From Technique to Voice with Advanced Art

The Advanced Art students just wrapped up a project inspired by the word Happiness. Their challenge was to translate that theme into an art piece using their unique artistic voice, while also creating depth and dimension through shading with either pencil or colored pencil.

Unlike my introductory classes, where we focus heavily on the technical building blocks of drawing, this course leans more into style development and finding an artistic voice. We still practice fundamentals like value studies and shading to show depth, but the real emphasis is on how each artist uses those tools in their own unique way.

To support that process, this semester we’ve been reading Finding Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon. Her message that every artist has a voice worth developing is a touchstone for our class.

The “Happiness” projects reflect that beautifully. Some students leaned into bright, playful imagery that feels almost like a panel out of a manga or comic book, while others approached it with quiet, subtle symbolism. Every piece reveals a different interpretation of what joy looks like and showcases each student’s growing confidence in their personal style.

For me as a teacher, it’s inspiring to see students move beyond “how do I draw this?” into “how do I say something with my art?”

Beginning the School Year with Art 1

One of the most exciting parts of teaching high school art is watching students take the skills we’ve practiced in small studies and apply them to a major project. My students completed their first big assignment of the semester: one-point perspective drawings.

Before beginning this project, we spent time learning some of the building blocks of drawing: contour lines, proportion, shading to show form, and linear perspective. Understanding perspective not only makes drawings more realistic, but it also helps young artists think critically about space, depth, and design.

In this project, students combined linear perspective with other depth cues like overlapping, size variation, and placement on the page.

I love how this assignment gives students both structure and freedom: structure in the rules of perspective, and freedom in the way they design their imaginary spaces. You can see their individual styles shine through.

I see perspective drawing as more than just a technical exercise. It’s a way to teach patience, problem solving, and artistic confidence. These are skills my students will carry forward into every creative challenge this school year and beyond. I’m proud of their hard work, and I can’t wait to see how they apply these foundations in our upcoming projects.

Box Factory Student Art Exhibition

Bridgman High School students exhibited their work at the Box Factory Student Art Exhibition in St. Joseph, MI. This annual event brings together student artists from across the region, showcasing a wide range of media and ideas from emerging young artists.

Many of our students displayed work in the exhibition, representing the skill, dedication, and creativity happening in our art program. Several Bridgman students also received special recognition:

  • Gavin B. earned Second Place in the 3D category. (Pictured below.)

  • Grace S. received both the Bridgman Community Award and the Robert R. Williams Portrait Award.

  • Carter B. was featured in the Emerging Artist category for high school seniors planning to pursue art at the college level. Carter will attend Lake Michigan College next year to study Art Education. (Pictured below.)

Opportunities like these not only celebrate achievement but also give students valuable experience sharing their work in a professional setting and engaging with the broader arts community. I want to congratulate all of our students who participated in this exhibition.

Spring Photography with Art 1

Spring is in the air! As part of our ongoing photography studies, students explored the season with an eye for color.

In Art 1, photography is integrated throughout the school year as a series of short projects, most of which students complete outside of class. We explore some fundamental aspects of photography beginning with technical camera basics, then light and shadow, composition, and finally color. These projects help students to develop a critical visual eye, experiment with photography, and get valuable feedback and insight from me and their peers.

This assignment encouraged students to build on their photography skills from this school year (like contrast and composition) and to think critically about color.

Hungerford Art Competition

Two Bridgman High School students were recognized in the Hungerford Art Competition, an annual event sponsored by Hungerford CPAs + Advisors. This competition provides an opportunity for Bridgman students to showcase their work in a professional setting. This year’s winners are:

  • Tierney T. (Sophomore)

  • Alexa C. (Freshman)

Both students’ artwork will be displayed at the Hungerford office in St. Joseph, MI, where it will be viewed by clients, staff, and community members.

Partnerships like this are invaluable in supporting arts education. They give students the chance to see their work recognized beyond the classroom, build confidence in their artistic abilities, and highlight the role of creativity in the broader community.

We are grateful to Hungerford CPAs + Advisors for their ongoing support of student artists, and we congratulate Tierney and Alexa on this achievement.

Colorful Birds with Art 1

As we move toward the end of the school year, the Art 1 students apply their skills in acrylic painting by painting colorful birds. This assignment is part of our larger acrylic painting unit, designed to strengthen students’ understanding of color theory and painting techniques.

For this project, students were limited to using only the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) plus black and white. By mixing complex hues themselves, they gained a deeper understanding of how color relationships work, from creating subtle neutrals to mixing vibrant secondaries and tertiaries. The restriction encouraged experimentation and problem-solving, while also reinforcing the importance of value and contrast in painting.

