Create a landscape with unusual materials.

• Start from direct observation of the world immediately around you, but it may change as you work.
• It must show a sense of depth, with foreground, middle-ground, and background. 
• Consider atmospheric perspective.
• Strive for a strong composition; well-designed.

Sarah Schissler:

​Kevin Buxton:
Click here for a video of the development of Kevin's VR landscape created with Oculus Rift.

Assignment:
Create a well-designed multi-figure composition that illustrates your thoughts about your personal future. Include multiple ideas/aspects of your hopes and desires for your life. Apply all your knowledge about good composition to make the artwork as dynamic and visually interesting as possible. Do your best to make this a thoughtful, idea-filled, refined, portfolio-worthy artwork.

Suggestions:
Brainstorm, write thoughtfully, come up with several events and ideas, and develop the composition by drawing a number of thumbnail sketches.

Project Length:
One week

Size:
Any size between 12 x 16” and 18 x 24”

Media:
Ink or color

Style:
Any

Objectives:

• Represent multiple events in a single, strong composition
• Convey mood and meaning
• Show off your strongest skills

Step One:
In your classroom journal, write about your goals, hopes, desires for your future. The more detailed content you develop, the better.

Some things to consider:

• Who do you hope to be? What do you hope to learn? To know? Go into as much detail as you can.
• Where and how will you live?
• What physical/visual details can you envision?
• Describe emotional or dramatic possibilities.
• What important things do you hope will happen; will you work towards?
• In what way(s) do you hope to grow or change?

Grading Criteria

• Creativity
• Content (Development and communication of ideas)
• Design
• Technical Quality (“Finished”)
• Studio Work Habits

This is a pre-assessment to find out what you already know, and I will be observing and taking notes on your work habits and your process, your final work, and your participation in the final critique of student work. By jotting down brief notes on how each of you approaches the project, I will gain a better sense of your strengths and of how you could grow throughout the year.

As the measuring tool, I will be using this rubric:
​
Rubric: Art Studio Habits of Mind
​

Self-Assessment:
Please answer these questions after you've completed your artwork:

1. Remember that the objective was to illustrate multiple ideas/aspects. What multiple concepts did you include and how did you arrange them into a single composition?
2. How detailed and thoughtful was your written journal entry? Did you use it as a method of informing and enriching your visual work?
3. In what ways did you convey feelings/mood in your work? How did you convey drama?
4. What are some of the deeper meanings you've tried to convey in your piece? How is this a thoughtful, idea-filled artwork?
5. One of the objectives of this project was to apply what you know about good composition. How is this a good composition? Which of the principles of design did you consider in developing the composition? How have you used contrast? Emphasis? Balance? Visual movement? Positive and negative space? Implied triangle? Etc.
6. Did you draw thumbnail sketches to test out ideas and develop the composition before you began your larger image?
7. Which of your skills and strengths did you show off in this piece?
8. When did you know this was finished? How does this fit your idea of a high-quality, finished artwork?
9. What do you like best about your final piece?
10. What do you think needs further work?

FOR ART FELLOWS III STUDENTS ('20-'21) MOVING INTO THE AP STUDIO ART CLASS IN '21-'22:

DUE the first Friday of the new school year.

Summer Assignments weigh 30% of the Quarter 1 grade.

Art materials are to be returned to school at the beginning of the school year.
____________________________________________________________________

Summer work is an essential part of the AP Studio Art course. Summer assignments help alleviate the pressure during the school year of producing the many quality pieces needed for a successful portfolio. During the summer prior to the AP school year, you are expected to complete twenty sketches and six art assignments (listed below) in the media of your choice, which will all be due on the first day of the school year. Completing more of these pieces than required will only put you that much further ahead when school starts. Consider each piece’s potential for inclusion in your portfolio for the AP exam, and invest the time and effort necessary to produce high quality work. In addition to the sketches and six assignments, you must visit an art museum (online if they are still closed) and document the experience in your sketchbook.

• 20+ sketches/drawings in sketchbook (ongoing throughout summer)
• 1 art museum visit with essays and sketches
• 1 write-up (typed) of at least 10 possibilities for your Sustained Investigation
• 5 high-quality artworks (See list of choices)

SKETCHBOOK (20+ Sketches)

Your sketchbook should be one of your “best friends” this summer. Carry it with you as much as you can, 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.

In addition to using your sketches to plan your projects, you must complete 20 sketches and spend approximately 30 minutes on each. Sketchbooks should display forethought, good composition, good craftsmanship, and have mature subject matter (avoid trite, overused symbols). These sketchbook assignments should be finished drawings (Sometimes pieces for the Breadth section of the AP Exam come from sketchbooks.). Some of your drawings will focus on line quality, while others will focus on a full range of tonal value and good contrast, and still others will concentrate on subtle color shifts.

If there are drawings in your sketchbook that are outstanding, they may be used in your AP Portfolio Exam.

