Samo welcomes new AP 3-D Art and Design Class

Art by Florence Fraiser-Macduff

Advanced Placement (AP) 3-D Art and Design will be introduced at Samo in the ’26-’27 school year, allowing students to explore multidimensional mediums of art. The new course will immerse students in the study of form and material experimentation through cardboard engineering, multimedia sculptures and textile structures, among other art forms.

The class contains six units, with most having final projects at the end of each that range from making foldable sculptures to building armatures. Taught by current ceramics teacher and Visual Arts Department Chair Laurie Gutierrez, the course will be available to all grades and take place in Exploration 261.

“You don’t have to be the best at painting a portrait, but you need to be concerned with how things look,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a similar skillset, but the difference between an artist and a designer is that a designer is thinking about everyone liking it, whereas an artist is focused on expressing themselves. There’s a lot of overlap, but design pertains to something there will be use of.”

Currently, Samo’s visual arts department includes one of three classes from the AP Art and Design program–AP 2-D Art and Design. Similar to AP 2-D, AP 3-D Art and Design is assessed by a spring AP Portfolio. AP 3-D Art and Design, however, focuses more on problem-solving and external function–contrasting the self-expression that AP 2-D is built off of. Skills such as problem solving and experimentation are crucial to the class, as well as conceptual thinking that goes beyond traditional methods.

Although taking ceramics is not necessary to take the course, at least one year of ceramics–with a grade of B or higher–is recommended. The introduction of the class has inspired many ceramics students, such as Katie Lee (’27), to continue their exploration of sculptural art.

“I’ve been drawing since I was a little girl and I’ve always loved being creative,” Lee said. “I wanted to take a class where I could really use and grow those skills in a new way. I’m also in ceramics [class], which I enjoy a lot because it lets me create hands-on art work, get to try new techniques and have fun while making art.”

The application for the class requires students to submit a slideshow portfolio that includes five works, with at least three being 3-D. On remaining slides, you must add well-lit photos of your work from multiple angles, as well as the work's title, year made and materials. Due on March 6, the application must be submitted through the Google Classroom with code x4zde4lg.