Ashlyn Scoggins

Dear Ms. Eller’s future AP Studio Art Students,

For the actual art kids (I’m talking those with the ability to create mediums other than a camera): Congrats! You made it this far! Keep kicking butt and maybe you can get some college credit!

For the photography kids: Congrats! You were able to make it to AP Art without (probably) ever taking any other regular art courses in high school! Unfortunately, this is going to suck. To begin with. Sure, you’ll get to do your regular old digital and dark room photography that we all know and love, and you’ll be able to create some amazing pieces with the support and encouragement from your soon to be AP Art family, but just wait until critiques!!! Ever heard of blending? Ever had to ask someone what their medium was? Yeah. Me either. Get used to it. And more stuff. Luckily, that’s only a struggle for the first couple critiques. Mrs. Eller and your classmates will help you out, though. Don’t be shy. Because after a year with all of these people, nobody’s going to care what you say after a couple of weeks. They’ll end up being the family you never wanted but glad you have. One thing is for sure though, is that when it comes to critiques, it is ok for you to rip your family apart. Let them know what’s good or what needs to be changed. Because the better you critique them, the better they’ll get. And the better they’ll want YOU to be.

Oh. Be sure to plan ahead with your work. It may not seem like you have a lot of time for each project, but if you use your time wisely, it can be done. One of the worst things you can do is slack off for a couple days and end up getting behind a week, and then having a crappy piece of work. All of that crappy work WILL be displayed on your blog and final art show… so save yourself some embarrassment and work hard when the project is assigned. (Take it from someone who’s experienced it first hand, one too many times.) With that being said, a lot of pieces are not going to turn out how you expected. Which is ok. Sometimes, if you feel that you’ve done all that you could with what you had, then just let it be. EVERYONE has off weeks. Luckily, there’s always time to adjust and there will always be opportunities to redo projects. But while that is a luxury, don’t let it define your work ethic for the year.

A lot of people get scared when they hear the word, “concentration”. If you’re reading this at the beginning of the school year and have no idea what you want your concentration to be on, don’t stress it. You have plenty of time to come up with an idea. It’ll probably change 50 times, but you’ll settle with something eventually. Just keep your eyes and ears open for inspiration during the first part of the year when you’re working on breadth. And with all of THIS said, be prepared to absolutely hate your concentration half way through. It happens to the best of us. 12 pieces are HARD to come up with in a short amount of time. And you are going to get burnt out sooner or later. But the ending result of seeing all 12 of your pieces finally being put all together is definitely worth it. Try not to get in a funk, but if it happens, find a way to keep yourself motivated. (Yeah, this seems virtually impossible if you’re a senior. And even more impossible if you’re in the 2nd quarter.) But it isn’t completely impossible. Everyone can find their way to end strong. Talk to Mrs. Eller. She understands that we get sick of/uninspired to do our concentrations. Talk to another teacher who you look up to. Or even your fellow classmates. Because they’ll be going through the same thing you are. You should never be afraid to reach out to someone.

Well, that’s about all I can give you right now. The rest is up to you to experience and make the best out of. Which is a life experience that not everyone gets to have. So take advantage of it. I’m sure us 2015 AP Art kids will be around some next year. So don’t be afraid to reach out to us, either. Until then, good luck. Have fun. And do you, boo!!! #artislife

No longer confused photo kid in an AP Art class,

Ashlyn Scoggins

 Lili Morales

Dear Mrs. Eller’s future AP Studio Art students,

This class is going to be a roller coaster, but hopefully at the end of the day you enjoy it and learn a lot from each other as a family. Well, let’s start off with the summer assignment you’ll have. I know you probably won’t want to do it because it is the summer and all you want to do is enjoy it, but trust me if you don’t do all three parts once you walk in that door the first day, you’ll already be failing. In a way it is good to do it because 1. You’ll have an A, 2. Because it starts to show everyone what you can do and 3. That will be the first AP project you do and from that one you’ll start seeing growth.

