AP Studio Art: Drawing

Mrs. Tricia Thatcher

Room:  1403

Phone/Voice Mail:  942-2999 #150

E-mail:   thatcher_t@fairfieldcityschools.com

Please click on the following link to access the College Board AP Studio Art website:

https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-studio-art-drawing

Course Description/Overview

The AP Art: Drawing course is designed to help students develop a mastery of art and design skills. Students will complete an AP Art: Drawing portfolio consisting of work that meets or exceeds the requirements for the 2 sections of the portfolio:  Selected works and Sustained Investigation. Students will receive college-level instruction and produce work of excellence during this course. Students will be expected to develop mastery in concept, composition, and execution of ideas. Student portfolios will be reviewed for content, quality, and originality with classroom critiques to aid in their development. Artworks created prior to and outside of the AP course will be identified and may be considered for inclusion in the AP art portfolio.

Students learn to seek out creative problems that are interesting and challenging and use goal setting, informed decision making and problem solving skills to pursue their own artistic interest in an informed way. Students are responsible for experimenting with & demonstrating mastery of materials and media, and at using the elements & principles of art in their work. A minimum of 15 works will be completed for the AP Portfolio.

Course Objectives:

Students will:

• Complete the Selected Works and Sustained Investigation sections of the portfolio.
• Develop a personal Sustained investigation of a minimum of 10 pieces.
• Choose 5 Selected Works for physically mailing in to Collegeboard
• Discuss, document, and record the development of ALL artwork completed over the course of the school year.
  
• Learn that art is an ongoing process of informed critical decision making.
• Participate in critiques of artwork at a minimum of every other week.
• Develop a digital portfolio using Digication that is independent of the AP Collegeboard portfolio.

Expectations:

• Students are expected to work a minimum of 4 hours outside of class every week.
• Students are expected to find and purchase, if necessary, their own art supplies. Most art supplies will be provided in class.  However, students are expected to provide any specialty supplies necessary for their own work. Students are required to purchase a sketchbook and portfolio.
• Students are expected to participate in every aspect of the course. This includes but is not limited to research, documentation of process, sketchbooks, critiques, revisions, and homework.
• Students are expected to reflect on feedback from both teacher and other students in order to improve and make revisions to artwork.
• Each student is expected to develop a digital portfolio using Digication as a midterm and final exam grade. 
• Students are expected to prepare a display to show their artwork at the end of year Artsfair.  This will be counted as a graded assignment.

**Field trips to museums, guest speakers, and college/career exploration are all parts of this course.  Sketchbooks will be carried and used on a regular basis. A working studio will be the primary method for teaching and learning. Most studio class periods will be devoted to active drawing. The course will end with a presentation of the completed portfolio in digital format using Digication.

Studio Time

Class begins when the bell rings and students are expected to work on art the entire class period.  Extra studio time is available during a student’s study hall and lunch periods, as well as after school with prior approval by the teacher.

Attendance:  Class attendance is mandatory, and will be noted at the beginning of each class period.  It is necessary for each student to be present for every class because studio activities directed by the teacher are very difficult to make up.  If a student is absent due to an illness, arrangements can be made with the teacher to make up a missed studio before or after school.  All students will receive 5 points a day for attendance and active participation in class. It is the students responsibility to make arrangements to make up missed class periods, otherwise the points will be deducted from the students partcipation grade.

Exhibits and Competitions

Students are encouraged to submit work to local, state, and national exhibits and competitions.  Students agree to allow the school to display and otherwise use their image and artwork for publication and promotion.  Each AP student will design and develop a unique and interesting display of their work for the district's annual Artsfair.

Copyright Issues

Students are not allowed to work from published materials, either from photographs or other artistic works in the form of drawings or paintings, except as a reference. When doing this, students must move beyond mere duplication in their work. The work must be significantly altered in the individual student’s own voice and expression. Misuse of copyrighted materials is plagiarism.

Art Fees:  All art supplies and educational materials for this class are purchased with student fee money.  All fees must be paid within the first two weeks of the term in order to retain use of all classroom art materials.  The art fee is $70.00 for AP Drawing. 

