Jennings County High School’s art department features a series of elective courses designed to help students expand their minds and encourage creativity.
For example, Karen Chilman teaches five art classes:
Intro to 2-D and 3-D art
Photography
AP studio
Painting
Drawing
She has taught art for 25 years — 17 at Scottsburg Middle School and eight at Jennings County High School.
In the introductory class to 2-D and 3-D art, students learn how to create art with different mediums, techniques and skills. This class also revolves around the use of different elements and principles of design.
Photography students capture moments with the click of a button and a flash from the camera. Students in this class learn about the history of photography and the different variations of the art. The styles include photojournalism and artistic photography, and the students get to use Photoshop software for their pictures.
Painting is another popular art class. One can learn about the differences between paints and composing a painting. The styles of painting and historical background are also taught.
Drawing is popular with students. They use different materials to catch lifelike images on paper.
“This class is all about making marks on paper and finding volume on flat surfaces,” Chilman said.
AP studio combines drawing, 2-D and 3-D variations of art to create a class that is independently driven by the minds of students.
“Students make a portfolio of 24 works of art in this class. Twelve of these art pieces have a theme, while the other 12 are independently made. After they are done, they send the portfolio to the AP College Board for possible credit,” Chilman said.
Chilman offered a valuable piece of advice when asked for tips about creating art: “You have to be persistent, and present, if you want to create a beautiful piece of art.”