Guidelines for working in your sketchbook:

1. Imperfect drawings are OK; don’t be afraid to make mistakes; make false starts.
2. As much as you can, fill the page you are working on. Go off the edges whenever possible. Draw large. Do not make little drawings floating in the center of the page. Make every square inch count for something. 
3. Return to unfinished drawings. Go back later, change them, and make them into something else. Being able to rescue bad beginnings is the sign of a truly creative mind. 
4. Fill many, many, many pages of your sketchbook before school begins. 
5. Put the date on the corner of every page you finish. 
6. Draw from observation, things you see in the world, NOT from photographs, magazines, etc.  Learn to translate the dynamic three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional world. If you are going to use a photograph, tape/paperclip a copy of it to the page. 
7. Avoid cute, adorable images. This is a college-level art class, so expect your ideas about what makes good art to be challenged by others. 
8. Your sketchbook is a place for risk-taking. Don’t be boring with your work. 

Here are some ideas for what to draw in your sketchbook. Choose from this list or create your own ideas for your 20 or more sketches.

• your pet
• squirrels, birds, outdoor animals (from life)
• animals at the zoo, in a natural history museum, in the Science Museum
• pile of pillows
• effect(s) of extreme light source
• shoes
• fabric with pattern
• baseball glove
• sink with dishes in it
• tools (see the work of artist Jim Dine)
• extreme perspective; unusual viewpoint
• yourself in fifteen years
• insects
• proverb
• opposites
• draw on top of an old drawing
• social statement
• conflict of interest
• man-made vs. natural
• park
• anatomy
• close-up of an object making it abstract
• political cartoons
• transformation / morphs
• realistic cloud formations, in full value and texture, or in full color (what colors do you see in the clouds and sky?)
• fill a plastic bag with objects and draw from observation
• a figure drawn from an unusual perspective
• what was for dinner
• forest floor
• look up words you do not know and illustrate them
• an interior (for example, your room, your kitchen)
• how it works -- inner workings of a machine -- mechanics of an object
• negative space only
• glass bottles
• nightmares / other worlds
• outside v. inside
• metallic and/or reflective objects
• ballpoint pen only
• line drawings of organic objects
• ​a parked car, from a ¾ angle
• exaggeration
• the skeleton of a small animal or bird
• accidents -- random acts of art
• home is where the heart is
• grouping of seashells
• portraits of your friends as famous characters from books
• contour drawings of insects
• multiple drawings of the same object, one per night for a week, using different media
• buildings and man-made structures with character -- bridges, interiors of old churches, old theaters, etc.
• landscapes with and without buildings
• botanical drawings
• a single flower with all its petals, leaves, etc., drawn accurately
• a close-up set of 3 - 5 pieces of popped popcorn
• looking from an interior pace to an exterior space (i.e. through a doorway or window)
• a single object drawing from several viewpoints
• fabric with a pattern. hanging or suspended
• a chess set, partially played, or a different childhood game
• your favorite food, or the table setting for a meal
• an opened candy bar or packaged food, with the wrapper

MUSEUM VISIT 

Refer to the list of museums on the Resources page of the Art Department’s website (www.burlingtonhighschoolart.org). Visit one of them. Take your sketchbook.

Visit one of these museums (There are also other museum options on the Collections page of Google Arts & Culture):
Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Boston)
Harvard Art Museums
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The Museum of Modern Art
The Smithsonian Museum of American Art

Complete these three activities:

a. In your sketchbook, describe the experience of the museum visit. What are the first things that you notice when you walk in the front doors? What do you notice about the space, the environment? Describe what you see and feel and why that has caught your attention. Be as specific as possible.

b. In your sketchbook, write a full page (in essay form, not notes) about two different artists’ paintings of the same subject matter. Compare and contrast approaches. Use the 4-step critique process when evaluating the works: Describe the work in detail, then Analyze it (i.e. what do you notice about composition, color theory, the use of the principles of design, technique, etc.), Interpret (What does it mean? Why did the artist make the choices he/she did?), and Judge/Evaluate (What works about it? What doesn't?) Write one paragraph for each of those four steps.

c. Draw full-value thumbnail sketches of both artworks. Your thumbnail drawings should indicate dark, middle and light tones to truly capture the basic composition of each, but will not focus on detail. These should be good (but small) compositional drawings.


SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION IDEAS

You are asked to make a commitment to the thoughtful investigation of a specific visual idea.

A sustained investigation is a body of work that:

• Grows out of a coherent plan of action or investigation;
• Is unified by an underlying idea that has a visual and/or conceptual coherence;
• Is based on your individual interest in a particular visual idea;
• Is focused on a process of investigation, growth and discovery; and 
• Shows the development of a visual language appropriate for your subject.

Generate a list of at least ten different GREAT possibilities for your senior-year Sustained Investigation series. Describe each idea in a few sentences (NOT just a few words -- be thoughtful about it.), being clear on what your main objective(s) will be. Each of these ten ideas should really be something you’d love to do for two months or more. Each idea would be for a series of at least fifteen pieces. Do not try to complete the list in one sitting. Think about it over time and develop the ideas, don’t just list them. Turn this in as a TYPED document.

Before beginning:

Look at the work of contemporary artists to get a sense of the wide variety of concepts and approaches being used today. You can find many contemporary artists by going to the PBS website for its Art21 program at http://www.pbs.org/art21/ .