Classroom Rules

1.)  Act Responsibly, Safety First!  Please do not intentionally misuse materials, tools, or supplies.  Any misuse will result in an automatic detention.  Students are responsible for asking the teacher if they are still unclear about the use of materials or tools after they have been demonstrated or introduced.  Please pay attention to what you are doing in order to avoid unnecessary injuries or damage to materials or tools.

2.)  Respect Yourself and Others!  Please be on time to class.  Students will be considered late if they are not in their seat at the bell.  If you are tardy to class more than twice during a nine week grading period, 5 points will be deducted from your class responsibility grade for each additional tardy.  To ensure that everyone has full benefit of this studio class, an atmosphere of respect will be insisted upon.  School rules and the student code of conduct will be strictly enforced.  Teamwork is also necessary in this class.  Everyone must do their part.

3.)  Clean Up After Yourself!  Because there are a large number of students using this art studio, any supplies and tools used by you and the rest of the class must be cleaned properly and returned to their designated places.  Work areas must also be cleaned properly.  Each table in the classroom will be assigned a specific work area which they will be responsible for cleaning each day before leaving the classroom.  All areas must be checked by the teacher before the end of the period.  Any student neglecting assigned duties will lose points daily from their responsibility grade. (Remember, the responsibility grade counts as 10% of your nine week grade.)

4.) Use Time Wisely!! Each project can be completed within the scheduled amount of time determined by the teacher, if you utilize studio time properly.  Students work at different paces.  Therefore, some students may be required to stay after school or take work home in order to complete a project.  Students are expected to turn in projects within a week after we complete work on the specific project in the classroom unless there are extenuating circumstances.  Any students who finish work early will be required to work in sketchbooks or complete extra credit work.

5.)  Participate! Be prepared to participate in class critiques and discussions.  We will be looking at and talking about our own artwork, as well as artwork created by artists in history.  Students will be asked to do writing assignments occasionally, in order to respond to a work of art.  These writings will be part of the semester grade, as will daily participation in discussions and readings.

6.)  Sign Out Any Borrowed Materials or Supplies!  It may be necessary at some point to borrow tools and/or supplies to complete a project at home.  Most supplies may be signed out with the teacher.  I will have a sign out sheet located near my desk.  Each student must complete the sign out sheet when borrowing materials.  When materials are returned, the student should show the teacher what is being returned and cross his/her name from the sign out sheet.  This policy will ensure that all valuable art supplies are returned in a timely           manner, and in the condition in which they were borrowed.

Grading Policy: 

            1.)  CLASSWORK/SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION/SELECTED WORKS                                                                                                              55% of grade
                         - Summer Assignment-Sketches/Storyboard

                         - All artwork completed both at home and in class. (Minimum of 15                               total pieces)

                        - Midterm Exam:  Digital Digication Portfolio-Specific instructions for                              this portfolio will be given at a later date.

                        - Final Exam: Final Digital Digication Portfolio

                        - Artsfair Display

            2.)  WRITING/SKETCHBOOK/PARTICIPATION   

                                                                                                   40% of grade

                        - Written assignments:

                        Research, recording & documenting artmaking process, responding to                          and analyzing works of art, and self-evaluations for each artwork                                produced.

                        - Sketchbook:  You will use them throughout the semester

                        to record your ideas and sketches for your Sustained Investigation

                        and other pieces. This is where you will document some or all of your                          artmaking process. You will be required to work on                                                      sketches/documentation your sketchbook at least once a week as a                              homework assignment.                                                                    

Your sketchbook will be turned in weekly.  Each assignment will be worth 50-100 points.  Please update the contents of your sketchbook regularly, and have it in class with you everyday.   

             3.) CLASS RESPONSIBILITY                                           5% of grade

                        - Each student will begin this class

                        with 100 points.  Points are lost

                        when a student does not meet

                        his/her class responsibility.

                        (Refer to classroom rules and discipline procedure)

As stated earlier, students will be given 5 points a day for attendance and active participation in class.  Any day a student is absent for any reason or does not participate, those 5 points will be lost unless arrangements are made with the teacher to make up the missed class period.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

Works in progress will be evaluated informally on a daily basis through conversation and critique. Finished work will be graded individually with comments. Individual and group critiques will enable students to learn to analyze and revise their own artworks and those of their peers. Work in progress or unfinished at the close of each grading period will not be graded.