Inaugural Prep Course for High School Students a Success

“The Heartland Art Club’s AP Prep six-week class is the best opportunity in the St. Louis region for high school art students to prepare for the rigors of Advanced Placement Program curriculum.”

-HAC President Mary Drastal

“The class is a combination of exposure to new media, professional artist visits and talks, and individualized teacher instruction with deep dives into synthesis and ideation,” Drastal said. “We are very grateful to the Missouri Arts council for making this possible.”

For Cindy, the self-portrait assignment was her first attempt at watercolor. She credited the presentation by guest watercolorist Carol Carter for the inspiration. “To see her process was really helpful,” Cindy said. Rendered from a candid photo of herself seated on a boat, she aimed to capture a sense of cheerful fun. “I struggled with the eyes for expression,” Cindy said, before explaining how she experimented with layering color and relying on red, olive and ochre to avoid using black. Students expressed admiration for the painting’s blue wash, and McAdams encouraged her to go deeper into the symbolic meaning behind her choice of color.

By Kara Dicker

Inside Heartland Art Club area high school students put final touches on their self-portrait. It was a culminating project, designed to reflect their six-week journey preparing for Advanced Placement Art and Design this fall.

“This is a symbolic self-portrait,” instructor Stacey McAdams reiterated to the five-member class. “Everything has a meaning.”

The students, who represented area high schools, learned to synthesize ideas, materials, and processes integral to the advanced curriculum they will experience when they return to school. HAC President Mary Drastal, along with McAdams, both educators, developed and taught the prep course. Missouri Arts Council provided financial support. This was the first course offered by HAC specifically for high school students. Guest professional artists visited to share their portfolios and discuss the application of art fundamentals and features of portfolio building.

Student self-portrait in watercolor.

Jo Jasper Dean gave a presentation on value and contrast.

Dean’s presentation was the jolt Gavin said he needed. “I used to be afraid of color,” he said during his discussion of his self-portrait, executed in watercolor and marker. Dean helped him to put that fear to rest. Rendered in bold oranges and purples and outlined in white, Gavin’s portrait contained multiple symbolic details, including patterns of swirls and “scribbles,” which he described as a nod to his progression as an artist. “I wanted to add things I did when I was younger that impact the present,” he said.

Dhiya echoed Gavin’s appreciation for Dean’s work. “I really like how she used color and composition,” she said. The self-portrait assignment was the first time Dhiya worked from a personal perspective. “I’ve synthesized images before,” she said, “but not actually personal.” Her portrait, which depicted a figure touching a flower and framed within the shape of a human eye, contained an interplay of color and black and white.

HAC President Mary Drastal shows students different examples of value and contrast.

Outside of class, students were expected to commit three hours weekly working on different skills and concepts. Later in the year, McAdams will visit each student to measure their progress in advanced placement art and design. Meanwhile, she and Drastal are working on another program to offer area schools access to professional artists.

Sarah, whose self-portrait was inspired by her interest in fantasy, chose color pencil as her medium. She noted the importance of the experimentation she undertook during the course. In a moment of levity, students noticed a missing corner of her canvass. It was the classic case of “literally dog eating canvass,” she said.

Emma Coen, a St. Louis University sophomore studying painting, was on hand for the final session to offer a presentation on sustained investigation in portfolio work. A former student of McAdams from Eureka High School, Coen said McAdams was one of her most influential teachers. “She connects well with students and is really passionate about art,” she said. “She made it a very welcoming environment always.”

Paige, who chose to work in oil, said the medium had a symbolic resonance. She compared the slow drying process of oil paints to the long healing process she underwent from physical challenges in her life. “I wanted to show how events in my life have changed me,” she said about her self-portrait, which contained objects rich in symbolism and contrast.

Jo Jasper Dean, a signature member of HAC, was another guest artist. Known for her imaginative and electrifying application of color on natural forms, Dean centered her presentation on value and contrast. From water lilies rendered in shocking pinks and lime green to canyon walls in complementary purple and orange, students got a dramatic view of the possibilities of color.

“I encourage you to experiment and enjoy how you grow in everything you try,” she told the students.

Student self-portrait in watercolor and marker.

According to McAdams, the impact of the visiting artists was invaluable. “You have Carol Carter, for example, who gave a 40-year tour of her work,” McAdams said of the South St. Louis-based watercolorist. In addition to Carter and Dean, there was Michael Anderson, who discussed how to incorporate sketchbook work into a portfolio.

Through HAC, McAdams and Drastal plan to offer the course again 2025, tailoring it to fit the needs of the students. “The course requires a higher level of thinking in the creative process than students have been exposed to,” Drastal said.

Instructor Stacey McAdams uses her own work as an example of a self-portrait.