Exploring Sage Oak’s CTE Art Programs: From Studio Art to Animation

Exploring Sage Oak's CTE Art, Media, and Entertainment Pathway with Tracie Ferring and Jessica Perri

In this episode of Sage Studio, host Tiffiny Webster discusses the Sage Oak CTE Art programs with high school teachers Tracie Fearing and Jessica Perri. Tracie and Jessica share insights into their roles, the types of art they teach, and the diverse career pathways available through the art programs. They highlight the benefits of the AP Studio Art and Animation courses, the critical thinking skills developed through art education, and the opportunities for students to engage in art clubs and field trips. They also discuss how the CTE pathways prepare students for college and careers in the art industry.

00:00 Introduction to Sage Studio
00:27 Meet the Art Program Teachers
00:36 Overview of the CTE Art Programs
00:46 Tracie's Role and Expertise
01:41 Jessica's Role and Expertise
02:39 Career Opportunities in Art
05:06 Developing Skills and Critical Thinking
07:52 Class Structure and Learning Environment
13:07 AP Art Program Details
15:50 Art Clubs and Extracurricular Activities
17:11 Field Trips and Real-World Experiences
18:44 Conclusion and Final Thoughts



 For enrollment information, visit the Sage Oak website at www.sageoak.education.

Thank you for listening to the Sage Studio podcast presented by Sage Oak Charter Schools and hosted by Tiffiny Webster, M.A.Ed. We invite you to follow the show and leave your review below. Sage Oak Charter Schools is an independent study nonclassroom based TK-12 personalized learning public charter school serving students in Southern California. Visit sageoak.education for more information.