Also, view sample Sustained Investigation portfolios of previous AP students at the following links:

Drawing
Anne Zhang - sustained investigation
Irina Grigoryeva - sustained investigation (2014)
Pablo Aguilar - AP exam (2013)
Jake Ursino - AP Sustained Investigation (2013)
Kevin Buxton - AP Art Show (2020)
Nicole Benjamin - AP Art Show (2020)
Sarah Schissler - AP Art Show (2020)
Martello Cesar - AP portfolio exam (2019)
Marley Gainley - AP exam (2017)

​2D Design
Danielle Spinosa - AP exam (2013)


Sample portfolios are at the BOTTOM of these pages:

Drawing
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-drawing/portfolio?course=ap-drawing
(Scroll down to Drawing Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

2D Design
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-2-d-art-and-design/portfolio?course=ap-2-d-art-and-design
(Scroll down to 2D Design Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

3D Design
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-3-d-art-and-design/portfolio?course=ap-3-d-art-and-design
(Scroll down to 3D Design Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

Here is what your concentration list might look like: Concentration Ideas Samples.


ART PROJECTS

Complete at least 5 of these. You may contact Mr. Ratkevich in advance to discuss possibilities if you would like to do something that is not listed here. The assignments below are mostly Drawing or 2D Art & Design options. If you wish to do 3D Art & Design, we will work out alternatives. All of these are to be NEW works, created from June - August 2021. Each should take several hours to complete to AP Portfolio Quality.:


1. “Café” Drawings – (This is in addition to the sketches/sketchbook assignment listed above.) 

Take your sketchbook to a good location for observing people: the mall, a café, the beach, etc. 

Fill up several pages (at least four) with multiple drawings of people on each page. You should have AT LEAST ten good figure sketches. Try to capture people in their natural habitats and in activities that are relatively stable: reading, eating, waiting in line, etc. (Do not have people knowingly pose for you.). Capture the entire figures as much as possible. Indicate their environments as much as possible.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “figure sketches”:

Honore Daumier
Edgar Degas
examples of cafe sketches
“Cafe” sketches by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: 
Pages 1 & 2
Pages 3 & 4


2. Multi-Figure Narrative – Make an artwork that tells some type of a “story”, perhaps a moment from a personal memoir; or a scene from a story you’ve previously written; or an episode from history. It should have several human figures interacting with each other and with their surroundings. It may be a drawing, a painting, or a mixed media artwork if you have the materials. It can even be three-dimensional. Focus on pictorial composition, considering the principles of art and art concepts such as the implied triangle. You may make it up entirely, or have people pose for you (recommended), or you may use photographic references (especially if you take the photos yourself.), but it should not be a copy of a single photograph or copy another artwork in any way. The figures may be stylized rather than realistic if you choose.

Some artists to look at before doing the Multi-Figure Narrative (Look them up in Google Arts & Culture: Explore. These are in chronological order.).:

Caravaggio
Francisco Goya (particularly The Caprices and  The Third of May, 1808)
Auguste Renoir (particularly The Boating Party Lunch)
Edgar Degas: The Dance Lesson
Mary Cassatt (particularly The Boating Party)
Max Beckmann
Marc Chagall
Norman Rockwell
Jacob Lawrence
Romare Bearden
Jack Levine
Chris Van Allsburg (children’s book illustrator: Jumangi and The Polar Express)
Jake Ursino, BHS Class of 2013: At the Music Festival
Jake Ursino’s AP Sustained Investigation
Irina Grigoryeva, BHS Class of 2014: Save Our Oceans
Multi-figure narrative by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: My Future
Multi-figure narrative by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: Chess


3. Abstract Painting – Create a painting that utilizes the principles of art to maximize visual impact. Consider color theory (In fact, study the color relationships in the paintings of the artists below, and use their color palettes or some thoughtful variation.). This is an abstract or non-objective artwork. If you are not satisfied with your first attempt, keep trying until you’ve created something you want to hang on your wall. Work until you impress yourself.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment:

Wassily Kandinsky
Kazimir Malevich
Paul Klee
Franz Marc
Pablo Picasso
Joan Miro
Jackson Pollock
Jasper Johns
Frank Stella
Sonia Delauney
Miriam Schapiro


4. Landscape – This is observational (from life, not a photo). Make a painting of an interesting place other than your home; a vacation spot would be a good choice. The illusion of three-dimensional space should be a major concern. Consider atmospheric (aerial) perspective and, if relevant, linear perspective. If you choose a location far from home, watercolor may be a good medium to use because of its portability, but the medium is up to you. Suggestion: Do a series of thumbnail sketches to work out the composition. Work from life, not from photographs. Make every effort to work plein air – meaning drawing or painting outdoors. You will have better light and will be able to focus on the color you actually see.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “landscape painting”):

J.M.W. Turner
Claude Monet
Vincent Van Gogh
Paul Gauguin

​
5. Still Life  – Using the color medium of your choice, paint a still life comprised of at least three visually interesting objects. Work large (at least 18 x 24”). Build a strong composition. Observational accuracy is key; notice the relationships between shapes, both positive and negative. Notice subtle color changes. Mix colors with specificity and accuracy. Establish form via chiaroscuro and color changes. Demonstrate your ability to create a rich range of tonal value.

