Come mid-July, there will be students waiting at their mailboxes, hearts palpitating, for an envelope.  The envelope that these students will be receiving will hold the scores of AP tests that they will have taken months prior.  Inside the envelopes are the numbers that reflect a semester’s worth of flashcard making, essay writing, and memorization.  For some art students, that number will reflect four years’ worth of paint splattered uniform shirts, close observation of minute details, and sketching.

“It’s kind of simple, but not really,” senior Katlyn Cyphers said, as she described the process of taking the AP Studio exam.  “You have to have 12 pieces of your concentration, which is just one subject that you’re doing art on. You have to have 12 pieces for your breadth, which is everything that you’ve done from freshman year up until now.  Then you have to send in five quality pieces or the pieces you like the best.   This requires sending in five pieces of your actual art instead of digitally, ” Cyphers said.

“My focus is horses,” Cyphers said.  “I’m studying all of their different gaits and just seeing how they move and focusing on that.”

The decision of the focus of a concentration lies solely in the hands of the art student.  “Horses are my passion.  I’m going to school to study horses, so they are what I’d really like to focus on,” Cyphers said.

Senior Julie Kraus did not have to search far for the focus of her concentration.  “For my AP concentration, I’m doing feathers and how they look in different circumstances,” Kraus said.  “I supposedly have a knack for drawing them and putting them into pieces.”

She appreciates the freedom that she has when drawing feathers.  “They’re interesting to do because you can alter them and you can make them your own,” Kraus said.

Choosing 30 key pieces is difficult for many AP Studio students.  “It’s kind of hard because I’ve had a lot going on with school work this year. I feel like my art was better last year than it has been this year,” Cyphers said.

Despite any challenges, the art of the AP Studio students will be sent in on May 6 both digitally and physically.  The AP exam gives the students a chance to grow in their own artistic styles independently of their teachers.  Fine Arts Department Chair Bruno Baran tries not to influence the artists too much.  “That’s their work, it’s not my work,” Baran said.

“Every once in a while I get a little help from Mr. Baran,” Cyphers said.  “I haven’t been asking much this year because I kind of want to see what I can do on my own.”

Chioma Iheoma is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.