Explore different color schemes in each of the four drawings. Write about how the color changes the feeling in each image.• Write about your work. Write about what you like about a drawing, what you don’t like about it. Write about your hopes for your artwork. Write about why you like to make art.• Write about how your artwork could impact another’s thinking or feeling. Write about what you want to say with your artwork, and what it means to you in the larger sense.• Lastly, this experience should be for your growth as an art student, as a person who values art as a means of expression. Keep it for yourself so that you will feel free to work without judgment. Remember this is an ongoing process that uses informed and critical decision making to develop ideas.

Bring the sketchbook to the first class in August. You will have an opportunity to select the pages you want to share. We will use your experience as an introduction to some of the thinking that you will be engaged in during the AP Studio Art course.

2. Large Artworks: These should be done on surfaces (paper, cardboard, canvas board, etc.) that are no smaller that 18”x 24” Materials can be purchased at art-supply stores such as Michaels or AC Moore.

3.1. Opposites Double Self-Portrait:

- Draw 2 self-portraits on the same page that demonstrate opposites (good/evil, fire/water, day/night….etc).- Draw the portraits AT LEAST life sized. - Make the two portraits work with each other visually. - Use a full range of values. - Spend at least 6 hours on the drawing. - Use the whole page! Create a background that is detailed and relates to your idea. - Use a drawing/painting material (s) such as pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, pen, ink, oil pastel,

watercolor or acrylic paint. NO PENCIL (except to start/sketch) Examples:

2. Shoe Drawing:- Set up a still life of at least 2 shoes with a strong light source, near a window or with a flashlight. - Compose the entire page. - Draw details and use a full range of vales (dark to light).- Use a drawing/painting material (s) such as pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, pen, ink, oil pastel,

watercolor or acrylic paint. NO PENCIL (except to start/sketch) Examples:

3. Bicycle Drawing:- Find a bicycle and draw it from observation. - Create an interesting composition by zooming in on the bike and drawing all of the details that you see. - Use the entire page! Use dramatic lighting. - Use a drawing/painting material (s) such as pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, pen, ink, oil pastel, watercolor or acrylic paint. NO PENCIL (except to start/sketch). Examples:

4.Museum Visits:

a. Visit an art museum this summer. In the DC area, some options include the National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn Musuem, The Freer Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African Art. In the Baltimore Area, options include the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Museum and the American Visionary Art Museum. Students may visit museums in other cities as well.

b. Document your visit. Collect ticket stubs, brochures for the museum and exhibitions and postcards. Take notes and draw sketches of artwork, people, the museum itself etc. Glue museum artifacts in your sketchbook with the notes and sketches.

c. Choose 3 artists whose artwork stands out to you at the museum. Write down the name of the artists, their nationality, the dates in which they made their work in your sketchbook. Sketch their artwork in your sketchbook. When you go home, research the artist on the internet. Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) in your sketchbook that summarizes their life and artwork.

5.Purchase Art Supplies: Because AP Studio art is designed

to reflect a foundation college level course, students will be responsible for purchasing a portion of their own supplies. There will be a supply check the first week of school that will affect the student’s grade. Students should come prepared with the following (can be found at Michaels, AC Moore, Utrecht (in DC) or College Art Supplies stores. Also students can purchase materials online at www.dickblick.com, www.utrecht.com and www.cheapjoes.com):

Required:- 1 black hardbound 8”x10” or 9”x12” sketchbook with at least 100 pages. (students should purchase this at the beginning of the summer for their sketchbook portion of the summer assignment)- 1 set of drawing pencils including: HB, 2B, 4B, 6B. - 1 pencil sharpener

- 1 box of soft or medium vine charcoal. - 1 package (at least 2 sticks) of black compressed charcoal or black

conte crayons.- 1 can of spray fixative

- 1 roll of masking tape- 1 pair of scissors- 1 glue stick - 2 erasers (white plastic or kneaded). - 3 18”x 24” canvas boards or a pad of canvas paper. (Canvas boards are cheaper and easier to mail to AP than stretched canvas)- 1 set of oil pastels (at least 12)- 1 set of Prismicolor colored pencils (at least 12)- 4 fine tip black Sharpies. - a few (3-7) watercolor or acrylic brushes in various sizes (high quality) - 1 small plastic pencil box to transport supplies.

- Red, Yellow, Blue and White acrylic paint. Do not purchase “craft” paint. Get the “artist” paint (Lyquitex Basics is a good brand to start with).

Recommended (may change depending on a student’s individual interest/body of work):

- a mixing palette for paint.- 1 set of watercolors- a plastic jar with a lid for water.- watercolor paper- Colored pastel paper- Uni-ball or other liquid/gel pens. - a portfolio to store artwork in.- Prismicolor markers- colored Sharpie markers- Photo printer paper for computer generated artwork.

- 1 USB flash drive.

I will be checking my email throughout the summer. Please email me at anna.guiles@pgcps.org if you have any problems or questions while completing these

assignments. Please feel free to send me images of work in progress!

Assignments will be due the 2nd class period. Please DO NOT wait until the end of the summer to complete the summer assignments.

The summer assignments will also be available on the school’s website, should you lose this packet.

Happy art-making this summer! I look forward to seeing you and your artwork in August!

Ms. Anna GuilesAP Studio Artanna.guiles@pgcps.org