Throughout the first nine weeks, AP Art students completed an art portfolio composed of twelve pieces to fit in their “concentration.” Their concentration is a common theme in which their work is created. Although it is very stressful, it is also very rewarding.

When she decided her concentration, Bob Jones senior, Audrie Broadway, said she, “Chose something I was interested in since I would be spending 18 weeks on the topic. I chose to use cross sections of plant cells and monochromatic portraits of people for my concentration. The theme was a different take on nature vs nurture showing how nature and human lives are related.” Audrie said she found much of her inspiration in biology. “It sort of just came to me one day in biology, I really love biology and how complex everything is.”

Although it may seem simple to compose a common theme for art, it is a very challenging journey. Students spent weeks developing their themes, and went through many trials and errors until they perfected their final concentration. Audrie explained the problems and difficulties of completing her concentration by stating, “the hardest part was thinking of what to do for each piece and how to make it better from the last.”

Audrie also explained how rewarding the process was, “This concentration has been the largest/longest project I have ever completed. I have grown as an artist and as a person. Developing a unique idea and committing to it and seeing the results was rewarding.”

These students get to look back and see how rewarding it is, not only to be an artist, but also in other forms. When completed, students will send off their twelve piece portfolio to Scholastic Arts and Writing competition, where they will have opportunities to win awards and scholarship money. In this case, the hard work really can pay off.