Helpful Resources: Before doing the assignment, look at / study as many still lifes by master paintings as you can, and apply what you know about placement, composition, lighting, form, texture, etc. If there are complex surfaces, inscribed of printed patterns, textures, etc., all the better.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “still life”):

Paul Cezanne
William Harnett
Vincent Van Gogh
Wayne Thiebaud
Ralph Goings
Rebecca Scott
Janet Fish
Dik F. Liu

Here are a few painters to look at to inform your still life work. If working in color, pay attention to the nuances/shifts in color even within the same surfaces/planes. Also remember that every change in direction (every plane) will have a shift in value and in color temperature. Typically, shadows will be cooler in color (bluer) and where the light hits will be warmer (more yellow, orange, or red), but not always.
 
Dik Liu
https://www.dikliu.com/food
https://www.dikliu.com/trolls
 
Catherine Kehoe (teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design)
https://catherinekehoe.com/still-life/1
 
The packaged still lifes of Janet Fish will give you some ideas of how to paint transparent plastic.
 
Look at some of the work of Wayne Thiebaud, especially the slot machines, cash register, paint buckets, and gumball machine paintings he has done.
 
Still life paintings of Paul Cezanne, who painted in the 19th century. Pay particular attention to how he addresses the wall and cloth around the still life; how color and value change.
 
For a more emotionally expressive way of painting, and more playful brushwork, look at the still life paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. Color is amped up in these.
 
Also, explore the work of Luis Melendez, a fantastic still life painter from 18th Century Spain. The link will bring you to the collection of his work at the Prado museum in Spain, but you can also see more of his work if you look him up in sites for our National Gallery in DC, at Boston's MFA, and probably in the Google Arts & Culture site that I've been plugging for the past several weeks.


6. After developing your ten ideas for a potential Sustained Investigation (See assignment above.), complete one or two Sustained Investigation “Try-Outs” to AP Portfolio quality.


7. Dissection -- A drawing study of an object that you have taken apart. Arrange the parts on a surface with other objects related or not related and study the TEXTURAL qualities. Arrange them to make a strong composition: design the page. Some ideas would be a mechanical object, a child’s toy, a makeup bag, your bin of art supplies, ingredients for a cooking recipe, a few apples or other fruit cut apart…anything where you are creating a still composition out of something that has been dissected or disassembled.


8. A self portrait expressing a mood. How can you use value, color, style, and design to express mood? What style will work best for you in this work? This can be observational, but it doesn’t have to be. You might create a composition with multiple self-portraits with different expressions and/or from different angles. Do some research online (Google Arts and Culture, for example) to see how different artists create what might be considered self portraits and what techniques and media they use. Use an odd/extreme angle and consider strong light/dark contrast. The idea is to create a deeply personal artwork that reflects feeling.

Some artists to look at: 

• Frida Kahlo
• Robert Arneson
• Pablo Picasso
• Vincent Van Gogh

Unusual Self Portraits (Pinterest)


9. Still life arrangement of three or more reflective objects. Your goal is to convey convincing representation. Sketch and shade for contrast and drama. Consider doing this as a self portrait – draw yourself distorted in a shiny object. 


10. A drawing of an unusual interior – for example, look inside a closet or cabinet, in the refrigerator, under the car’s hood or inside the medicine cabinet. 


11. A still life arrangement of objects representing members of your family. You must have at least three objects and use an unusual viewpoint or angle. Put the objects on the floor and stand up looking down at them, or on a table surface and look down and across at them  (Include a photographic snapshot of your set-up when you turn in your final piece.).


12. A close up of a bicycle/tricycle from an unusual angle with strong light/shadow. Don’t draw the bicycle from the side view. 


13. Shoes -- Create a still life arrangement consisting of your family members’ shoes: more than a single pair; at least two or three pairs. Arrange them to overlap each other and to fill the picture plane. Try to convey the different personalities of your family members through the rendering of the shoes. Be creative and have fun! This assignment can be done in monochrome (black, white, gray) and/or in color using any medium, technique and style you desire.


14. Create an artwork regarding a political or social issue you feel strongly about. There are many different ways to protest, to reach an audience, to make a difference. Before you begin the art, write a statement out in detail to develop your ideas. Spend some time on this; get to the heart of how you feel and what you believe. Draw thumbnail sketches to compose your image before beginning the final artwork. Use content, color, design, and style to maximize the emotional expressiveness of your piece. CLARITY in your visual statement is essential.

Before beginning, view this Mural slideshow originally made for the Tenacity Challenge. It includes masterworks, student examples, and tips to get started.


15. Using the media of your choice, design a CD cover for an imaginary musician or group, or for a local band that you might even know personally. It must be totally original (No copies of someone else’s photographs). It should include the band’s name and an album title in addition to the artwork.


16. Create a fully-realized artwork that illustrates a scene from a book (a novel or children’s story). Research contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley’s work, Rembrandt’s many biblical scenes, and the work of children’s book illustrators Maurice Sendak and Jan Brett.


17. You may try your hand at one of these Concentration Ideas Samples.


18. Take on one of the more unusual challenges from the TV show Project Runway.


19. Create an article of clothing/fashion that is also a sculpture.


20. Steam Punk​

Make a creative invitation to the annual portfolio show. This year's will be online.

Here are some examples from years past.

