‘Just Keep Your Eyes’ on the Art: AP Studio Students Display Their Work From the 2022-2023 School Year
In the midst of AP testing, Central Kitsap High School AP Studio students show off and celebrate their work before submissions, at the AP Studio 2023 Mini-Gala.
Community members gather around discussing art pieces in the art walk.
On May 4, 2023, a classical cover of “Shut Up and Dance” circulates around room 4018, around the people, around the artwork that is arranged contrastingly with black tablecloths that litter the classroom desks. Assortments of individuals filter in through the door; AP Studio students, family, friends, and community members who are just there to support the students during the AP Studio 2023 Mini Gala.
The 2022-2023 school year brought a plethora of students eager to take AP Studio. In response, Dawn Adams, the teacher for art courses at Central Kitsap High School, brought back the number of pieces each student had represented in the gala, from five to two.
“It’s good to have kids feel confident enough to take the class and to understand that they don’t have to be a perfect drawer or a perfect sculptor, just coming into and experimenting,” said Adams. “Playing is enough. That is the body of AP. To learn”
AP Studio student, Mia Tatekawa, only just started exploring art two years ago. Tatekawa expressed that she saw quite a lot of progression in her art throughout the school year.
The mini-gala featured a gallery walk, where both experienced and newer artists’ cultivation of work were on full display. The next morning, on May 5, 2023 CKHS staff would filter in and out of the room for a similar experience of exploring the roughly 30 students’ artwork, before Adams had her first period assist in cleaning up the room, still marked with the festivities from the past two days.
David Tracewell made his debut at the gallery a day early, despite having a set time for staff to explore the next morning. He was invited by his students to the mini-gala and expressed that he was touched that they thought of him “almost like a family member.”
“Anytime you can make something, anytime you can get your hands off of a cell phone,” said Tracwell. “Because we’re so stuck to it, and actually doing it and creating something beautiful with self-expression, we get to see a different part of our inner spirit.”
AP Studio students were “closer than they had been all year,” said Adams. Students were feeling an assortment of emotions that night, ranging from uncomfortableness at their work being on display for everyone to see, to feeling incredibly loved and supported by having their friends and family there to support them.
“It feels kind of surreal, I don’t really ‘load’ until a lot later, recognize that it’s actually over,” said Maria Inoue, an individual study AP Studio student, as the night came to an end.
As AP Studio students head home after a night of celebrating, each other, and their art. Those that have not done so yet prepare for submissions of their to The College Board that night for scoring. Scores tend to be released in mid-July.
