The Art Room: October 2015

Sharks by Rachel Nearis

Thanks to Mr. Enos and his infamous Cabinet of Death our Honors Art students got a special spooky and creepy treat for their observation unit in September. Jars used in the science department for various studies in Marine Biology and Oceanography were borrowed by the Visual Arts department for our students to use as observational drawings. Sometimes drawing a still life, or folded fabric- although very useful as visual exercises- can become trite but a a fresh (or not so fresh) baby shark fetus... well you don't get to see that every day. I think you will enjoy what our students did with these drawings. I think they exceeded everyone's expectations! We had a representative from New Hampshire Institute of Art, Matt Smigiel, come visit our class on October 1 and he was thrilled with the results of this assignment. In his presentation to the class on portfolio preparation he emphasized the importance of observational drawings. He explained to the class why they are so important and how many the college looks for in a portfolio. (at least 5) We have 2 more college representatives coming this month. Hartford Art School will visit us after this long weekend on Tuesday, October 13th and we are going to visit Mass Art as a class on Tuesday, October 20th.

If any parent would like to join us on this trip PLEASE let me know! I would love to have you join

us!

Photo of the actual jar used for Rachel,
Sara, & Greer's drawings

Portfolio Day Information

In addition I wanted to remind everyone of some important dates for National Portfolio Day.
The closest one to us is in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center on Sunday, November 1st. from noon to 4. You can get more information from their website at: http://www.smfa.edu/portfolio-day

Hartford Art School is also hosting a Portfolio Day on Saturday, October 31st from noon to 4.
You can find out what venues are hosting Portfolio Days across the country here: http://portfolioday.net/ If you have specific questions regarding your own portfolio come see me. Going to a portfolio day is an excellent way to get feedback on what colleges think you may need to add into your portfolio to make it stronger and secure a spot at the college of your choice. It is an excellent experience. I wholeheartedly recommend going.