AP Studio Art

Friendly High School

2013-2014
Summer Assignment - 3D Design
Ms. Anna Guiles anna.guiles@pgcps.org

Dear AP Studio Art Parents and Students,

Welcome to AP Studio Art at Friendly High School for the 2013-2014 school year!

The AP Studio Art portfolios are designed for students who are seriously interested in the practical experience
of art. AP Studio Art is not based on a written examination; instead, students submit portfolios for evaluation
at the end of the school year.

The AP Program offers three portfolios: Drawing, 2-D Design, and 3-D Design. The portfolios share a basic,
three-section structure, which requires the student to show a fundamental competence and range of
understanding in visual concerns (and methods). Each of the portfolios asks the student to demonstrate a
depth of investigation and process of discovery through the concentration section (Section II). In the
breadth section (Section III), the student is asked to demonstrate a serious grounding in visual principles and
material techniques. The quality section (Section I) permits the student to select the works that best exhibit
a synthesis of form, technique, and content.

The AP Studio Art class at Friendly High School is designed to allow students to participate in a college level
studio art course while still in high school. By submitting an AP Portfolio to the College Board for review in
May, students can potentially receive college credit.

The portfolios require that students submit 25-29 high quality works of art by the end of the year. Students
are allowed to include work in their portfolios that they have completed previous to the AP year. In order to be
successful, students must complete some of this work over the summer. They must complete other
assignments that will help them become adept researchers and generate ideas for the work they will create
during the school year.

The AP Studio Art Summer Assignments are as follows:

1. Sketchbooks : Students must purchase a new 8x10 or 9x12 black hardbound sketchbook that
contains at least 100 pages. Students are expected to fill 30 pages in their sketchbooks by the first
day of school in August.

The sketchbook should be your new best friend this summer. You need to carry it with you every day,
everywhere! Open it up first thing in the morning and last thing at night and many times in between. At
the end of the summer it should reflect YOU and your experiences throughout the summer. Work in
your sketchbook is an ongoing process that will help you make informed and critical decisions about the
progress of your work. Your sketchbook is the perfect place to try a variety of concepts and
techniques as you develop your own voice and style.

In your sketchbook you need to complete 2 pages that demonstrate each of the following
Principles of Design. The subject matter for these is your choice.
1. Symmetrical Balance
2. Asymmetrical Balance
3. Radial Balance
4. Contrast
5. Emphasis
6. Gradation
7. Harmony
8. Variety
9. Proportion
10. Repetition
11. Movement
12. Rhythm
13. Unity
14. Positive/Negative Space
15. Pattern

RULES for working in your sketchbook:
1. DO NOT make perfect drawings. Make imperfect drawings; make mistakes; make false starts. Let
your hand follow your feelings, not what your brain is telling you to do.
2. ALWAYS FILL the page you are working on. Go off the edges whenever possible. Do not make
dinky little drawings in the center of the page. Make every square inch count for something.
3. Do not start something and abandon it. Go back later, change it, and make it into something else.
Being able to rescue bad beginnings is the sign of a truly creative mind. Finish everything you start.
4. NO CUTE, PRETTY, PRECIOUS, ADORABLE, or TRITE images. This is a college-level art
class, not a recreation program to make pretty pictures to hang in your house. Expect your ideas about
what makes good art to be challenged.

Ways to work in your sketchbook: Here are some sketchbook suggestions if you are
struggling with how to begin your book.

Draw, paint, draw, collage, etc.
Use pencils, pens, crayons, sticks, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, and acrylic; basically anything that will
make a mark.
- Create unique images do not copy something that already exists in the world/on the internet.
Build the pages up by layering things, paint on top of collage, newspaper, and drawing. Attach pieces
of fabric and photographs and paint over parts of them. Conceal and reveal.
Express yourself! Work to develop mastery in concept, composition, and execution of your ideas.
Make decisions about what you do based on how things look. Go for the tough look, not the easy
solution. Do not be trite; say something important about the world you live in.
Take a news story and interpret it visually, use abstraction to express an idea.
Play around with geometric and organic forms, interlocking and overlapping to create an interesting
composition. Use color to finish the work.
Create a self-portrait using distortion, or Cubism, or Impressionism, or Minimalism, or Pop.
Make at least 100 gesture drawings from observation of the figure. Make at least 25 contour drawings
from observation of anything around you. Remember to use the whole page! Fill the space behind the
objects you draw. Make it count for something.
Make a simple contour drawing of an arrangement of objects. Repeat the drawing four times. Explore
different color schemes in each of the four drawings. Write about how the color changes the feeling in
each image.
Write about your work. Write about what you like about a drawing, what you dont like about it. Write
about your hopes for your artwork. Write about why you like to make art.
Write about how your artwork could impact anothers thinking or feeling. Write about what you want
to say with your artwork, and what it means to you in the larger sense.
Lastly, this experience should be for your growth as an art student, as a person who values art as a
means of expression. Keep it for yourself so that you will feel free to work without judgment.
Remember this is an ongoing process that uses informed and critical decision making to develop ideas.





