The creative work of Long Beach High School’s International Baccalaureate Art juniors and seniors took the spotlight in the building’s commons on the evening of March 17, when family members, teachers and other guests joined the artists for a special showcase.

The IB Art Exhibition featured pieces that students created through various  mediums, ranging from sketches to paintings to sculptures, using an assortment of techniques.

Many works conveyed specific messages and inspirations. Kristen Koff’s piece, “The Wave Goodbye,” was made of magazines, paper towel rolls and beach sand with the intention of informing the community about pollution. Iain Wall depicted Pol Bury’s concepts of movement in his ink and watercolor image, “The Kinetic Man,” and Neil Opena used watercolors to illustrate the effect of war on art. Charlotte Kasper drew inspiration from Modigliani and Picasso in her oil pastel portrait, “Blue Lady,” and Alana Weiss developed a life-sized sculpture while experimenting with plaster craft.  

The IB Visual Arts courses invite students to explore a variety art media and concepts in a studio-based environment. The goal is to encourage student-artists to respond to and analyze the function, meaning and qualities of art.

Class participants develop and present independent ideas and explain the connections between their work and the work of others. The courses emphasize both students' creative processes and their final artistic products in two- or three-dimensional forms.