The choice of birds as a subject offered both structure and creative freedom. Birds provide a wide variety of shapes, patterns, and natural color palettes for students to interpret, while the small 5x7 format kept the focus on careful color mixing and brushwork. Each student’s painting reflects their growing confidence in handling acrylics.

Art 1 Paints Fire

The Art 1 students have officially begun their acrylic painting unit with a small project designed to build confidence in handling a brush and understanding of one of the principles of art and design: contrast.

Before this assignment, students used acrylic paint to complete practice studies creating value and a color wheel in order to become familiar with mixing, blending, and handling the medium. With those foundations in place, their first small project challenged them to apply those skills in a focused and dramatic way: painting fire.

The subject of fire was chosen because it naturally requires students to create a strong glowing effect by balancing bright, saturated colors against deep, dark backgrounds. This exercise pushes students to think critically about value, layering, and edge work. It also helps them practice blending warm hues (red, orange, yellow) while still maintaining the bold differences that make the flames feel luminous.

Though small in scale, this project introduces students to essential acrylic techniques they will continue to use throughout the unit: controlling paint opacity, mixing a wide range of values, and using contrast to create visual impact. The results are dynamic, eye-catching, and an exciting first step into acrylic painting.

Revealed Layers with Advanced Art

New year, new blog style! You may notice a change in this blog: I’m moving away from posts with minimal text to more in-depth posts that highlight both student work and the learning behind it. These posts will give more context to the projects explaining the thought process, skills, and growth happening in our art classes. The goal is to provide a fuller picture of what our students are accomplishing while also documenting the teaching strategies and artistic experiences that make our program unique! Here we go:

The Advanced Art students completed a project titled “Revealed Layers,” in which they combined colored pencils and markers. This assignment encouraged students to experiment with multiple drawing media while expressing their ideas about what lies beneath the surface.

Students chose subjects that allowed them to reveal hidden layers either literally, metaphorically, or both. Some explored their personal memories and identities through symbolism, some took a literal approach showing something being revealed, and others literally revealed layers by employing collage techniques to create actual depth.

Through this project, students not only developed their technical skills like mixing media, layering color, and building depth, but also strengthened their artistic voice, making deliberate choices about composition, narrative, and concept. The combination of colored pencils and markers allowed them to balance fine detail with bold, expressive areas of color.

“Revealed Layers” is an excellent example of how advanced students move beyond technical exercises into projects that challenge them to communicate ideas, evoke emotion, and showcase their unique creative perspectives. I’m proud of the thoughtfulness, risk-taking, and skill each student brought to this project.

Art Appreciation Class Trip

The Art Appreciation class visited the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame. This new museum, which opened in December 2023, houses an impressive collection of more than 30,000 works across painting, sculpture, textiles, prints, and contemporary installations.

During the visit, students explored the galleries together and reflected on key ideas we’ve been studying in class, including the elements and principles of art and design as well as the significant role that religion and spirituality have played in the history of artistic expression.

Seeing original works in person gave students a deeper appreciation of visual art than textbooks or slides can provide. We also considered the museum itself, how architecture, lighting, and layout affect the way art is experienced.

This field trip was a valuable opportunity for students to practice looking closely, asking questions, and engaging thoughtfully with art in a professional setting. Experiences like this encourage students to see art not just as images in a textbook, but as an opportunity to question, interpret, and find personal meaning.

Student Artwork

Pencil and pen drawings from Advanced Art class at Bridgman High School. This semester students practiced creating realistic images as well as the expressive qualities of mark making. Project themes like “Play,” “Beauty,” and “Power” pushed students to use their learned drawing techniques in unique ways.

Artwork in the Community

Junior Livvie F. and Senior Evie Lawrence were the two winners of the Hungerford Art Competition. This is an annual art competition sponsored by Hungerford CPA and Advisors. The artwork will be on display at the Hungerford office in St. Joseph, MI.

Student Artwork

Advanced Art students at Bridgman High School created surreal paintings and drawing taking inspiration from famous works of art, while adding their own unique spin.

Artwork in the Community

The Box Factory for the Arts Student and Community Exhibition featured artwork from 26 area schools. Senior Taylor Kirk won the Berrien County Artist Guild Portrait Class Award. Senior Evie Lawrence won the Stevens Memorial Award. Freshman Aster S. won the High School Community Award. Congrats to all the students who had their artwork featured at the show.

Student Artwork

Art students created mixed media collages using a variety of materials including magazine clippings, buttons, rings, keys, fabric, and newspaper, as well as their own drawings and paintings.