1. Complete your remaining Sustained Investigation pieces.


2. Write an essay about your Sustained Investigation

Answer the following:

a. Identify the inquiry or question(s) that guided your sustained investigation.

b. Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your inquiry or question(s) (1200 characters maximum, including spaces, for response to both prompts).


3. Make changes to your portfolio for digital submission: either new work for your Sustained Investigation or your Selected Works, or revisions/ refinement/ reworking/ replacements of any pieces in your portfolio. Refine your weaker submissions. Fill in gaps. Create new work as necessary.

​
4. Make final selection of 5 pieces for Selected Works.


5. Scan or photograph (Arrange time to do this at school if needed.) and format your artwork for digital submission.


6. Upload work to your Digital Submission account and input information.
For each image:
Materials used (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
Processes used (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
​Size (height × width × depth, in inches)


** You will complete your Digital Submission in the week following vacation. **

You should now evaluate ALL your work to date and return to them to improve them. As your series comes to a close over the next few weeks, you will be graded on the series as a whole. This grade will SUPERSEDE your previous grades for individual projects. Your grade for the series should approximate what your AP score might be (using the College Board's rubric). That is, A = 3; B/B- = 2; C/D = 1.

Your final Term 3 grade for your Sustained Investigation will be based on:

1. Clarity of your INQUIRY and cohesiveness of your series. Are you truly challenging yourself, and are you clear on what you're trying to achieve?

2. Your dedication and degree to which you PRACTICED techniques (For example, before applying them to your final pieces; or using techniques repeatedly throughout your works.).

3. Your dedication and degree to which you EXPERIMENTED with those materials, processes, and/or ideas; to EXPLORE, to see what they are capable of and how far you can go with them; to try out NEW things, materials, techniques, and/or ideas in inventive, creative, thoughtful ways.

4. Your dedication and degree to which you REVISED your work, particularly after receiving feedback, to make purposeful change (sometimes dramatic change), correction, and improvement.

5. Your SKILL in the following:
2D & 3D DESIGN: Use of ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES - point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color relationships, value, opacity, transparency, time; unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/ground relationship, connection, juxtaposition, hierarchy
DRAWING: Use of mark-making, line, surface, space, light and shade, composition

Each week from January through March, create at least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy pieces for the Sustained Investigation series in which you are fully satisfied.

Be aware of the College Board's criteria, and be sure to consciously apply your knowledge and understanding of good composition and the Art Elements (color, texture, form, space, etc.) and Principles (balance, movement, harmony, variety, rhythm, etc.), as discussed in the slide presentation, and be able to write about how you used them. Also, show off your technical skills (such as your drawing skills).

The artwork in your Sustained Investigation should be some of the most challenging, most complex, and best work you've ever created (If you're doing it right, this will be the hardest and most intense few months you've ever had in an art class.).

-----

Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom.

Bring the actual work in the next time you are in the building, so that we can scan/photograph it better if needed.

​After reading the Sustained Investigation student artist statements on the AP website, write your own Sustained Investigation proposal as an essay of at least two paragraphs (typed).

Answer the following:

1. What is the central idea of your Sustained Investigation
2. How do you plan to explore that idea?

THEN, complete your first fully-realized, high-quality, exam-worthy Sustained Investigation piece based on that proposal.

Play to your strengths but challenge yourself. Also remember that it needs to address the concerns of your particular portfolio: Drawing, 2D Design, or 3D Design, so re-read the descriptors for that portfolio type.

Finally, remember that for the AP exam you must demonstrate your understanding and skills in the following (You will be scored in these areas by the AP judges.):

• Investigating the materials, processes, and ideas that artists and designers use
• Practicing, experimenting, and revising as you create your own work
• Communicating your ideas about works of art and design

So consider drawing on your knowledge of artists whose work you admire or who stretch your thinking about art, and try to develop deep ideas for your work.

Tips:

• Think about your artistic interests and passions.
  
• Notice what’s being done in the contemporary art world.
  
• Make research an important part of your art-making process.
  
• Brainstorm possibilities.
  
• Be clear on what you will be learning, how you will be growing as an artist.
  
• Foresee and plan for problems/challenges.
  
• Be clear on how you will know when/if you are successful.
  
• Be prepared to discuss your plans and be challenged by your peers.
  

For the AP exam, you must demonstrate your understanding and skills in the following (You will be scored in these areas by the AP judges.):

• Investigating the materials, processes, and ideas that artists and designers use
• Practicing, experimenting, and revising as you create your own work
• Communicating your ideas about works of art and design

OVERVIEW: SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION

The Sustained Investigation section shows the student's in-depth exploration of a particular design concern. It is presented as 15 images, some of which may be details of work or documentation of process. Students will submit images and writing to document their inquiry-guided investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision. The emphasis is on a coherent development of an idea through a body of work, in addition to the artistic success of the work.

By January 5, you will need to turn in a short essay (2 paragraphs) describing your Sustained Investigation idea and how you plan on exploring that idea. You will need to upload your Selected Works section to the digital submission website. From December vacation until April 13, you will be completing at least one Sustained Investigation artwork per week. In addition, you will be experimenting with materials and techniques and developing additional work or refining existing work for your Selected Works section of the AP exam. There will be mini-lessons and exercises to complete as well. You will also be photographing/scanning your work, documenting your process, writing about your process, and writing essays regarding your work.


