By Alina Prahl, Current Staff
Three WBHS students have decided to break the mold.
Mikki Albiero, Matt Stoll, and Gunner Boettcher have elected to submit 3-D art portfolios for AP Studio Art class. They are the first to do so in the course’s history, according to their teacher Deborah Prahl. In the past, portfolios have been more traditional drawing or other two-dimensional projects.
“It is a lot of work,” Stoll said, reflecting on the course load. He attributes the course’s small size to this fact. The syllabus requires that the students complete a minimum of 20 artworks before May and submit them to the College Board for grading.
“I just like sculpture better than drawing or painting, it seems more natural to me, so I figured I would do that,” Stoll said.
Mikki Albiero
Albiero and Boettcher agreed. “I wanted to see my range with my art skills before I left school, and learn a little bit more before I’ll have to pay for college classes,” Albiero said.
The three of them must complete pieces for each section of their AP portfolio: breadth, quality, and concentration.
“The breadth section shows the diversity of the skills the artist is accomplished at. The concentration section is a theme developed by the artist and the works they have created around their chosen theme. The quality section is for their best quality works taken from the breadth and concentration sections that get sent to College Board,” Prahl said.
AP 2-D Art includes more art elements and design. This includes photography. Drawing emphasizes value, depth, form, and mark-making. AP 3-D Art includes ceramics, metalwork, glass, and other sculpture processes.
“By the time an art student is ready to take the AP Studio course, we’ve been able to see their work and style develop, and together with the artist, we work together to determine which portfolio will be the best fit,” Prahl said.
While Stoll does not have plans to pursue art in a career setting, Albiero has been accepted into the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design to study art, and Boettcher is considering a career in art education.
(Top image: Mikki Albiero, Matt Stoll, and Gunner Boettcher in the art studio. Photographs by Alina Prahl, Current Staff.)
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