Portraits

The Art 1 students just wrapped up their pencil portrait project. This is the culminating project of our drawing unit! This year the students drew school staff and teachers that will be displayed in the Media Center. This project brought together everything they’ve learned so far about perspective, proportion, and value.

Using the grid method, students carefully mapped out the outline for accuracy before diving into shading to create depth, texture, and realism. It’s been amazing watching them apply their skills from previous projects like the Perspective Drawing and Still Life projects, as well as their drawing studies and practice sketches, to something as complicated and challenging as a portrait.

This project is always one of my favorites because it shows just how far they’ve come as artists in such a short time.

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.