Space in Studio Art

Lying on the floor, tears, existential crises, being covered in paint, claiming to be “literally dying” of laughter—among other things— it’s inevitable. Just another standard day in AP Studio Art. I may make it sound bad, but for me and most of the class, it’s our favourite space (ha! Space) to be in.  These past couple of weeks, the eighteen AP Studio Art students—me included—have been speedily preparing to showcase between one and three works at the first Brentwood Art show of the year entitled Space.   Within our small group, we had quite the variety of artwork, from Nessa C, Allard ‘16’s textile based stich-work piece, to Serena H, Alex ‘16’s film-inspired abstract oil paintings, to Michael G, Privett ‘17’s wind-wheel-spinner adorned double sided canvas. Each in their own distinct fashion, the theme of space was represented. Negative space, creative space, outer space, personal space, the list is extensive.  The week leading up to the show was complete madness. Is this resolved? Do I even like this piece? Which piece(s) do I showcase? Do I frame this or not? How do I frame this? How do I hang this? It seems that our questions and ourselves pooled into a puddle of indecision.  Thankfully, Mr. Luna is constantly there, pushing us in some sort of direction, giving advice (of the art and life variety), generally engaging us in inspiring conversation, and recommending artists or works to look up.  Premiere night of ‘Space’ was a success. With sparkling apple juice in hand, the artists wandered the Arts Building, admiring others’ work, and telling gallery-goers about their own works. Each house was given the opportunity to dress up in theatre dress, and officially experience the art after American Thanksgiving dinner. The day after the premiere of this collection, class time was committed nearly exclusively to tidying up the mildly disastrous state of the AP studio. With this flurry of activity now over, and the works selected hanging in the Arts Building halls, we can take a nice deep breath. We are now moving on towards our next goal: Portfolio Day at Emily Carr University. Sketches will be gathered, larger works photographed, statements written up, and sooner than we can comprehend, we will be off to Vancouver to have our current portfolios assessed and critiqued by art professors. More on portfolio day coming soon. Jaclyn C, Alex ‘16