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Transcript

0:14

Welcome to another episode of Sage Studio. I'm Tiffiny Webster. Today we are diving into our Sage Oak CTE Art programs. I am so excited to talk about this. And I have two amazing guests. First, Tracie. Welcome to the show. Hi, Tracie nice to see you. See you and Jessica as well. Hello. These are two of our Sage Oak high school teachers who are overseeing the, CTE Art program. So I'm going to let them introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about, what they do. So let me start with you, Tracie, tell us a little bit about your role here at Sage Oak and the type of art that you are really an expert in when it comes to the Art CTE program. Hi, I'm Tracie Fearing, and I teach the Visual Art 2 class, and then I also teach AP Studio Art, and then I'm also an EA for San Diego and South Riverside County. I teach the visual arts, which lends itself to traditional fine art, painting, drawing, three dimensional work. the AP Studio Art is an intense course. designed for dedicated artists serious about developing their craft. the entire year is dedicated to creating one portfolio that is digitally submitted to the, AP college board for grading for college credit. Now we are going to dive into that later for sure because I want to know a little bit more details. First let me go over to Jessica. Jessica, tell us a little bit about your role in the program and the type of art that you oversee. Sure. Jessica Perri. Hello. I teach animation one and two. I'm also an EA in the San Bernardino County. and in our program, we are Arts, Media and Entertainment. So we really focus on, film, television, the whole industry of animation. We talk about Storyboarding, character design, and lots of really cool careers in that pathway. I love it. You know, it doesn't surprise me that, these programs are becoming more and more popular with our students because the programs are evolving from not just, you know, learning about art concepts, but they are really learning about art industries and how they can take their love of art and love of learning the different skill sets and apply them to lots of different college and career pathways. So that is super exciting. Tracie, I'm going to start with you and talk to us a little bit about the intention of the CTE program So it's for students that are interested in developing their artistic talents and the technical skills, that are in demand in various industries that we don't normally think of. So there's so many students that are passionate about art, but they don't think that there's a career option for them. this is to open their eyes, just to let them dabble in possible careers, because the creative industry is very diverse. I think that is such an important point because a lot of, students do think that their only pathway to a career in art is to be a studio artist. As someone who's overseeing that side of the program, what are some of the, college degree students might be going into or some of the career fields that they might go into? I love to introduce my students into some really like kind of outlier careers. there's art therapy, Which I wish I would have known. They still require, fine artists to create medical illustrations. They really love artists that are skilled in that traditional drawing to do medical illustration, set design, is huge. and then as well as working at a gallery, being a teacher, there are just so many different opportunities. That's so exciting to think about, and I think it's probably something that really opens up the world of art and art, education and art careers to our students and gives them something to really think about that they might not have even, thought was possible. How about for you, Jessica? Is the same true with the Arts, Media and Entertainment side? Are you finding that there are, a wide range of career opportunities for students? Yeah, the, animation industry has, a plethora of jobs because, they can go not into just the art field, but there's also, more technical sides as well. so they could become a 3D animator or a rigger, which is the type of person who creates the skeleton of the character that gets animated. It's pretty cool. they can go into special effects. They could become a storyboard artist. layout artist, visual development, and sometimes students when they think about animation, don't realize how many possibilities there are and they can really specialize in one of these careers. I like to let them know, there are lots of possibilities and the more you broaden your skills, the more opportunities open up to you. it makes me wonder, do students have to come into these programs with a lot of skills already? Or could a student who was just curious about art, start in this program and learn their way through it. Tracie, what do you think? The key component is it develops and fosters creative thinking and problem solving. Visual Art 1 it's just such an awesome class to dabble in and be exposed to something you may never have been. And then, oh, wow, I do really like this and then carry it on. I feel like with Studio Arts and Visual Art we go really deep into color theory and paint mixing, I want to go back to something you said, about the critical thinking part. Give me an example of how you see art as a way of broadening a student's ability to think critically. So my favorite part of art education is I feel like with a lot of subjects. there's only one answer. But in art and in life, there's multiple ways to solve a problem. when you are learning art, you're presented with a problem, or a project, and there's so many different avenues to get there. And then also being okay with not being great at it, right? Like comfortable with the discomfort. Really great for, I want to say students, but all of us, right? Fighting through that feeling like this isn't good. This isn't coming out the way I want. And then ending up on the other side with maybe something you love or maybe something you learned because it's not the outcome you had expected. I think that makes a lot of sense. Jessica, how about for you on your side of things with more digital media arts, do you find that students really have to have some tech background to do well in this program, or can someone come in brand new and still learn, the skills they need I tell my students because they will come in and say I can't draw. I don't know what I'm doing. And they get nervous. but I tell them this is just about effort. that's all I want to see just you try because even if you don't end up going into the arts, this skill is something you can carry with you, the rest of your life. You are developing an eye for detail, organization skills, you're learning what looks good, you're learning aesthetics, and being able to take an idea that you have and put it onto paper is so important for just communicating with people. If you think a CEO who needs to explain something that they're thinking to their team. If they can jot that down on paper, that's really powerful. I think that's a really great point. There's so many things in just communication that can be broken down into blocks or storyboards, About how you want to communicate your message. so your students are learning to see it that way. Tracie, are these classes in real time? Is everyone online? Like at home, all drawing and painting together. Or are the classes more like conversations and then students are working on their own times on art projects. How does that work? Give us an idea about what it looks like. When I opened up the class, we have an agenda and I like to start with a warm up sketch. So we all do something really funky. The last class we started our sketch, we actually put our pencils, our drawing medium in our mouth and we all did our sketches. It was hilarious. But I taught him how to loosen up and be okay. Cause they're not beautiful drawings, right? None of them. So we're all in boat. I work with them. So I show them making mistakes, like that my stuff isn't great. I can't draw with my mouth. After we do a warm up, I have slides. I'm a visual learner. Most of my art students are visual learners. So I have lots of slides. We will always review other student work. you're always inspired by one of the masters. So we'll talk about their progression of art. I love to demo a technique and the feedback I got last year is my students loved the demoing best. So I'm going to create that more this year, which I was actually surprised, but I have an awesome doc camera and I demo and play music they're free to watch me or work with me. I give extra credit if they're willing to share because that is really hard. but yeah, that's how we run the class. And then we always have time at the end of class. sometimes they want to wait for their peers to leave to show me what they're working on their own, things like that. We're talking about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable I think having the students get out of their comfort zone with those creative out of the box activities, that's a really fun way to help everybody. feel like the playing field is leveled how to make the most out of something that isn't quite the vision they originally had. So I think that's really powerful. Just the different layers of how they can share with you or how they can connect is really what makes this class, even though