Art Speaks Louder Than Words

Proud parents and supportive friends filled the art hallways at the IB Art showcase on March 10th to witness the masterful works of the art scholars.

Talented students showed off their works from the year amidst one another while spiritedly conveying their photos, paintings, and well developed journals.

IB Art students had the year to prepare for this showcase. However it took a lot more than just one year to get to where the students are today.

Out of all the art classes at MN that are offered, IB art is the highest class and is specifically reserved for IB students.

“IB Visual Arts is different in that little or no restrictions are established. Whatever art project comes to mind, you are able to bring into reality completely unaltered. Over the course of the year, I’ve learned to not hold back, and have gained a greater appreciation to the art process and the ability it has to move many.” junior Sahr Qureishi said.

Throughout the year, students have been working on their own individual journals. IB art teacher Tony Brisbois, finds the journaling process immensely beneficial and a crucial element to the curriculum.

“Students take elements from other artists through research to create their own works in their journals. From a teaching standpoint journaling is a key tool to observe progress in a student’s skill.” Brisbois said.

Instead of keeping notebooks as you would have in an average classroom, these journals are filled with color, creativity, and change.

“Visually, one can probably see the gradual improvement in my art, but we also have to journal our process for each project and that has really helped me develop my own ideas and gain a better insight of the artistic process.” Qureishi said.

Fellow IB art student, senior Emily Ma has also benefited from upper level art classes. Even though Ma was already known for her artistic abilities, IB art helped Ma improve on skills she had and develop new skills throughout the year.

“Before IB my project ideas would be created almost on a whim. However, IB has a journaling component where I need to show my thought process of why I made each piece of art, or the intent behind it, and what inspired me,” Ma said.

When it come to subject matter for these artists, inspiration is all around in everyday activities and people.

Like many artists before them, IB artists tend to create art based off a personal perception of the world around them.

“My influences are the people around me. I like taking in what I see and experience, especially from people, to create art. I enjoy taking in everyday or universal situations and conveying them through metaphors and concepts,” Ma said.

It is easy to tell that the students involved in IB art are immensely talented.

Given the rigor of IB art students have been able to finely tune their artistic abilities and develop new skills that will stay with them throughout their lifetime.