My 1st Commentary Article

Art Supplies - 

In the art department at Bowie High School, supplies are being used daily by students in multiple classes. Because of the continuous use, the art supplies are in bad condition and need of replacement. I feel that new art supplies are to be purchased and made available to the many art students around campus.

After signing up for Art I in hopes of improving my art skills, I was shocked to discover that the brushes and paints, along with other supplies, aren't sufficient. The colors in the watercolor palette were mixed together, making the entire palette unusable and preventing me from completing my project. 

How are students expected to make these outstanding pieces if they don’t even have supplies to make it acceptable?

The teachers tell students, including myself, to sign up for contests. I would be compatible with entering the contests, but an issue is that it takes me too long to complete my submission.

This may be partially from my details and precision, but the majority of my time spent is trying to find a watercolor palette that has all of the colors, or paintbrushes where the brush doesn’t fall off when I try to wash it off. The paper we receive can’t withstand the amount of paint being put on it, and I’ve resorted to bringing my own colored pencils to get my work done.

At the beginning of the year, all art students were required to pay a twenty-dollar art fee. I assumed this money would go towards supplies, but after ten weeks in this class, no noticeable things were updated. The paints are still a mix of colors and the brushes still come apart while using them.

Another issue is the sketchbooks. Art students were told they were to be given a sketchbook for the year that they could complete weekly assignments in. Everyone I talked to assumed we were getting a real sketchbook, not the stapled piece of slick paper we received.

I realize that art supplies are expensive, especially for the amount of students taking this course. This might be a pull factor for less expensive supplies, but the current cheap supplies just aren’t cutting it.

This doesn’t mean that the most expensive paints, colored pencils, or brushes are needed. For example, a Prismacolor 72-set of colored pencils are approximately sixty dollars. A watercolor palette can get up to around four hundred dollars, but most 16-set paints are found for approximately twenty dollars. The art program doesn’t need the best supplies, but a step up from Crayola can only improve our work.

In order to get these new supplies, money has to be gathered to purchase them. This doesn’t have to come from the teachers or staff. Students can donate a small amount of money that goes directly towards supplies, or the art program can host a fundraiser to raise money.  If all classes donate or raise money for supplies, the art program will have sufficient materials in no time.

Sports and other common clubs get new equipment, etc. every year, but the less popular organizations don’t. This needs to be changed. Every class, specifically art, deserves better supplies and materials to make the program successful.

In conclusion, I believe that the art program needs better supplies, as the current materials are falling apart and in need of replacement. For as many students as there are, this seems like a reasonable request.

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