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Art Classes- Some take it for credit, others take it for passion

Students in period three Pottery work on their handmade sculptures made from clay. Pottery is one of the many art classes offered at Staples.

Web Features Editor

Going to art class seems to be a much-appreciated break for Staples students during a hectic school day.

Although these classes are required to graduate, they are still also taken for enjoyment.

Staples requires students to acquire 1.5 art credits by the time they walk at graduation. Broken down, that is .5 credit in fine art, .5 credit in practical art and .5 credits in either.

This is usually not difficult for students to fulfill within four years according to guidance counselor PJ Washenko.

Marc Himmel ’12 has already fulfilled his art credits by taking Pottery, TV production and Watercolor and continues to add more art classes to his schedule.

“Staples offers such a broad variety of art there is bound to be one that every student can enjoy,” Himmel said.

Yet, even with the wide variety Staples offers, some students still struggle to find an art class they enjoy.

It is “meant as a time to try new things,” Washenko said.

But even still, some students would prefer if art were not required at all so that they could take an extra science or English elective.

“If art credits were not required I would not take an art class,” Jamie McGlynn ’12 said.

Conversely, art teacher Jaclyn Jeselnik said students should definitely be required to take art.

Taking these required classes can prompt an underlying talent students would have never known was there.

The only way to uncover that talent is to take the class, Jeselnik said.

“I’m not very artsy,” Amy Smith ’11 said.

Like Smith, many students feel they are challenged in the fine art classes because they do not possess artistic talents.

“It’s a personal challenge for them to get excited about,” Jeselnik said. “There is no such thing as no talent.”               

Himmel said aesthetic skills were not a prerequisite for enjoying a fine or practical arts class.

“You don’t have to be artistically talented to enjoy the class,” Himmel said.

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