Lindsay Gerard’s emotions are best illustrated through digital images she creates in Photoshop. She prefers to express herself through lyrics reminiscent of her parent’s generation.

“Art is a personal experience for me, Gerard explained during her presentation at the Awaken AP Art exhibit at the Episcopal School of Dallas in early February. “I like Guns N’ Roses and because my musical and artistic tastes are so far from what is popular, it has been a struggle to blend in with the crowd and be that image of perfection. I’m not that poster girls who likes all the cool things and does everything like she’s supposed to.”

Gerard’s statement would be jarring if true, but her anime work is nothing less flawless. Each piece, though part of a sequence, is uniquely thought-out and composed. The process starts with an idea, often inspired by one of Gerard’s favorite musicians or a personal experience. Then follows the sketching and colored ink application before the print is transferred to a computer screen to be filtered and textured.

“The classes at ESD have allowed me to share a special part of myself with the community and introduce my friends to a unique and uncommon concentration,” Gerard says. “No one would get to see my bold artwork and love for anime if it weren’t for the AP Art program.”

For students at the Episcopal School of Dallas, taking any one of the 36 Fine Arts classes the school has to offer is a refreshing opportunity to flex their creative skills, but research proves these classes are also beneficial to a student’s left brain development. Between the two AP Art shows, 24 students will have their art featured.

According to a 2011 report by President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, art classes not only help improve standardized test scores, but also increase a student’s attendance and educational aspirations. Drawing, painting, sculpting, and photographing can also sharpen a student’s help develop critical thinking and problem solving skills and boost collaboration.

At ESD, Upper School students are required to take one unit of Fine Arts classes. Half of the curriculum must come from a performance-based class, while the other half requires students participate in a hands-on course. In the beginning of their studies, students are exposed to ceramics, drawing, photography, and sculpture through the school’s Foundation Program; down the road, they can select a concentration such as film, digital imaging, painting, printmaking, or metal work. During their senior year, portfolios are developed to showcase the seniors’ best work.

“Students change their mindset as they spend time in a creative environment where they work in a media of their choice,” Kathleen Raymond, ESD’s Upper School studio art instructor says.

For some students, participating in the AP Art program at ESD allows them to combine their passions into a single medium. Taylor Curtis-Wheeler, a senior football and soccer player at ESD, explained learning how to draw with graphite let him juxtapose athletes and animals in a surreal, competitive environment.

“I have always loved animals, and being an athlete myself, I wanted to find something that lets me combine both aspects. I love the control I have with graphite, but it also challenges me to make my work appear 3D and display depth,” Curtis-Wheeler says.

Will Phillippe, another avid outdoorsman, found a way to combine his passion for the arts with a hobby he developed as a young teenager.

“I have always enjoyed taking things apart and then building something new out of those pieces,” Phillippe said. “My style of art allows me to do exactly that.”

Phillippe has a knack for creating complex and unconventional pieces out of metal. For the Awaken exhibit, he made his mother a wind chime out of rusty spoons, manipulated wires, and a single purple bead. He says that though the work is tedious, the process has taught him to problem-solve each step. The building process has also taught him the importance of starting over, rather than giving up, if his initial idea fails to work.

“The classes keep students focused and self-motivated in a relaxed atmosphere,” Barbara Purdy ESD’s 3D Art teacher said. “They are also more likely to produce Alpha brain waves that are associated with creativity and super learning that in turn allows the brain to learn at a deeper and faster level.”

A 2006 study out of Stanford University and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, says students enrolled in art classes are four times more likely to be recognized for some form of academic achievement and participate in a math or science fair and three times more likely to win an award for school attendance or be elected to a class office. These students have also been found more likely to participate in youth groups, read for pleasure, and perform more community service than their peers.

Different Art classes have also inspired students to study a group of individuals often left out of classroom discussions. For ESD senior Courtney Chavez, photography has introduced her to not only a new hobby but new idols.

“Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon [both Vogue photographers] influence my work,” Chavez explained. “I’ve always been interested in the photography I find in the spreads of fashion magazines. Taking pictures has taught me how to look at scenes in different ways because now I’m more focused on the lighting and how an object contrasts with the surroundings.”

“Art classes absolutely provide an escape for students from their everyday routines,” ESD’s photographer teacher, George Fiala said. “The students can express their personalities and feelings through their art. During the process they are able clear their mind from all of the multitasking they do every day, and concentrate on one thing – almost like meditating. “
 
The Episcopal School of Dallas will host the next senior AP Art show, "Hypnotic," beginning on March 16 in the Jennifer and John Eagle Gallery located in the Susan M. Frank Center for Arts and Humanities.