The AP art mural brings the senior art season to a close

Every year, AP Art students work together to create an amazing work of art on the walls of the school. There’s an Albert Einstein in the stairway by George Sinder, Rob Albrecht, Mike Rubin, and Jenna Shadle’s classrooms as well as a huge “A” on the wall down the large hallway to the commons.

This year the five senior art students are working hard on their own mural below the stairwell near the entrance of the school and Crystal Waysack’s math class.

The mural currently displays a jungle scene surrounding a world held in place by tree roots. There are several cute animals including a monkey, a toucan, and a huge snake that seems to wrap around the step railing. There are tons of beautiful flowers where these seniors have made their mark.

“We thought about the world in our hands, with space, but thought it would be more cohesive if it was had trees with roots to match some of the other murals. We decided to go with a jungle theme…we looked at the architecture and found how to make the art cohesive with the building...we painted under the stairs to make it look like a canopy,” said Sophia Roberto about the idea for the mural.

Although she is only in Art 4, Roberto has worked just as hard as the AP students this year and plans to attend Kent State University and major in interior design this coming fall. She has won two gold keys and two silver keys at the Scholastic’s show, as well as one regional award at the Governor’s show.

These seniors started their internship on April 24th and will finish their mural on May 14th. They work from 7:30am to 3:00pm, sometimes coming in over the weekend; each of them working their hardest to make the best mural they can.

“It was a fantastic year. The commitment and the work ethic was some of the best I’ve seen as a art teacher. You can see the hard work they’ve put in in the art….you can see the environment which they’re tried to create. It will be cool for students to see it for years to come,” Sean Berrodin, the AP Art teacher, explains.

The AP Art students all have various plans as they head off to college in light of the work they’ve put in at AHS.

After jumping from Art 2 to AP Art, Tuuli Pirinen has worked hard to be able to attend Miami University with a major in communication design and a minor in marketing. This year she won two gold portfolios, five gold keys, three silver keys, and seven honorable mentions in the Scholastic’s show. Prinen also received five regional awards and one state award as well as top 300 in the Governor’s show. On top of that, she was part of Beachwood Art Council too.

“I think my favorite memories are from pretty much every Saturday when we stayed at the school all day and when we went to Columbus with Mr. B for Governor’s show,” says Pirinen about her year in AP Art.

Raye Palko has received four honorable mentions at the Scholastic’s show and three regional awards at the Governor’s show, but she will not be continuing art in college. Palko hopes to major in biology with a focus in genetics at Miami University.

“AP Art has been a lot of fun, I really liked how close we all got over the year, it made the hectic schedule of the class a lot more manageable,” Palko told me.

Grayson McMaster plans on attending Kent State University in the fall with a major in fashion. Throughout the year she has won seven honorable mentions, three silver keys, three gold keys, and a gold key portfolio in the Scholastic’s show. McMaster has gotten four regional and one state award at the Governor’s show and was part of the Beachwood Art Council.

“Mr. B is the most inspirational, hard working, caring teacher I have ever had. He truly does do everything and beyond to make you successful...I’m gonna miss making fun of Mr. B every chance I get!” McMaster responded.

Emma Duckham would like to study art therapy at the Chicago Institute of Art when summer ends. Duckham has done well with two gold portfolios, a gold key, one silver key, and two honorable mentions at the Scholastic’s show. She was a part of Beachwood Art Council, and got three regional, two states, and part of the top 25 at the Governor’s show.

“I’m thankful for the others and Mr. B for pushing me to work hard all year,” Duckham said about AP art.

All these girls have worked hard to do the most in art for their senior year. We wish them all luck and thank them for the amazing work they have done with the mural which will stay at our school for many years to come!