Dobbs Ferry High School follows the International Baccalaureate program, where students can earn either a full or partial IB diploma. To obtain an IB diploma during graduation, students must think critically and challenge themselves whenever possible in their classes. To graduate with an IB diploma, students are required to take an art, music, or film class. Currently, students who chose IB art –Juniors and Seniors– are working on creating a portfolio that will be presented at the end of the year.
Mrs. Buschi, the IB Art Drawing and Painting teacher, states that the program has changed drastically from when she first started teaching. During the early stages of the program, students had to create an art portfolio that included any of their work. This varied from pencil sketches, canvas paintings, charcoal drawings, and other pieces of work. The portfolio would then be presented to an outside examiner, who would interview each student about their work, intention for the piece, and how they applied different techniques and values. This process was more tedious than the present-day program.
Now, Mrs. Buschi has students create artwork based on their culture, hobbies, or anything that inspires them. Artworks can communicate many emotions; they can be uplifting, inspiring, enlightening, spiritual, joyful, sad, and more. Students have complete agency over the pieces that they create. IB art focuses on what students are passionate about and encourages them to think critically and take an analytical approach. Many students created unique art pieces by sewing fabric together to create dolls, incorporating jewels and chains into their work to add more details, and using old soda cans, string, and yarn to create unique and inspiring artwork. Other students have also used clay, glass, and plastics. Chloe Runge is a junior currently enrolled in her first year of the IB art program. To create her project, Chloe is currently working on a project using concentric circles in various shapes to form a larger piece of artwork.
In the current program, students include lengthy written explanations and presentations to accompany their work that are sent in for review, rather than meeting with an examiner for evaluation. In these presentations, students are required to explain the rationale and intention behind each of their pieces. Including details is vital since it helps provide readers with a strong understanding of a student’s connection to their work. It is also required that students include photos of the creation process, to help show the evolution of their work. Even when students make mistakes in their art, they still include it in their process presentation to demonstrate how they think critically and overcome challenges. In addition to creating process slides, students in the program also conduct research on different artists who make work similar to the style they want to pursue. This helps students gain a better understanding of what they want to create and may help in inspiring ideas.
Overall, the IB Art program has continued to evolve since its early years at Dobbs Ferry High School, and it will continue to do so with new students challenging themselves, and bringing their individuality forward