The first day you’ll walk in all confident, UNTIL you start getting projects thrown at you. Let the stress begin, lol. But no, seriously, the first semester isn’t that bad because you will get your projects assigned. The first couple might not look that great, it will just look like a little kids drawing on the wall, lol. But don’t worry we all started that way. And some you will get to redo later in the year. Throughout the semester you’ll start seeing your growth. You’ll have all these amazing ideas popping out from everywhere, but sadly you will just have to narrow them down, leave that for your concentration. You will start getting inspiration from each other. There will be that kid in class that is better than everyone, let’s be honest and you will low-key look up to their work, but everyone has their own style and is good in their own way. When the semester is coming to an end you will have to start brainstorming for your concentration, don’t leave your idea until the last minute because at the end you’ll probably just choose anything. Be creative, think outside the box, but make sure you have a lot of ideas for that one idea because you’ll end up doing more than 12 pieces. This is the semester where you just want to pull your hair out. But trust me when you’re at the art walk and see all your finished work you’re going to be so proud of your growth and all the work you have done.

You will have a weekly check in and critique you have to be at a certain percentage, at the beginning you will meet it but once the semester starts passing you will just give up and barely meet it some weeks. Even sometimes you won’t be in critique, but that is a major part of your grade so you have to try your best to almost be done with the piece even if that means staying after school the day before until 5 or sleeping super late the night before just to be in that critique. Critiques are good because you get to hear what your classmates think about your work but at times you’re going to hate it because people will critique you very harshly and you will get salty lol. But in your eyes your work is the best, but don’t get to cocky lol. Once May starts coming around you’ll start wrapping up your portfolio, you’ll have to make a blog, write about your work and take so many pictures of your art work. This is going to annoy you so much but oh well it is part of your work and all you want is that good grade.

This class is different from other high school courses because with this one will stress you but you will learn something that you could consider as a career. When things go bad my motivation was the thought of having my pieces up on art walks and showing my family what I have done throughout the year, I know we all want to make our families proud and this is a great way to show them.

Have fun with all the stress; just think of us that will be even more stressed in college, except Enrique that will be sitting with you cause he was our only Junior, yall will all be seniors so that’s a plus.

Sincerely, Lili:)

Aubrie Roberts

Dear Mrs. Eller’s future AP Studio Art students,

Don’t underestimate the workload of AP art just because it’s an art class.  This class will push you as an artist and you’ll discover techniques you never even considered due to the simplicity of them.  You’ll learn how to better your work as an artist; even your doodles will look like mini masterpieces when you’ve finished the course.  You’ll learn how to use new mediums and how to manipulate them to your liking.  This course is unlike any basic art class you could take and maybe it’s because of Mrs. Eller or maybe it’s the majority of techniques she tries to teach you before the course end.

The best part of AP art was the family you acquired along the way and the amazing ideas you came up with. It becomes even more amazing when you get the chance to create said idea.  When you put the pencil to your paper and sketch out the idea, then actually painting or sculpting it; the pride you feel after accomplishing it is

Trying to find a concentration idea is probably one of the hardest decisions to make because you can’t just quit because you cannot think of any ideas as of what to do next.  You have to keep on arting and don’t look back.  If you do it’ll drag you down.  Don’t over think your work; it’ll look amazing no matter what the outcome or what you think.  Some of our “worst” pieces are actually some of our best.  If you are ever to lose your motivation to do your concentration, surround yourself in it and see if you can draw inspiration from something around you. If you get behind in your work and feel like your drowning in art work, just don’t sleep. Binge on energy drinks and coffee until you finish.

Don’t give up.

Your lack of faith is disturbing

Have fun struggling this year 🙂

Aubrie

 Tessa Wells

AP Studio Art is an interesting experience and different from other classes that you encounter in high school. It can be good, yet stressful; social, yet quiet. As long as you try your best though, you’ll be able to succeed in the end with the dedication and quality art work to prove it.