PREPARATORY STEPS

I. Create a College Board Account

You should receive notice from Guidance to register and pay for the AP exam. Taking the exam is typically a required part of this course (although it is optional during this pandemic year. I recommend you take the exam this year, as you will do all the work for it anyway.). The forms that our Guidance Dept. send you should be filled out and the check for the exam given to our school's AP Coordinator.

• If you haven't already done so, please create a College Board account. Click here for directions. You may need the school code for Burlington High School. Create your College Board account before creating your Digital Submission Account (Your College Board account and Digital Submission account will be different.).

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/access-your-ap-resources/sign-in-to-college-board-account


II. Create a Digital Submission Account

• If you haven’t already done so, create an AP Digital Submission account. (This is separate from your My AP account for which you previously registered. Usernames and passwords for My AP or other College Board websites will not work on this site. Create a separate username and password to access the AP Art and Design Digital Submission web application.

You should use a personal email address, not your school email address.

https://apstudio.ets.org/apstudioart/

https://apstudio.ets.org/apstudioart/document/HelpText.pdf

You will need these two numbers: the school code and the teacher key.


III. Understand the Focus of Your Exam & Study the Work of Others: What does QUALITY look like?

• View/study AP student samples for the exam for which you registered.
• Study the work of master artists from the past and from the contemporary art world.
• Dig into the books and magazines on art history and contemporary art that are available in the Studio Art Honors classroom.

Below are samples of student work from AP portfolios. Selected works are scored from 1 - 5,  with scores of 4 and 5 show the quality to shoot for in your own individual works. The Sustained Investigation is scored from 1 - 3. When working on pieces for homework and for your own Sustained Investigation, look to these examples and resources for the quality of work to which to aspire.
​
The DRAWING portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of mark-making, line, surface, space, light and shade, and composition. Students should consider marks that can be used to make drawings, the arrangement of marks, the materials and processes used to make marks, and relationships of marks and ideas. Students can work with any materials, processes, and ideas. Drawing (analog and digital), painting, printmaking, and mixed media work are among the possibilities for submission.

• AP Drawing Samples 2020
• AP Drawing Samples Archive
• Kevin Buxton - AP Art Show (BHS 2020)
• Nicole Benjamin - AP Art Show (BHS 2020)
• Sarah Schissler - AP Art Show (BHS 2020)
• Martello Cesar - AP portfolio exam (BHS 2019)
• Marley Gainley - AP exam (BHS 2017)
• Anne Zhang - BHS sustained investigation
• Irina Grigoryeva - BHS sustained investigation
• Pablo Aguilar - BHS AP exam
• Jake Ursino - BHS Sustained Investigation
• ​Toula Papadopoulos - BHS Sustained Investigation

The 2D ART & DESIGN portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of two-dimensional (2-D) elements and principles of art and design, including point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/ ground relationship, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy. Students should consider how materials, processes, and ideas can be used to make work that exists on a flat surface. Students can work with any materials, processes, and ideas. Graphic design, digital imaging, photography, collage, fabric design, weaving, fashion design, fashion illustration, painting, and printmaking are among the possibilities for submission.
The Principles of Art (slideshow)
Color Theory
​

• AP 2D Design Samples 2020
• AP 2D Design Samples Archive
• Danielle Spinosa - AP exam (BHS)

​
The 3D ART & DESIGN portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of three-dimensional (3-D) elements and principles of art and design, including point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, volume, mass, occupied/unoccupied space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy. Students should consider how materials, processes, and ideas can be used to make work that involves space and form. Students can work with any materials, processes, and ideas. Figurative or non-figurative sculpture, architectural models, metal work, ceramics, glasswork, installation, performance, assemblage, and 3-D fabric/fiber arts are among the possibilities for submission.
The Principles of Art (slideshow)

• AP 3D Design Samples 2020
• AP 3D Design Samples Archive
• A Pinterest collection
• Example AP 3D Design portfolio with fashion emphasis - score 5
• Youtube introduction from an AP 3D class

Other examples of high quality high school work:

• The AP College Board’s  2020 AP Art and Design Digital Exhibit showcases outstanding artwork created by students who submitted portfolios for the May 2020 exam. Amid a global pandemic, AP Art and Design students worked with diverse ideas, materials, and processes to create incredible, impactful art. The exhibit features student and teacher reflections on these works, providing compelling insights into how artists make choices and approach art making.

 

• The National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. Entries are judged on: ORIGINALITY; TECHNICAL SKILL; and EMERGENCE OF A PERSONAL VOICE OR VISION, characteristics similar to what the AP College Board is judging in the exams.

IV. Set High Expectations for Yourself

Each artwork you turn in for homework and for the Sustained Investigation is to be a FINISHED, PORTFOLIO-QUALITY artwork. Refer to the College Board's Student Samples for expectations on QUALITY. Make each drawing, design, or sculpture portfolio-worthy. Concentrate on design principles and good composition, mark-making, technique, and expression. 

As is always expected, spend AT LEAST 3 - 5 hours on your projects (outside of regular class sessions) each week.

