A: In doing this piece, I wanted to challenge myself to try something more realistic than I had been working on previously (abstract organic forms). The work was part of a concentration/independent study I was working on in ceramics at the time.

Q: What medium/media did you use? In which section of the portfolio did you submit it?

A: It is constructed out of clay coils. I left the coil form very visible to show the time and effort involved in the making of the work — it would have been much less time-consuming had it been constructed from slabs. I finished the surface with oil washes. I included the piece in the 3-D section of the General Portfolio.

Q: What particularly do you like about the artwork?

A: I like that it turned out to be quite a beautiful work of art when it originated as a kind of test or challenge for me. It was also quite controversial and inspired a lot of conversation within my class.

Q: Did the piece involve any particular challenges or difficulties?

A: It was quite massive and hard to transport by the time I had developed it to about half its size. I was also having a hard time maintaining the clay's moisture and was constantly battling the cracks that formed from dryness and the weight of the layers of clay.

Q: How did it fit into your AP course?

A: The work was part of my concentration that involved organic form, but I felt it fit better in the 3-D category because of its more figurative nature.

Q: Did you study art long before taking AP?

A: I took almost every art course my school offered between ninth and eleventh grades before finally getting involved with AP in my senior year. I also took courses at a ceramics co-op during the summer before senior year and took a figure drawing class during the winter of my senior year.

Q: What are your plans for the future? What are you doing now?

A: I am currently attending Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore on a scholarship. I am just about to finish my freshman year there. Its been a very rewarding experience to interact with so many talented artists. I just recently declared my major as ceramics and am excited to start working toward my degree. In the future, I hope to attend The School of The Art Institute of Chicago for graduate school, because Chicago is ultimately where I would like to live and begin establishing myself as a working artist.