One thing you’ll notice is how you will be much more connected with people you’ve known for years (or even new people) who take the art class. This class is much more intimate with friendships and social connection with others, unlike classes that only last half the year with people you may or may not get along with. I can assure you I know my art classmate’s name’s better than half of the people in my other classes.  Having friends is also great for the idea of sharing thoughts and tips with each other to make one another’s art stronger.

Speaking of piece, another advantage of AP Studio Art is how much you’ll improve.  With so much time to work in class paired with the research done on one’s free time, you could go from stick figures to gesture figures.  You could only know how to color with a Crayola crayon, but with experience you could grow to using acrylics with accurate understandings of the color theories.  Your portfolio will certainly show you these differences when you see your first piece to your most recent, or even comparing it to work years prior.

The only questionable thing that really comes to mind from this class is how much free time you will start to lack. You may even have to work on the holidays. You might have to find time to work accurately on other class assignments. Though it all depends on how hard you work during class and choose not to slack off. Heck, if you decide to work early enough you could avoid having projects over break, if not a little less. One thing to help is to plan your own personal, organized schedule, or even multitask so you don’t feel overwhelmed and, ironically, start pushing out cruddy quality pieces of art.  Remember as well, to occasionally sit back, take a breath, and even just relax again for at most five minutes. It really helps your cramping hands or tired stance while not pulling you out of your work mojo.

You will have, once more, an interesting year, but it certainly won’t be anything you’ll regret! Just keep your chin up, mind open, and creativity running wild.

Christy Reynolds

Dear future AP studio art students,

To start off with, SUMMER PROJECT. The best advice that  I can give you is to do your summer project! Creating a good quality piece over summer can really come in handy when you need an extra art piece to throw in your breadth once you get lazy and your breadth pieces aren’t looking as good. Lol.

DEADLINES

Deadlines are a big deal in AP Art. Each week there is a project due. Make sure you always have your project done because your points start to drop fast when your pieces are late. There is check in every week also, make sure to be making progress on your project because “check ins” count a lot towards your grade. As much as you will hate  check ins they  help to keep you on track with your work.

CRITIQUES

Every Friday there is critique. Critique day is always a big day. Be honest when giving your classmates advice on their artwork, it will help them be more successful. Don’t get upset when someone says something about your artwork that you don’t agree with; listen to their advice and find something to take from it and make your piece better. Critique isn’t to make anyone feel bad, it is to help each other out and give advice on your art to make your art better. Use all of the advice from your classmates and make your piece better! Critiques are so helpful! You will appreciate them in the long run.

FRIENDSHIPS

Since AP Art is a year long class, you will build a close relationship with everyone in the class. Having a close relationship with everyone makes the class fun and makes the class something to look forward to during your long school day.

RE-DO WEEK

As much as you will hate re-doing projects, it will help you make a better grade on your AP portfolio. So in the long run you will appreciate Mrs.Eller making you re-do pieces.

PORTFOLIO WEEK

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE!

Take uploading your portfolio, re mounting art, writing commentary, and packing your portfolio VERY SERIOUSLY! This is the most important part of the year! Everything you’ve worked for all year will come down to you making your portfolio right so that you can get a good AP grade!

OVERALL

AP Art has been one of my favorite classes here at Northern! You will grow so much over the year! Way more than you expect to grow. AP Art is a great experience and you will never regret taking it! Have fun and don’t take what you learn and the friendships you build for granted!

Wish I was taking AP Art again with yall! Have a great year! You will love it.

Love

Christy Reynolds

P.S. Mrs. Eller is the best art teacher ever! She will teach you so much about art! Always go get her food for lunch to get on her good side 🙂

Beatrice Galdamez

Welcome to AP Studio ART! If you are reading this letter it means Mrs. Eller is willing to deal with you for a whole year. And that is a great achievement considering some of the kids she has to put up with. But this is not about Mrs. Eller; this is about you and what you can expect from AP Art.

