When thinking of “varsity,” athletics is the first thing that comes to mind… it’s typically the only type of “varsity” there is. Well that’s not the case at LFHS.
There is a group of AP 2-D and 3-D artists who have reached the highest level of art in the school: commonly known as Varsity Art or “VART.”
These select students have demonstrated dedicated interest in a certain area of art over their four years at LFHS. The 2-D art categories consist of drawing and painting, graphic design, photography, animation, and concept art. The 3-D categories are ceramics and crafts and design.
Varsity Art is a complex class based on a sustained investigation that each student works towards throughout the duration of the year. Each student is required to produce 15 pieces for their AP portfolio.
To qualify for this class, each student is encouraged to have previously taken four semesters of a class for the area they are interested in.
Mrs. Ellen Herget is the 2-D teacher this year and Mrs. Doucette is the 3-D teacher.
“This is my first year teaching AP 2-D Art. Mrs. Bielski taught it for years and raved about it so I wanted to give it a try. So far I love it and I have an awesome group of artists so I am really looking forward to a great year,” Herget said.
With 2-D Art, students have three weeks to create and produce one project that they previously researched and sketched in their sketchbooks to be added to the portfolio.
“The students start the year by individually researching a concept that they want their portfolio to be a visual of. This stays their area of study that all the pieces are based off of for the rest of the year,” Herget said.
The artists are currently in the process of researching concepts for their sustained inquiry.
“I am between two things: how people find their pathways to inner peace or I am going to do the emotions of a human in an art form,” senior 3-D artist Fallon Anderson said.
All 15 of Anderson’s 3-D pieces will be created on the ceramics wheel.
“Sometimes it does get hard when you don’t have any inspiration on what to make, but you just have to start playing around with clay on the wheel and see what happens,” Anderson said.
Herget notes that students get to hone in on their desired style and expertise and for the AP exam, “the artists are graded on how well the pieces explain their concept.” The class helps students connect with artists exploring the same art form.
“In the art world you get stuck sometimes so it’s nice to get other peoples ideas to improve their pieces,” Herget said. “There are a lot of different expertise in the room so everyone comes together to critique and bounce off each other for ideas.”
Senior 2-D artist Kayla Badger has been exposed and passionate about art her whole life. When given the opportunity to take the most advanced level of it, she didn’t even question the decision.
“As a 2-D artist with an emphasis on graphic design, I get a lot of freedom to do whatever I want. I am looking forward to sharpening my skills more because each project we do gets deeper and more challenging,” Badger said.
