As eighteen unique students all displayed various forms of art it was apparent that hard work really does pay off. The students, all of which were senior girls, put in a total of two years of work as they officially finished the IB Art requirements with the annual IB Art Show, which was displayed in the Black Box Theatre from April 7^th to April 10^th for students, faculty, and community members to see.

All students displayed their favorite pieces of art from the past two years. The students could display any piece of work they wanted, giving students the opportunity to show everything and anything. Pieces ranged from hand made costumes, to water colors, to ceramics and everything in between.

“They got to pick whatever they wanted to show. Some of it was uploaded to IB for the exam and some of it is extra,” said IB Art teacher Stephanie Nixon. “They got to pick based on how much space we had, what they were proud of, what they really wanted to show, and wanted they wanted to accomplish.”

Students took advantage of this freedom to express their passions. All of the students showed their own style and technique through their artwork and what they presented to the public.

“The most important thing this year has been the individuality of their work. It’s so different and so specialized, which is great to see,” said Nixon.

With the mass amounts of freedom some interesting choices were made. This year’s art show pushed boundaries that had not recently been pushed in past years. Some pieces raised eyebrows and caught the attention of many. The eye-catching pieces included a photograph series by Becca Howard, a painting by Emma Harvey, and a some sketches by Ally Lasser. Various pieces, such as Michaela Perau’s police brutality piece, also dealt with touchy subjects in today’s society.

“I definitely think that a lot of us pushed boundaries or addressed sensitive topics but the point of art is to make people think and start discussions and I think that that was the main goal,” said senior Michaela Perau.

Though the show was a huge success, and the students that participated in the show were very pleased with the final outcome and the attendance throughout the week. The two-year class wasn’t always easy and fun. The students did struggle at times to meet their expectations and those set by IB.

“The hardest part of the last two years was being your own critic,” said senior Caroline Godfrey. “There were a lot of instances when you felt as though you had to restart or you weren’t happy with the final outcome of the piece. Learning to move on start again was difficult at times.”

As the culmination of two years of hard work comes to a close, the eighteen courageous IB Art students now can move on and use the skills learned to express their freedom and ideas to the world, not just Aspen High School.