1. Visit and explore the College Board's AP Art & Design Program website. Refer to it regularly. From the Main/Overview Page you'll be able to find a lot of helpful resources. Devote time to exploring the pages of the exam to which you registered:

• AP Drawing Homepage
• AP 2D Design Homepage
• AP 3D Design Homepage

2. Read for understanding the AP Scoring Guidelines at the end of this AP Portfolio Exam Description (pages 42 and 45): Selected Works are scored from 1 - 5; Sustained Investigation from 1 - 3. The pieces for your Selected Works and your Sustained Investigation must be “exam-worthy”. They will be graded according to the rigorous standards set forth by the AP College Board. View samples of student work online for comparison.

3. Visit the following pages to view/read Student Samples and Scoring Commentary:

• AP Drawing Samples 2020
• AP Drawing Samples Archive
• AP 2D Design Samples 2020
• AP 2D Design Samples Archive
• AP 3D Design Samples 2020
• AP 3D Design Samples Archive

4. Read the artist statements by students explaining their Sustained Investigations, and the rationales/explanations by the judges for the scores that students received.

5. Begin thinking about the possibilities for your own Sustained Investigation by answering the following questions (These will later be put in essay form.):

• What inquiry or question(s) will guide your sustained investigation?
• How do you plan to explore that question/idea (particularly in ways that would show practice, experimentation, and revision)?

V. Upload Selected Works

• Scan or photograph all your best work.
• Upload images of your five Selected Works to your Digital Submission account and include your written text.

Read the instructions for uploading your images. 
https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/digital-submission/submit-ap-art-design-work

Format your JPG images to be just under 5 MB in file size, and RGB color mode. To do this, reduce the resolution to approximately 1400-1500 pixels/inch for the longest side. If needed, I can help you format images to the appropriate file size and upload them into a shared GoogleDrive folder of your full portfolio.

Let me know if you have any problems in accessing and uploading work to the site. Upload your five Selected Works images (Your five highest quality works so far, showing a range of subject matter, materials and techniques, and styles). Input the appropriate information for each selection (You can always “swap out” your selections for other work later.).

If you have questions or need technical assistance, contact AP Services by phone at 877-274-6474 (toll free in the United States and Canada) or 212-632-1781, or by email at apexams@info.collegeboard.org.


----------------------


CALENDAR


TERM 2 

In Class: Large Self Portrait Painting in Environment (Due Thursday, January 21)

• There will be some modifications for 2D Design students. 
• 3D Design will work out an alternative with the instructor.

Dec. 9 (Wednesday)

• DUE: Homework: Figure Drawing of Family Member

*3D Design can work out an alternative with the instructor.

Dec. 11 (Friday)

• (Optional) Deadline for submitting work to the Scholastic Art Awards

Dec. 16 (Wednesday)

• DUE: Homework: Self Portrait Genre “Painting” (Oil Pastel) in Style of Vermeer

        *3D Design can work out an alternative with the instructor.

Dec. 18 (Friday)

• DUE: Complete Steps I - V above to prepare for your Sustained Investigation

Dec. 23 (Wednesday)

• DUE: Homework: Choice/Sustained Investigation Try-out #3: Inventive Use of Materials / Exploration

December Vacation

• Write proposal and begin Sustained Investigation

Jan. 5 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: Written Sustained Investigation proposal (typed) – Answer the following:
  • What is the central idea of your Sustained Investigation
  • How do you plan to explore that idea?
• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 1 finished piece in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

Jan. 12 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 2 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

Jan. 19 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 3 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

January 21 (Thursday) --

• DUE: Large Self Portrait Painting in Environment (Class Project)

Jan. 26 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 4 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

January 28 (Thursday)

• Quarter 2 Ends

TERM 3 

Feb. 2 (Tuesday) --

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 5 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

Feb. 9 (Tuesday) -- 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 6 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

February Vacation February 13 - 21

• Work on TWO pieces for your Sustained Investigation.

Feb. 23 (Tuesday) -- 

• DUE: At least TWO new fully-realized, exam-worthy pieces for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 8 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

March 2 (Tuesday) -- 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 9 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

March 9 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 10 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

March 16 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 11 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

March 23 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 12 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

March 30 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 13 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

April 6 (Tuesday) – 

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of at bare minimum 14 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

April 7 (Wednesday)

• Quarter 3 Ends

TERM 4 

April 13 (Tuesday)

• DUE: At least one new fully-realized, exam-worthy piece for the Sustained Investigation, for a total of 15 finished pieces in your series in which you are fully satisfied. Take the best photographs (or scans) you can. Turn the work in via Google Classroom, email, or share with me from your Google Drive.

 

• Complete your digital submission by the week following vacation. Make final selection of 5 pieces for Selected Works.
• Homework for upcoming week: Essay about Sustained Investigation -- revised and perfected (Typed and emailed to the instructor by April 27.)
  • Answer the following:

1. Identify the inquiry or question(s) that guided your sustained investigation.
2. Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your inquiry or question(s) (1200 characters maximum, including spaces, for response to both prompts) 

Spring Vacation Week (April 17 - 25)

• Use this week to make any final changes to the work for digital submission and write your essay
• Make changes to your work for digital submission: either new work for your Sustained Investigation or your Selected Works, or revisions/reworking/replacements of any pieces in your portfolio. Refine your weaker submissions. Fill in gaps. Create new work as necessary.

