WCAC Art Show

This year, 11 students submitted pieces for competition at the West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) art show. The event was held on May 4 at West Central Valley high school and saw high school artists present their artwork in 30 different categories. This year's art show was huge and the competition impressive with many categories having over 30 entries in them.

The Knights saw two students place with two more earning honorable mention for their work. John Smothers earned 2nd place for his paper swan in the Small Sculpture category. John Escobar's desk top earned 5th place in the Graphics Hand-Done category. Beyond those two, Daniel Laurie's India Ink and water color drawing earned an honorable mention in the 2D Mix Media category, while Yerko Mena earned an honorable mention in the Black and White Drawing Objective category. Other submitted pieces from WA students included print making, self portraits, and acrylic painting.

Most of the students were able to make the trip to the art show to see their pieces on display. In addition to the competition, the day involved art workshops, and a feature presentation from local airbrush artists, Shawn Palak. Students were particularly impressed with his work and some were able to try out his equipment. You can see images of the students and their artwork on our Knight Pics website.

Self-Portraits in Art Class

"Draw what you see, not what you know," was the common phrase used by Sarah Elmore, art teacher at Woodward Academy when students started working on self-portrait projects. After taking their picture, students determined their own version of the project. Pictured are some great examples of what one class did. Other classes did full pencil renders of their image.

All students were asked to make grids on their pictures with several vertical and horizontal lines. This is a common technique used by professionals because it allows artists to break the project up into smaller sections, allowing them to draw faster and more efficiently. In art class, students are always improving their skills. A secondary focus for students who excelled in the grid technique was to focus on shading and to add value to their drawings.

Artwork: Surrounded by Words

It is an expectation for all of our students to become a Knight on campus. It requires a lot of work on their part, but obtaining it can be one of the most rewarding experiences while attending Woodward Academy. Over the years, WA has weaved an effective system where norms and expectations are the same regardless of location or activity.  Whether in school, on the dorm, or participating in athletics, WA students hear the same message throughout their stay. It is all around them and pushed in every aspect of their programming. They are surrounded with conversations to Join the Knights Club and to portray positive leadership traits such as Integrity and Cooperation. Over time, they start to live these messages and it becomes a part of them. It's a pretty amazing transformation and it never gets old watching it happen.

WA Students Display Work at Conference Art Show

The West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) held its annual Art Conference this past Monday at Madrid High School.  Sixteen students went to the event to view student artwork from all schools in the activities conference.  Fourteen WA students submitted pieces for the event and a breakdown of notable results are outlined below.

Rafael Mayorga - 2nd place in Black and White Drawing Objective
Kevin Lopez - 4th place in Graphics - Hand Drawn
Delwin Cooper - Honorable Mention in Black and White Drawing Figurative
Miguel Alfarro - Honorable Mention in Graphics - Hand Drawn
Rafael Mayorga - Honorable Mention in Black and White Drawing Objective

More after the jump.

Art - Celebrating Black History Month

Across the United States, February is reserved to celebrate accomplishments in Black History.  Social studies classrooms always have an advantage in this area where Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement take center stage.  As remarkable as those accomplishments still are, they are not the only topics that should be discussed or covered in this context.  In fact, a number of notable movements and individuals have risen to prominence before and after that time period and have made significant contributions in African-American history and to help shape the United States to what it is today.


Students in the Academy Art: Studios classes studied African-American artist Romare Bearden.  Bearden's work reflected his life and experiences living in New York during the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920's and 30's, prior to the rise of MLK and the Civil Rights Movement.  He commonly used an application of collage techniques in his pieces.  Students created artwork using a similar technique with some pictured here.  Although not all of their pieces are explicitly African-American, they are based on his techniques and inspired by Bearden's work.


After that, the classes began studying artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, a contemporary street artist whose work became "high art" in the 1990's.  There is a documentary titled "The Radiant Child" that takes a look at the artist and his works.  Both of these artists have made significant contributions to the art world and are worthy of study.


See more images of students working after the jump.

Art Extracurricular visits ISU's Design College

Fourteen students involved with the art extracurricular visited Iowa State University's Design College on February 1st.  They got a sneak peek into post-secondary studio art classes of all types and were able to see first hand how college students are taking the route of career artists.  

As a part of the visit, students viewed a demonstration by the Iowa State Guilders Union on glass blowing, which is pictured.  They also took a tour of the Design College and saw several different studios including those in architecture, graphic design, ceramics, painting, jewelry, and a print lab.  

The art extracurricular is an extension of the art classroom program at Woodward Academy, but focuses more on the vocational aspects of art making whereas the class covers similar topics but with a more academic approach to learning.  More updates and student works will be showcased in future posts.