While some Lynnfield High departments are facing the prospect of reduced course offerings, the Art Department is bucking the trend when it comes to AP Art.
Fourteen AP students shared the spotlight Friday morning at the annual AP Art Show. From acrylics to graphite to photography and mixed media, the students had the opportunity to show off their year-long portfolios to family, staff, and friends.
“We were thrilled with the response. This is the first time we’ve had it in the morning,” Art Department Head Laura Johnson said. “We even had some grandparents who came, so it was lovely to have everyone all at once. We even had some teachers pop in with their students. It was extremely successful and a great way for the students to show their creativity on a broad range of topics, specially selected by the students.”
Johnson said students picked a variety of topics, including mental health, relationships, life pressures, daydreaming, connection through food, body image, culture, and family experiences.
Senior Ella Hayman’s topic was “Connection with Family through Food.”
Hayman’s favorite mediums are acrylic and graphite. One of her works was a fruit and vegetable arrangement painted on an oversized pizza peel. Hayman said the peel is headed for a permanent home on the wall in the family’s kitchen.
Another was an intricate graphite portrait of her grandmother, Joanne Meo, surrounded by hand-written recipe cards of some of her favorite dishes. Sunday making Sauce depicts her grandfather Peter Meo — you guessed it — making tomato sauce on Sunday. Hayman also has pieces featuring her fraternal grandparents, Claire and Harold Hayman.
Ella Hayman said she enjoys painting with homemade dyes she creates from food, as she pointed to a piece with dye from cherries
“I never would have been able to do that without Miss Johnson,” Hayman said. “I honestly never would have thought of making dye from food.”
Three of her pieces were process boards consisting of a collection of photos.
“A process board is basically a collage of photos showing the different steps in the behind-the-scenes as the pieces are created to give the College Board judges a chance to see our process, Hayman said.
“The College Board places a huge emphasis on practice, experimentation, and revision during the artmaking process,” Johnson said.
In addition to AP Art (2D Studio Art) and AP Photography/Graphic Design (2D Studio Art), students now have the option of taking a new course that was added this year — AP Drawing — after successful completion of AP Art.
Johnson said there are a total of 10 students in her AP Art class — eight in AP 2D Design and four in AP Drawing — and four students in Hayden’s Photography. Another 10 students take Pre-AP Art and Photography.
Johnson said there are more students in the program than ever.
“Our AP program is indeed growing, so that is exciting,” Johnson said. “Of course, I may be a bit biased, but I think it is a tremendously valuable experience to spend a year exploring a topic you are passionate about and making art about it. It may be one of the most personal courses available to take while in high school.
By the end of the year, students must submit 15 pieces that have been inspired by their chosen “Sustained Investigation” topic for the first section of the AP exam. The topic must be personal to and of interest to the students, which they explore throughout the year.
“It’s all incredibly personal to them,” AP photography teacher Liz Hayden said. “A lot of the parents were really blown away by how moving these pieces are. You realize that these kids are dealing with a lot, and also they are in a space where they feel comfortable. It’s cathartic and it’s a really positive and powerful way of expressing themselves.”
The second section of the exam is called “Selected Works,” which requires students to submit their five strongest pieces.
“They must show outstanding synthesis, which is the integration of materials, processes, and ideas,” Johnson said.
“Liz (Hayden) and I are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication all of our students displayed throughout the year, and it was exciting to witness their artistic vision and growth,” Johnson said. “Taking AP Art, Drawing, or Photography is an artistic challenge but also an incredibly rewarding experience for our students.”
In 2022, the department took it to another level when four students answered every question correctly on the AP exam, scoring a perfect score of 5. Of the approximately 37,000 students worldwide who took the exam, only 189 earned perfect scores.
“It (was) pretty exciting for such a small town to have great success such as this,” said Johnson. “But they sure earned it with their hard work and dedication.”
When asked if this year’s AP students could repeat history, Johnson said the department always works hard to prepare students for the exam, but it’s not about the score.
“Anything’s possible, but at the end of the day, what matters most is not the score but a body of artwork inspired by their personal life experiences that they are super proud of and shows their tremendous artistic growth,” Johnson said. “They poured their hearts into fantastic pieces that had personal meaning to them all year, and it was an honor to watch. We are incredibly proud of how hard all of our AP artists worked this year.”
Hayman said, “To have this creative outlet during the school day is really nice. All the girls who take the class have a strong connection, and Miss Johnson is such a good teacher. She helped me so much with my topic to expand on it and help me explore my creativity in ways I never thought of before.”