Tuesday, April 27 -

• DUE: Essay about Sustained Investigation (First draft) - Typed and emailed to (or shared via Google Drive with) the instructor.

• Answer the following:
  • Identify the inquiry or question(s) that guided your sustained investigation.
  • Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your inquiry or question(s) (1200 characters maximum, including spaces, for response to both prompts) 

Week of April 27 -  30

• Use this week to make any final changes to your work for digital submission: new work for either your Sustained Investigation or your Selected Works, or revisions/reworking/replacements of any pieces in your portfolio. Refine your weaker submissions. Fill in gaps. Create new work as necessary.
• Format and upload all new work to the Digital Submission website 
  • (Instructions at https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/digital-submission/submit-ap-art-design-work)
• Review your Selected Works and cull to your best 5 pieces.
• Begin work on AP Portfolio Exhibition invitation and name design for exhibition.

DUE May 4 (Tuesday)

• Final essay about Sustained Investigation -- revised and perfected. Email to Mr. Ratkevich and upload to the Sustained Investigation section of your digital submission account.

 

• Complete digital submission of AP exam portfolio (Selected Works and Sustained Investigation) and “Forward to Teacher” (Further revision may be necessary after the instructor reviews it.)

May 11 (Tuesday) - 

• DUE: Final deadline to the instructor for AP exam digital submission (Press “Forward to Teacher”) after addressing the instructor’s feedback, if any was given.

As soon as you have forwarded your final portfolio exam, we will begin preparation for an online AP Portfolio exhibition of all your best work, including all of your AP Portfolio Exam. It will be an online exhibition, for which you will make a slideshow of your portfolio.

May 14 (Friday)

• Mr. Ratkevich forwards your portfolio to Mr. Attubato.

DUE May 18 (Tuesday)

• DUE: Name design/sign for Portfolio Exhibition (name, college, major; done artistically)

Create an artwork/design that emphasizes your full name and includes the college you will be attending and your intended major. This is to be a well-designed and well-crafted artwork with high visual impact that profiles your artistic strengths. It can be done in any medium or combination of media. It may reflect the work you have been doing with your Sustained Investigation, but it doesn't have to. This will be used to promote your work and will also serve as the first slide in your Google slideshow, which you will create the following week. 

May 20 (Thursday) - 

• This is the last day for Mr. Attubato to submit AP Art and Design digital portfolios to the College Board.

DUE May 21 (Friday)

• DUE:
  • Creative Invitation to Online AP Studio Art Exhibition (Send out invitations with Google Meet code via email)
  • Google Slides presentation of your portfolio of your best work from the past two years

1. DUE: A creative invitation (using whatever materials and techniques you choose) to "The Second Online BHS AP Studio Art Exhibition 2021". Share your invitation with me and email it to friends and family. Your artwork invitation must include:

• The Second Online BHS AP Studio Art Exhibition 2021
• The time and date of the event (Tuesday, May ____, _____ am - ______ pm):
• The Hangout code: "Join us at ____am using this Google Hangout code: ____________"
• Creative visuals

 

• Google  slideshow presentation, with titles, sizes, and very brief descriptions of all pieces included. 

2. DUE: Arrange a Google Slides presentation of your portfolio of your best work from the past two years, with large images, titles, dimensions, and very brief descriptions of all pieces (You may use all the same text as in your AP Digital Submission.). The slideshow must include your name design from this past week as its first slide, all pieces from your AP exam Selected Works and Sustained Investigation, your essay for your Sustained Investigation (This slide should be placed before the slides for the Sustained Investigation artwork.), and any other of your strongest works. Share the link to your slideshow with me, and I will share it with the world (or at least the Burlington school community) (See examples here.)

May 25 (Tuesday), Period 5 - Tentative

• AP Portfolio Exhibition - HOST online art exhibition (during class or early afternoon) - attend and present your work to friends, family, and teachers

May 26 (Wednesday) - Deadline to return all supplies and equipment and clean out studio spaces.

May 28 (Friday) - Last class for seniors; end of Term 4 for seniors

June 6 (Sunday)

• Graduation

------------------

SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION PLANNING (OUTLINE)

Here is the Sustained Investigation Proposal sheet we have used in the AP class during the previous four years. Write it and refer to it to keep your eyes on the prize.

Project Description: 
Write a one-page outline for your Sustained Investigation, a personalized focus of artistic study on which you will be working for several weeks.

Objectives:

• Think about your artistic interests and passions.
• Notice what’s being done in the contemporary art world.
• View books and magazines on art history and contemporary art (Many are available in the art room.).
• Brainstorm possibilities.
• Be clear on what you will be learning, how you will be growing as an artist.
• Foresee and plan for problems/challenges.
• Be clear on how you will know when/if you are successful.
• Be prepared to discuss your plans and be challenged by your peers.

Parameters:
The Sustained Investigation must be a series of 15 artworks that can be displayed together.
The proposal must include:

• Title of Project
• Project Description (Intentions)
• Purpose (What excites you about this project)
• Media
• Content
• Timeline for completion of parts
• Work schedule on project outside of class (The Sustained Investigation will not be your only homework during the full span of time, but you will be expected to work on it regularly outside of class.)
• Learning Objectives!
• Other explanatory information as necessary