Two District 214 artists win places in select show
Of the more than 35,000 pieces in portfolios submitted by AP art students last semester, only 30 were selected for the national AP Studio Art Exhibit, mounted by The College Board.
Of those 30, two artists are from the Northwest suburbs.
Eunbee Lee, 19, of Mount Prospect and a 2009 Hersey High School graduate, saw her still life watercolor painting selected.
As well, the jurors chose an ink and watercolor piece by Katarzyna Mitera, an Elk Grove High School graduate.
The national exhibit opened in July in San Antonio, and comes to Chicago in November, where the display will be at Gallery 37 in the Loop.
"We're thrilled," says Sue Renner, AP art teacher at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. "To have two students from (Northwest Suburban High School District 214), really says a lot."
Nancy Viggiano, spokeswoman for The College Board in New York, says the portfolio scoring was conducted by a group of high school and college art teachers with extensive experience in the AP Studio Art program.
"Each work was selected because it exemplifies the extremely high level of rigor, commitment and accomplishment that AP Studio Art students can achieve," Viggiano said.
She adds that the exhibit informs the public as to the quality of art education in the community, and the diverse possibilities for subject, style, media, technique and expression available to AP students.
The works of Lee and Mitera demonstrate just that.
Lee's still life watercolor started out as a practice piece, she said, incorporating some of the favorite objects she likes to paint. When it turned out so well, she decided to include it in her AP Studio Art portfolio.
"I like to use many colors," says Lee, who moved to this country six years ago from Korea. "Watercolor blends well and allows me to use lots of colors."
Her teacher, Suzanne Renner, described Lee's portfolio as being reflective of the young artist, offering clues to her personality and her powers of concentration.
"She's one of the most talented students I've ever had," Renner says. "She has a lot of raw talent, but then she came in with a lot of training she had received in Korea."
Lee leaves this week to attend the Rhode Island School of Design, where she will incorporate her accurate brush work and detailed strokes into a major in industrial design.
Mitera also likes to paint with color, as can be seen in her portfolio pieces that feature intricate patterns found in butterfly wings captured in the shape of tulips.
"I love all the color and detail in butterfly wings," says Mitera, a native of Poland. "It looks almost like painting palates."
For her medium, Mitera used Pitt artist pens, with their pigmented India ink, and added a wash of watercolor.
Her teacher, Jennifer Aguilar-Iannotti, said Mitera's use of color and attention to detail, separates her from her peers.
"We had a very strong group of seniors last year," Aguilar-Iannotti added. "A lot of them got scholarships based on the strength of their portfolios."
Mitera started last month at Harper College, where she is taking general art classes this semester, with the hopes of advancing to those in interior design.