AP Art will be by far, one of the most interesting and unconventional classrooms you will ever been in. There will be days where the inspiration just hits you and flows so easily you could almost finish pieces in one class period. But then there will be days that feel like the class will kill you. Every time you sketch, something is off. Working on your concentration and being excited about it is almost impossible. You will get so agitated that all you are going to want to do is toil in your rut. But Mrs. Eller will never let that slide. And she will push you to get it done, and ignore any excuse you try and make that isn’t reasonable (don’t try and talk back because she will skin your hide faster then you can say breathe). But she does it out of love, all she wants is to see you guys make the best pieces she knows you are capable of. And that means you may have to play around with some mediums and materials. But you can get some of you best work through these trial and error moments. Its a tidious process, but trust me, its well worth it.

As a lot of you may notice, you have a few familiar faces around you. It helps having people you are familiar with, helps when it comes to the critiquing process (critique happens every week, unless the boss says otherwise). You learn to make bonds and accept comments, negative or positive, about your work. Unless you’re new, in which case welcome to a class of judgmental strangers! But in all honesty you will develop a huge sense of respect, pride,and envy for each other. If you don’t feel any of that, you better fake it. You guys will be around each other for a while, and unless you want Mrs. Eller’s face to match her hair and for her to chew you out, get along. Plus field trips are twice as fun when everyone enjoys them. Together. LIKE A FAMILY. Pretty much what I am trying to say is, try your best make the best art work you can(and you know you can)! Love or at least put up with the people you are around. And expect some of us to pop in every now and then to make sure you guys aren’t stressing Mrs. Eller too much. Looking forward to seeing your work!

Sincerely, Beatrice Galdamez

Alberto Sanchez

Dear Mrs. Eller’s future AP Art students

First, I would like to congratulate you on making a big step in your high school experience, in this class you will learn how to get along with certain people for more than just one semester. You will also learn how to share, since there is only a limited amount of supplies you will have to wait until someone checks a supply back in for you to check it out. You will also learn how to take criticism very well, you will learn how to use the negative comments in critique and use that negativity to help influence your art into making it into something better.

When you begin to get tired of your concentration, which you will, you can try looking over the stuff that helped inspire you to do that concentration in the first place, or at least that’s what helped me. When I was choosing my concentration I was going to a lot of car shows and watching lots of music videos that had cars racing. I also went on pinterest a lot and saw amazing car photography and that inspired me to draw pictures as good as those photographs. So good luck and have fun, but not too much fun because Mrs.Eller will get mad.

Sincerely, The Realest N**** Alive

 Dominic Taylor

Dear Mrs. Eller’s Future AP Studio Art Students,

Let me take this time to tell you about the ups and downs of Mrs. Eller AP Studio Art class. The ups are, 1. You get a college experience, 2. You meet new/old friends, 3. And you improve huge on your skill and technique. The downs are that; 1. Mrs. Eller is going to assign projects on top of projects, 2. Those new people you just met and thought were cool and awesome, are going to critique your work and say bad things about, 3. Mrs. Eller may agree on those bad things and might even call you out on things you didn’t want her to (I know from experience, but she’s going to do it all the time), 4. Mrs. Allen isn’t here to say good things and make you feel a little better about your artwork. So basically you need to keep your head up and do the best you can do, and if they say something good, give them a high five and a hug.

Your classmates are the ones who are going to get you through the year, you have to talk things out with them and get there opinions. Although Mrs. Eller can be a good advisor sometimes, also go to your classmates to see what they think, but outside of critique. When the class has critique, everybody is trying to get the credit of talking, so a lot of times they’ll say something that is obvious or rephrased just to get a grade, so go to them while Mrs. Eller gives you guys time to work.

