How do artists’ feel about their art pieces being judged for a grade? Trident staff wanted to hear from art students on campus about their experiences in class, staff writer Kiana Farhangi asked some Sea Kings about the quantity of art pieces they create,  why they decided to take art classes, how they feel about their art being graded and what their favorite original pieces of art are? Here is what the art students interviewed said.

Junior Pengzhi Zhao said her favorite medium to use when she paints is oil and she thinks ‘’Art can be graded by skill and an artist’s ability to deliver mood or message while I don’t think the theme or idea of art should be limited.’’ Pengzhi has completed as many as  3-4 pieces a month, and she likes to sell her art. She takes art classes at CdM because she loves art and it will be her career choice. Her favorite piece that she has created is an oil painting of a battleship and a church; these works will also be featured on the PAMA page of this year’s yearbook.

Freshman Imogen Kirsch shared that her favorite medium is also oil. She explained how she feels about having artwork graded and judged by saying that “Art is subjective, so if there was no assignment attached to the artwork, then it should not be judged or graded. On the other hand, in school art classes, I think that if the rubric is filled out with clear requirements, then I think it’s ok to have a project graded or judged based off of the requirements.’’ Imogen has completed many art pieces, she estimates about 10-15 in a month. Imogen wanted to take art classes at CdM because “it allows her to decompress throughout the day and it helps her focus on something that she’s actually fascinated by.” Her favorite piece is what she produced for the fairytale project in Ms. Ricks 4th period art class.

Sophomore Kaia Mikulka said that her favorite medium is gouache- according to dictionary.com, gouache is “a method of painting using opaque pigments ground in water and thickened with a glue like substance.” She says “I love being able to do what I love best and having it actually turn out good, so that’s a plus. Having works of my imagination judged and scored is kinda stressful because I always think my art could be better.’’ Kaia has created ten pieces in a month and she usually draws when she is bored. She doesn’t take art classes here at CdM but she creates art all the time and has always loved art. She “Loves that I can sit down and just work while watching Netflix.’’ Kaia’s favorite of her own original art is a gouache painting of two colorful buildings in Denmark.

It looks like our CdM art students equally love sharing their art with others and feel like having it scored for a grade is alright as long as the requirements are clear. Either way, Trident staff is impressed with the work they do for school and for personal expression- take a look at our student art section online to see some student work!Wh