Gray Baker (11) uses various tools to shape and construct metal wire as part of her lamp project. The AP Studio Art class allowed students to explore many different compositions of art. Baker was adding this to a collection of pieces that represent home; she had made a rug and was planning to construct a chair as well. “I’m trying to show deterioration of very loved things,” Baker said. “On top of [the lamp base], I’m planning on going in with paper clay, papier-mache.”

Brie Shelley-Piccinini (11) intently works on painting a self portrait canvas using a selfie on her phone. Shelley-Piccinini called this piece Fear the Father, which she had been working on for several weeks. “Usually when I paint big things like this, or lately in this class, it’s like figures that kind of emerge out of abstraction,” Shelley-Piccinini said. “That’s kind of the theme that I’ve been trying to convey in all my pieces thus far.”

Esmé Roberts (12) looks at her hanging canvas frame to see how the pieces fit. She has worked on this piece using various techniques learned in Raedeke’s class, such as soaking the canvas pieces in paint and hot water to get the desired colors.

Art teacher Daniel Raedeke’s room displays a large canvas with layers and layers of paint. Raedeke’s students are told to put their excess paint onto this canvas at the end of each class. He has implemented this in his classes for about six years. “Sometimes if [the painting] is really good, then we just stop it because we’re like, ‘OK, it’s done’,” Raedeke said.

The AP Studio Art class works on independent projects Nov. 30. Each student chooses an overall theme for their work and develops a portfolio for submission to the College Board in May. “We can use whatever mediums we want, whether it’s painting, or drawing, or fibers, mixed media collage, clay [or] sculpture,” Esmé Roberts (12) said. “I think it’s interesting to see what people come up with to express themselves.”

Lizzie Esther (12) squeezes paint out of a tube onto her palette. Esther was using acrylic paint for her realistic style painting of the University of Oklahoma library. She described the idea of making her paintings whimsically and through the perspective of someone else’s eyes. “Something that’s about being able to just messily paint, and [to have] this whole abstract idea, it’s fun,” Esther said.

Lalin Seagrave (12) draws a sketch of the human anatomy. She also painted a heart canvas as part of her overall collection for the portfolio. “I brought this model in for reference just to make it as anatomically correct as I possibly could,” Seagrave said.