Now, let’s talk about the work itself, the first semester you don’t have a lot of room to do what you want, you got to focus on your breadth. The breadth is there so you can try new things and experiment new techniques, so don’t get to sad or angry about how the work turns out, because at the end of the semester you’ll be able to look back at those 12 pieces and see which one is your strongest/favorite and focus in on that technique and use it for your concentration, (that’s when things get fun). The concentration, or the 2^nd semester, is all you and what you want to do. Think fast about what you want to do and choose big because the bigger the idea, the more pieces you can create. For an example, a lot of people did social issues, social issues are a big thing nowadays, there’s always something to talk about, or draw, photograph, paint, or whatever you do. So, choose wisely and big when it comes to concentration, with breadth, not so much, go small and easy, but make sure you fall into the guidelines so you can get a good grade.

Now that I’ve talked about all the things that happen in Mrs. Eller AP Studio Art class, it’s time for the prep talk…

Don’t worry about a thing,

‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right! ”

Rise up this mornin’,
Smile with the risin’ sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin’, (“This is my message to you-ou-ou: “)

Singin’: “Don’t worry ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”
Singin’: “Don’t worry (don’t worry) ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right! ”

Rise up this mornin’,
Smiled with the risin’ sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin’, “This is my message to you-ou-ou: ”

Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don’t worry! ”
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing” – I won’t worry!
“‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”

Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right” – I won’t worry!
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing, oh no!
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Keanne Jones

This whole year, I’ve been observing my peers. I learned from my own mistakes. After being in this class twice, I realized that this class requires a natural love and or interest in art. If you don’t draw for fun, this might not be the class for you. The class can be one of the most fun out of the rest of them if you enjoy making art because you will be making a lot of art. It will consume quite a bit of your free time if you expect to get things done on time. I’m not one to give advice but, make sure to stay organized the whole time. Organization will save lives in AP Art. I’ve learned that if you stay organized everything with stay together. One suggestion is to buy a planner and write down everything you need to do. Make sure to keep up with all projects and all due dates, because it won’t be enough to hear Mrs. Eller yell at you about it twice a week. No matter how hard you try, you will forget as soon as you go to lunch. This class is much different than other classes. Other classes micro manage each student in their own way to keep them organized while in this class she tells you what the assignment is and it is your job to keep up with this knowledge and handle the material required to do those assignments.

There will definitely be moments when you with have no motivation or a straight up artist block. At moments like that, it’s best to try new things and experiment. I went through a terrible block because I only used colored pencils for a while and so I was told to try a new material or even a new combination of things. What I ended up trying out was acrylic painting but on cardboard. Sketching out something on different textures also tend to help. It was a different sensation when I was sketching my piece out on a cardboard surface. When you feel like you’re ahead and you feel like you can start to slack, don’t. Just don’t. Not only will Mrs. Eller eat a chunk of your soul, but you will fall behind very quickly. Try to just get even more ahead. Try your best to keep up with all of your pieces from breathe because even when you’re done with them they will still be used throughout the year for many different little reasons. Don’t throw away anything unless Mrs. Eller says it’s ok. If anything is thrown away and she didn’t want it trashed, she will most definitely eat a chunk of your soul. Buy your own sketchbook you can sketch in every day and keep notes in. You will go through about 4 minimum of those if you do it right.

AP Classes get one week to work on each piece. It may seem like a lot of time but you will need to use it wisely if you want quality work at its best. Within the year you will all improve, learn, and grow. Old pieces will be redone at some point when she feels you are ready. Just remember this this is a college level class and if you don’t want to try or go through the struggling effort that will teach you a little bit of responsibility and independence, than this isn’t a class for you. This class will require you to take the initiative to move forward because you can only grow as a student if you want to.

Emma Todd

Dear Mrs. Eller’s Future AP Studio Art Students,

I’m not going to lie. This class is going to be tough. But it’s also going to be one of the most rewarding, enjoyable, and entertaining classes you’ve ever taken.

