For the IB Art students, less is more. This week, IB Art juniors and seniors will display a handful of art pieces from their year’s culmination of work in a 15-year-old tradition at their annual IB Art Show.
Community members and students alike are welcome to visit between 5:30-8pm on Wednesday or 5:30-7pm on Thursday. Admission is free; enter through door 31.
IB Art is an exclusive, audition-only class that CHS offers to juniors and seniors. There’s only 28 spots available, which includes 17 seniors this year, and students have to fight for their spots. The audition process consists of an extensive portfolio complete with artist statements. Mrs. Taylor McGuirl, CHS alum and painting teacher, oversees the process.
“What I’m looking for in potential artists in this group is do they have any technical skill, are they willing to think about art, can they think originally, can they work independently,” McGuirl described.
The class is wholly different from any other art course the school offers: all projects are entirely self-directed and motivated.
“The IB Art class is different in that it’s studio-based and everybody works at their own pace,” she explained.
Another difference is the sheer amount of mediums the IB students are required to dabble in. McGuirl listed drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, costume design, animation, photography, and digital art as examples. The variety adds to the excitement of the IB Art Show.
Students spend the whole year prepping for the show. They select a handful of pieces from the year to display in their area of the gym. Also on display are the art students’ sketchbooks and research papers.
“I have the potential of having the best of the best in there,” said McGuirl. “The ones that are very independent thinkers, interesting thinkers, who are trying to think outside the box and create things that are wow factors.”
Most students chose to sell their wow-factor artwork, so come prepared to support student artists!