Bring the sketchbook to the first class in August. You will have an opportunity to select the pages
you want to share. We will use your experience as an introduction to some of the thinking that you
will be engaged in during the AP Studio Art course.

2. Breadth Sculpture:

1. Sculpture: Self Portrait in clay:

Use air-dry clay to create a self-portrait bust. Look at the following sculptors or websites for ideas
about creating a portrait bust:

http://www.portrait-sculpture.org

http://wheelerportraitsculpture.com

http://www.heidimaiers.com (short instructions on how she makes clay portraits)

There are also a number of You Tube videos with step-by-step instructions.

This will count as your first Breadth assignment (will be graded as the Principle of Design
proportion/scale).


1. Sculpture: Abstract Self Portrait/Found Objects:

Create a Freestanding self-portrait that depicts an aspect of your personality using found objects.
Consider repetition and movement in your piece.

(Principle of design: Movement/repetition).

3. Museum Visits:
a. Visit an art museum this summer. Keep an open mind and view different styles of
sculpture. In the DC area, some options include the National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn
Museum, The Freer Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of
African Art. In the Baltimore Area, options include the Baltimore Museum of Art, the
Walters Museum and the American Visionary Art Museum. Students may visit museums in
other cities as well.
b. Document your visit. Collect ticket stubs, brochures for the museum and exhibitions and
postcards. Take notes and draw sketches of artwork, people, the museum itself etc. Glue
museum artifacts in your sketchbook with the notes and sketches.
c. Choose 3 SCULPTURE artists whose artwork stands out to you at the museum. Write down
the name of the artists, their nationality, the dates in which they made their work in your
sketchbook. Sketch their artwork in your sketchbook. When you go home, research the
artist on the internet. Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) in your sketchbook that
summarizes their life and artwork.

4. Purchase Art Supplies: Because AP Studio art is designed to reflect a foundation college
level course, students will be responsible for purchasing a portion of their own supplies. There
will be a supply check the first week of school that will affect the students grade. Students should
come prepared with the following (can be found at Michaels, AC Moore, Utrecht (in DC) or College
Art Supplies stores. Also students can purchase materials online at www.dickblick.com,
www.utrecht.com and www.cheapjoes.com):

Required:
- 1 black hardbound 8x10 or 9x12 sketchbook with at least 100 pages. (students should
purchase this at the beginning of the summer for their sketchbook portion of the summer
assignment)
- 1 set of drawing pencils including: HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and Ebony.
- 1 pencil sharpener
- 1 package of air-dry clay
- 1 set of clay tools
- 1 package of sculpting wire.
- 1 glue gun/glue sticks.

- 1 roll of masking tape
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 glue stick
- 2 erasers.
- 4 fine tip black Sharpies.
- a few (3-7) watercolor or acrylic brushes in various sizes (high quality)
- 1 small plastic/pencil box to transport supplies.
- Acrylic Paint (artist, not craft) in red, yellow, blue, white and black.

Recommended (may change depending on a students individual interest/body of work):
- Various found object sculpture materials.
- Various glues/adhesives
- An exacto knife
- Paper Mache
- Yarn/string/fabric.

I will be checking my email throughout the summer. Please email me at
anna.guiles@pgcps.org if you have any problems or questions while completing these
assignments. Feel free to send me pictures of work in progress!

Assignments will be due the 2
nd
class period. Please DO NOT wait until the end of
the summer to complete the summer assignments.

The summer assignments will also be available on the schools website, should
you lose this packet.

Happy art-making this summer! I look forward to seeing you and your artwork in August!

Ms. Anna Guiles
AP Studio Art
anna.guiles@pgcps.org