At first you might think; hey, this is easy, I can get my artwork done quickly and have tons of free time! Some weeks might be like this- but others are going to be busy, with every last minute packed to  the fullest with work. Some weeks you might think that there’s no possible way you can get all of this done before your deadlines. It’s days like those when you’ve got to sit down, focus, and start on the first thing. Get one thing done at a time, and don’t get distracted. If it helps you concentrate, listen to some music. Always turn in homework, sketches, and finish your pieces by the deadlines. It’s not a good thing to get into a habit of turning in pieces late. You would regret it later, when you see a perfectly good grade ruined because it was a day or two late. If you get your work done to the best of your ability by the deadlines, you’ll be happy because you tried your best.

Always try your best. Not every art piece is going to be amazing and perfect- in fact, pieces rarely turn out that way, especially pieces done near the beginning of the class, as you improve. More often than not, they’ll be pretty good, but you’ll always see parts that could have been done better. Don’t get discouraged by noticing those parts- that’s how you know you’re getting better. Remember to try and fix the mistakes next time you make an art piece- always try to improve. And remember to always try and notice the parts you did do well. Stay positive! There’s always something to like about an art piece, whether it’s how the color turned out, or the shading, and so on. Don’t be discouraged- and the end of the class, you’ll look back on the work you did and go, ‘Wow. I did all these art pieces? Look at all of them!’ It’s a truly rewarding feeling to look back at the end of the class and see twenty-four plus fully finished artworks that you made yourself.

Shadell Lowe

Dear Mrs. Eller’s future AP Studio Art Students:

Let’s first take the time to say that you did it. You made it into Mrs. Eller’s AP Studio Art class. This class will end your year with fireworks or the Titanic (it will end in disaster). AP Studio Art Photography has its ups and downs, but it’s how you deal with it and move past it.

The great things you can look forward to in AP Studio Art Photography are learning some art, meeting new people, making new friends, and making your ideas and skills come out in your Concentration. Yes, photography students, you must learn some art. Art will not stay in your head at first and it may never stay, but if you try, you will be alright.

Photography students, you are all special because there are just a small group of you in the class. What I saying to you is the same old thing, but meeting new people is a great thing. Even if that person does not like you, try to find some common ground. If that doesn’t work, do what King Henry VIII did (told the Pope forget you I’m doing my own thing). This class has friendship like no other because you have to be in a room with people you like for a year and people that you hate, but it couldn’t get better or worse. At the end it will be time to do your Concentration and it will be hell, but Mrs. Eller will be your Virgil that guides you through the Inferno. It’s your time to show everybody that you have a place in AP Studio Art and show yourself that you have what it takes.

On the other hand there are some downsides that you must go through. This part will be done in a list.

• Your portfolio must have 24 pieces of art in total
• Summer Project Must Be Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Critique will be the most upsetting time because someone is going to tell you that your art work is not great or show low skills or both
• Mrs. Eller will jump on you like a Momma Bear if YOUR WORK IS NOT AP quality
• YOU DO NOT WANT THIS BUT THIS
• In HARD TIME JUST
• IF YOU FEEL LIKE THIS JUST
• At the End You Will See Your Hard Work in AP Studio Art

AP Studio Art will be a time in your life that you look back and say – this class helps me think and see things differently. After everything is done just   

Sincerely,

Shadell Lowe

Odessa Wingate

 Enrique Leon Rodriguez

Dear Mrs. Eller’s future AP Studio Art Students
First I would like to congratulate you on going to AP Art. Now you might be wondering, why am I reading this, why is this a thing? Now I would like for you to put this paper down raise your hand and be like, why is this guy giving me instruction to raise my hand, now keep reading this letter.
In this class, you are going to grow your skills in art in so many ways. For me it was a struggle to do. So many things we had to do. But this class will open your inner skills to the max!! The great things you will look forward to in this class are making new friends, or but if you already know everybody well GOOD FOOOOOOOOOR YOOOOOOOU! Now in this class there is going to be a thing called critique you may have already experience the critique method, if you cried deep down when people were talking about your art work well that’s a critique. Critiquing is a good thing, now you may wonder why. Well because when people talk about your art work, you know what you have to do to make it better. This class well have its ups and downs but am pretty sure you will make it threw the whole year. Ms. Eller is one of the awesome teachers I have ever had for art. I have never taken art till I arrived to northern. She was very patient with me in the beginning. She knows that people have potential to draw. To me I thought my skills weren’t as good as other but everyone has their own ideas, their own way to show art, their own way to show people what they can do. Well I hope you have the best of luck in AP Art. You’re going to enjoy this class as very much as I did.

