Advanced Portfolio Preparation
The Glassell School of Art and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo are pleased to offer teen students the opportunity to participate in the Advanced Portfolio Preparation program (formerly Advanced Junior Studio). This program is made possible through the Junior School’s Portfolio Competition and the Livestock Show and Rodeo's School Art Competition.
Overview
The Advanced Portfolio Preparation (APP) program is a three-year scholarship for high school students. This program offers a full-semester scholarship (14 weeks), each fall and spring, consisting of three-hour classes on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The APP program provides outstanding fine-arts instruction for students in public, private, and parochial schools in Harris and surrounding counties. Portfolios are accepted each spring from students who will be entering high school the following academic year.
Classes
APP scholarship recipients attend classes that allow for the development and refinement of skills and techniques needed to build a well-rounded portfolio, as well as the development of a professional ethos for the emerging visual artist. The APP program includes areas of concentration in two-dimensional and three-dimensional visual arts.
First-year students attend a mixed-media studio course in which they receive instruction in different media and are given time to refine their drawing skills. Second-year students receive advanced instruction in painting. Third-year students explore three-dimensional design and concentrate on portfolio development. Modeled on a highly successful course offered to adults through the Glassell Studio School, this class takes high school students through the development of a solid portfolio, composition of an artist’s statement, and preparation of a strong CV or résumé. In addition, students learn how to create a digital portfolio, and they receive instruction on the application process for fine-arts college programs.
Opportunities
The combination of hands-on classes to develop a body of work, and the practical course to prepare a portfolio while building college and career skills, creates opportunities for high school students to fully prepare appropriate materials and apply for undergraduate fine-arts programs. The APP program meets an existing demand from upper-level students and provides a unique preparatory package for high school students that is not found elsewhere in Houston.