On April 3 & 4, the IB art show was held in the upstairs gym at CHS. The IB visual arts course is an opportunity for junior and senior artists who want to challenge their creative limits and expectations. This course pushes students to go out of their comfort zone to improve their artistic abilities. Some of the expectations of these students are to experiment with as many different mediums as possible, record experimentation in a sketchbook, research and take inspiration from other artists, be willing to grow as an artist, and so much more.
There are two different types of IB art students, Higher Learning (HL), and Standard Learning (SL). HL students have two years to complete their requirements. These students have the opportunity to display their artwork in two different exhibits rather than one and are expected to have a portfolio of around 7-11 pieces. On the other hand, SL students have only one year to complete projects and have a slightly more limited portfolio of only 4-7 pieces. Students spend days, weeks, or even months on their artwork.
“The most meaningful pieces are either that fish or that walking stick that took me the longest, that walking stick probably took me about 20 hours of work; the fish didn’t take me nearly as many but it means a lot to me because its my personal favorite 2D piece that I’ve made and it kinda represents a large part of my life that is nature and fishing and kind of just being outside,” says senior Andrew Adams.
Each of these students have their own very personal connections to their artwork and the meanings behind them. Additionally, each artist has their own unique reason to do art and create, which some shared with viewers of their art.
Not only does every artist have something that is different and special to them that they are inspired by, but they also each have their own personal creative process that they go through while creating.
“So usually I brainstorm ideas and topics I want to do and I write them down and circle the best ones. Then I do sketches on different aspects I wanted to cover. It’s a lot of sketching and testing it out,” junior Calypso Dutro said.
Next to each piece at this show there was a small description card explaining the meaning and intention behind the piece and what it is supposed to portray. Each artist’s work is shaped by how they view and experience the world around them. The beautiful thing about art is that every artist comes from somewhere different and is in a different place in their life. Everyone interprets the world around them differently and portrays their realities in their own unique way.
“Since I was five I’ve been doing art constantly everyday,” Dutro stated, and added that, “mental health, spreading awareness about that stuff, it’s really important to dig deep into those topics so people are aware.”
The IB art show is a way for students to give the school a little glimpse at what their inner worlds look like. These artists spend so much time and effort on making these pieces and improving their skills and this show gives them the opportunity to show off and be proud of all of their hard work. It’s easy to see the emotion and feeling behind each and every piece displayed in this show. Their experiences, memories, emotions, and inspirations not only shape them as people, but also their art and that is why this show is so important to so many people.