Well see you next year! Yup am in there! See then!!

 Genesis Rivas

Dear Mrs. Eller’s AP students

AP art is not as easy as you think, you may think that, oh, all you got to do is draw and, oh, I already know how to draw and stuff like that, but once you get in this class you’ll realize that you’re not as ready as you thought you were.

The easiest thing in the class is listening to your crazy classmates say random jokes and taking time away from class. Although you will probably regret listening to them and wasting class time because that only means that you have extra homework to do. One of the hardest things in class is to be on time and have a certain percentage of your work done. Studying on task is difficult since you have other homework from other classes.

Breadth, which is the first 12 pieces, is not as tough. In breadth, Mrs. Eller will give you assignment, which you have to follow. Concentration is way different, you have so much freedom on what to draw and your ideas don’t have a limit, but be careful during concentration because you could be so confident on what you want to do that you get tired of drawing the same thing over and over again. So think about what you want to draw also consider doing still life ;). Still life is a lot easier than anything else because there is less chance you would get lazy.

In AP art you will make new friends there is going to be a specific group of people you’re going to have more fun with, the most important is to be careful with people like Enrique and Alberto. They can make you get really behind, although they will keep you entertained.

One of the things you will get tired of besides your art work will be critique. You have to hear what other people think about your art work and it gets really annoying, especially when they tell you to fix stuff you already have in mind  to do or stuff you already know you have to fix. Another thing that will annoy you will be that you have to speak and earn your points (during critique you have to speak and be active to earn your points because those really harm your grade if you don’t) and having people never shutting up and interrupting and talking over you.That is one thing that really bothers me, lol.

Anyway, there isn’t much more to say, so just enjoy the class, but not so much if you know what I mean, study and stay on task (something I never could do). If you work a job, please work the least amount possible; you have to put the most time possible into your artwork. One more thing NEVER EVER DELETE YOUR PICTURE OF BREADTH cause you will have to go back and change things. BTW, Mrs. Eller is the best art teacher ever and there will ever be, because she will push you to do your best. Just because she knows what your capable of.

Sincerely,

Genesis Rivas

one of the slackers in class.

Angel Naranjo

Dear Mrs. Eller’s Future AP Art Students,

Enjoy your moments of torched, laughs, frustration and sleepless nights. It’s going to be a “HELL” of a time. Don’t get me wrong you’re going to have fun, and you will learn a lot of new things, you’ll also get better at your art then what you use to do and Mrs. Eller will help you with that.

As long as you do your work and listen to what Mrs.Eller tells you, you’ll be fine. But if you don’t, then you’re in a world of stress.

Also get ready to get critique by your fellow peers that would say harsh things about your work no matter how long or how much thought you put in it. But sometimes it feels worse when they say nothing at all…

But in all when you need help with your artwork when you have nothing to do. Also you can get advice from Mrs. Eller it really helps, but she might make you do it over and over again but at the end it makes your work a whole lot better. Also don’t get lazy because if you miss one it will pile up and that would be more work and fewer points, bottom line do your work and you’ll be fine.

P.S there might be other kids that will be better then you and will make you question if you took the right class. But don’t worry about it you get better….. Not like them because well they’ll keep getting better too but don’t feel bad, just now that you’re better than someone and that should be good enough. Well that’s all and also try to have fun because if you don’t try to see it as fun you’re just torturing yourself on just work and that might not work as much and it’s no fun so have fun and you’ll enjoy this class too.