Pastry Delight 3

May 20, 2013May 23, 2013Leave a comment

The Advanced Drawing/Painting II students are wrapping up their Pastry Delight acrylic paintings. These paintings range from 8x8inches to 24x24inches and will be on exhibit at the Johnston Bakery, 1227 Superior Avenue in Sheboygan from May 24 – August 31, 2013.

This is the third year that we have displayed our pastry paintings. Each year I buy donuts, muffins, cupcakes, etc and have students select 1 to 2 to paint. They learn how to stretch and prep their very own canvas. They explore various compositions until they choose one that they like.

© 2013 Frank Juarez. All rights reserved.

Kathryn Mason, class of 2009, Returns to North High School

May 15, 2013Leave a comment

Kathryn Mason‘s interest in art began to blossom during her senior year at Sheboygan North High School. Some of the project’s she co-created a large scale mural titled, “Take A Walk on the Creative Side” with Kellie Schultz, class of 2009 and organized the art department’s first senior art exhibition titled, “Dexterity”. Since then volunteered at the Frank Juarez Gallery (summer 2011&2012), will be graduating from UW-Stevens Point with a Major in Arts Management and a minor in Business Administration, and just returned from doing an externship in London, and has been hired to be the Summer Gallery Manager at the McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts in McGregor, Iowa.

Today, Kathryn stopped by to talk to my Advanced Painting/Drawing II and Art Foundations 4 students about her art-filled journey in London. Along with being an aspiring artist she has her goals set on opening her own art gallery in the near by future.

I have asked her to share her artist statement as well as life goals after graduation. This is what she had to say…

Artist Statement

Art is passion and desire, love and disgust, faith and fear. It is pure emotion put into physical form to stimulate the eyes and work the brain, but first and foremost it deserves to be shared.

Emotions are what drive my creativity. Simple everyday events that touch my soul inspire me to create. They alter my mood in just the right way and an idea is formed. The overall genre of my art is abstraction. I create what I feel. Sometimes it can be depicted as an actual form and other times it is the overall flow of the painting that brings the piece together.

“Love Me Not”

The main purpose of my art is to bring out an emotion from the viewer. Whether it is positive or negative, I believe the purpose of art is to draw an emotion from deep inside. The viewer should think deeply about the true meaning and emotion behind the work, even if they don’t understand it. That’s the beauty of art, there is no right or wrong, it is whatever you make of it.

Plans for Life after College

Kathryn’s long-term academic and vocational goal would be to use her degree in arts management to open a gallery of her own. She wishes to make a statement in the art world and give artists a voice. She plans to provide a forum for all types of art, allowing an opportunity for artists to speak up and show the world what they are capable of producing. If she can accomplish this, while also opening the eyes of individuals from different backgrounds so that they can open their hearts and let art touch their souls, she would have succeeded.

This summer she will be working as the Gallery Manager at the McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts in McGregor, Iowa. Her main tasks will include running the retail space in the gallery, developing a children’s program, and developing 5 new events for the center over the summer.

Give Me 5 and I Will Give You 1

May 10, 2013May 23, 2013Leave a comment

The Advanced 3-D Design students were given a task to create an original sculpture from five (5) 3′ strips of balsa wood. The sculpture has to show length, width, and depth. Once they are created, then they will be drawing them in 1 or 2-point perspective. All sculptures will be painted with acrylic to fit their personality.

Influenced by the Masters’ Use of Color

May 8, 2013May 23, 2013Leave a comment

The Art Foundations 4 students are in process of creating their very own word painting while being influenced by a chosen Master’s color scheme. Each student learned how to creating his/her very own canvas. They were to select a person whom they would like to paint, use a grid (if desired) and draw the image on canvas. Then they are to do some artist research on a specific Master, select one of his/her work of art and use that specific color scheme to apply to their painting.

Show Me the Sculpture

May 8, 2013May 10, 2013Leave a comment

The Art Foundations 2 art students have began their sculptural unit working with cardboard, paper mache and paint. Their objective is to create a 3-Dimensional object based off of one of their sketches. The only requirement is that the project has to be at least 10″ tall. After that, the sky is the limit. Really.

Students will be applying their understanding of positive and negative space, form, proportion, color, balance and emphasis while producing quality images based on originality and creativity.

Introducing the 2013-2014 NHS Student/Parent Handbook Front Cover Design

April 18, 2013Leave a comment

Mr. Thennes, NHS Assistant Principal, approached Mr. Juarez to see if he was interested in having an art student design the front cover of next school year’s handbook. Without hesitation Mr. Juarez said, “yes”. The question was which student to approach with this challenge.

Mr. Juarez approached junior Lauren H to see if she would be interested in this project knowing that she only had a couple of weeks to design something. She jumped on the artportunity. He knew he wanted a junior to design the cover so that the student can see his/her design in action.

Lauren stated that “I knew that I wanted to incorporate the elements of water in the design, but the idea developed as the design was being created. Mr. Juarez gave me a couple critiques that helped me to develop a better overall artwork. I have never had a critique before as a student. It was a very motivating process and it helped me to create a design I am proud of”.

Image above: Lauren’s design took several drafts to reach a mutually agreed upon design.

Storytelling through Ceramics

April 11, 2013May 22, 2013Leave a comment

Art Foundations 2 students are working on a clay project, “Storytelling through Ceramics”. Each student created a real or imaginary story, which will be transferred onto their clay project. The story could be based on a positive experience, something they saw or can be totally made up. This project was influenced by a Vessel with Ceremonial Scene dating back to A.D. 690-750, carved ceramic with traces of pigment by Campeche, reputedly from Jaina Island, Mexico, Maya culture, Chochola style, late Classic period, A.D. 600-900 I saw during my visit to the Amon Carter Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX.

Works in progress…

North High School Exhibition Space coming in 2013-2014

March 20, 2013Leave a comment

Almost Home Sweet Home

March 18, 2013Leave a comment

The Advanced Drawing/Painting II students have been working hard trying to meet their deadline to get the 75th Anniversary North High Mural. They are about 90% complete. Although the end seems far away they are excited to be working on it daily.

Here are some pictures from today.

SPP+PP in Picasso’s Palace

February 21, 2013February 21, 2013Leave a comment

Today a few art students stayed after school to splatter paint a clothing of choice. The idea originated first semester after the art faculty participate in North’s Lip Dub in which they were splatter painted by students. If you are wondering what SPP+PP means well…splatter paint pants and pizza party. It was nice to be surrounded by laughter.

Here are some photos from today.