it's a set pathway, still feel very personalized all of the students have a way to personalize the course to them and feel comfortable in what Is a vulnerable subject area with having your art evaluated because it is so subjective. So I love that you've built that in. Jessica, does your class operate on those same structures? Are you doing class work all together like a co working session? Or do you follow the same kind of structure that Tracie does? Yeah, it's pretty similar. We do lots of visual examples. and I also found the same thing that kids just really like the demonstrations. So what I'll try to do is we'll, demo together. I'll do my, practice first, the kids will follow, and then I might have some independent practice for them where they try it on their own. and then if they get nervous, we'll go back to more guided practice. Lots of demos, which I think hands on practice is the best way to learn. that goes over pretty well. So when students enroll in a CTE pathway, what does that really mean? Tracie, What's the purpose behind, enrolling in a CTE pathway versus just taking an art class? Really what we want, is we want everyone to be college and career ready. The classes, are not necessarily sequential until you get to those capstones. AP would be considered a capstone. I know with the other, CTE programs, they can get certifications. It's just you're leaving with something more than just a skill, College used to be when you were taking all your general ed, you were figuring it out, but it's not like that anymore. You need to go to college with a really good idea of the direction. How about you, Jessica? What would you say is the difference between being enrolled in a CTE Art pathway program versus just taking an art class? Since you're focused on a particular pathway, you're going to, build a lot more advanced skills. In a regular art class, it's fun and you'll definitely learn something. Of course, you take it for a year and hopefully come away with, some knowledge. but once they get into that capstone class, in AP Studio, they're making their portfolios. in my Animation 2, they're also making portfolio pieces that they could take to their art colleges, apply with them, or they just have a leg up over the other students, because a lot of students aren't taking animation in high school, if that's a field they're really interested in and want to try for themselves, there's no better way to get ahead of the game, which is actually really important if it's an industry they want to work in because the job market is so competitive. I think that's a good point is that by concentrating their efforts into a specific art program, they are not only, knocking out those high school requirements, but they are compounding their skill set so that when they move beyond high school they're ready for either a college degree program art school or a career path will, make the best use of all the skills they're bringing with them. So I think that's a great reason commit to a program versus just taking, a one off class Tracie let's talk for a minute about the AP Art class and the art program that, has been added this year. Tell me a little bit about that. So with AP studio the expectation is that, you are a committed artist. You are dedicated to, improving your craft, and really upping your level. I'm giving them projects to help inspire them, but we're also using work they've already done. we're revisiting that work because there's such a big body of work that needs to be done to submit by May. There's a lot of outside of class time on their own. So as they're working on things, they need to be photographing them. The thumbnail sketches, the first stage, All of the mistakes and the mess ups the AP board wants to see that, I think that's really good for my students that they're understanding that whole process rather than this is just my really beautiful end product, you know, a lot of exploration. A lot of using materials that they're not comfortable with, which is really hard for my artists that identify as I'm a really good artist. This is my medium. nope, you're going to try this. And then also there have to develop a theme. So all of their work at the end has to have a theme on a pretty in depth topic that they have to be able to talk about. So I think that's the biggest piece that's different than the other art classes that I've taught they need that vocabulary and they need to be able to explain, their processes and communicate, So once they put together that very comprehensive portfolio and they submit it to the AP board, what happens next? They send everything out and then, we wait. And then What are you hoping that the students get from the AP board? How is it scored? It's scored, one through five. My goal is fours and fives. a three and above gets you the college credit, but my artists are way too good to get a three. They're going to get a four or five for sure. I love that. So they put together this comprehensive portfolio. They submitted to the AP board. And then if they receive a score of a three, four or five, then not only are they getting high school credit, but they're getting college credit for the course as well. Yes. It looks amazing on a college application. That portfolio is something they could walk Into any kind of art, venue and say, this is what I do. Okay. So not only will they get the benefit of maybe getting some college credit, but they really have a nice piece of work to demonstrate their skillset. Should they want to go into a career path or apply for a program, they'll have that to show for their work. Now that we know how things look on that end of the spectrum. Let's talk about the beginning. If a student is just starting to think about an art program, it sounds like they could even start with a club if they weren't quite ready to commit to a program or class yet. So Jessica, tell me about what a art club might look like. We host the drawing club one Friday of the month. it's a very relaxed atmosphere. It's basically for any student who has any interest in art or drawing. we do art activities together. I know last year everyone's favorite assignment was, create your own superhero. we pulled up a superhero generator that would randomize and come up with a power for them and they would design a character based on that. everyone had so much fun. I had a great time too. Tracie tell me about your club because you got roped into running a special club based on student interest, which I think is fantastic. Tell us a little bit about your club. I was surprised to find a lot of my visual artists are really into performing arts. One of my amazing artists started a theater club and asked me to oversee it, which I'm happy to do because it is student led. and just have actually learned so much from them about performing arts. Their knowledge of theater and musicals is mind blowing. And the clubs are not the only fun these students are having. They're doing a lot of field trips as well, right? There's a lot of art field trip opportunities. Jessica, tell me about some of those. one that I'm very excited about, coming up is we're going to visit the Garner Holt Studio. They create animatronics for theme parks. they're located in San Bernardino, totally local place, and students are gonna go on this trip and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. And it's not just for art students. It's for anyone interested in theme parks or electronics, and working in engineering. it's going to encapsulate a lot of different skills. So I'm hoping that a lot of students will sign up for Garner Holt. Tracie, are there any studio types of, field trips coming up or any art museums that students can go and visit? We did a couple of museums last year. I think it is a great opportunity. Students have a mindset that museums are stuffy and formal, but we went to the Museum of Modern Art in Balboa Park. And that's just filled with a ton of work that I talk about in my class. So I think it's really exciting for them to see We did, the Museum of Latin American art in Long Beach, which is one of my favorite museums. They had an activity after for the students to create some art of their own, which is really fun. I'm also hoping there's some galleries. I would like them to see that have art studios attached so they can actually artists are working on artists that are creating, you know, gallery art. Hopefully that one's going to come to fruition. Clearly, we could go on and on about all the amazing things that are available to our students. I think it's so exciting to see how the CTE programs are continuing to evolve. I want to thank you both for being guests on the show today and sharing all of this great information with us. if you are new to Sage Oak, or want to learn more about the programs we offer here, you can always go to sageoak. education to get some more information on the CTE programs. Or talk with your student's EA. They're always a really great resource when it comes to enrolling. and hopefully if your student is at all curious in this, that you'll start with maybe a club, maybe a field trip, but somehow get involved in these amazing art programs. All right, Tracie, Jessica, thank you so much for being my guest today. And I hope to have you back and tell us more about what's going on with the program. Thank you, Tiffiny. It was a good time. We will see you on the next one.