The art department offers many different classes that appeal to students with a creative mind. Even if a student is not the typical creative type, more hands-on classes may appeal to them, such as Metalsmithing and Ceramics. Students who take art classes at MHS receive many opportunities to enter art competitions that can possibly lead to scholarships, gift cards, money, and more. Not only do students get to experience the creativity of art, but they also get to gain knowledge about the many aspects of art and how to continue to improve their skills.
Starting with the most essential art class, Art Foundations teaches students the basics of art and design. Students with no previous experience in art may shy away from taking an art class, but the Art Foundations class is perfect for them because it will prepare students for any art class they may want to take in the future at MHS.
“Students gain knowledge of different art mediums and how the elements and principles of design are applied to art,” explained Mrs. Toot, an art teacher at MHS who teaches the Art Foundations class.
Building basic skills in design and art will improve students’ artwork and help them to be able to join Fine Art 2 if they were not recommended into Fine Art 1 from 8th grade.
From Art Foundations or Fine Art 1, students can enter into any art class that they are interested in. If a student chooses to continue with the fine art route, they will be required to enter their art into art competitions in Fine Art 3 Honors, Fine Art 4, and Fine Art 4 AP. However, this will not be a requirement in Fine Art 1 and 2.
Mrs. Ambrus, a teacher for Fine Art 1 explains she encourages students to “experiment with different styles and eventually gain confidence in their drawing skills and be able to apply it to open assignments.”
Students continue to build these skills throughout each year of Fine Art from 1 to 4. Another required part of being in Fine Art is that students have to participate in building a portfolio. The Fine Art 4 AP exam requires a variety of art pieces from a student’s portfolio. This process of building a portfolio is essential for students who are interested in a career in art.
Additionally, a piece of advice all teachers of the art department recommend for students interested in entering a career in art after school is to build a solid portfolio. There is a class specifically designed for this which is the Portfolio Preparation class taught by Mrs. Toot. This is only a semester-long class, but students can take it for multiple semesters. Mrs. Kane, the teacher of Fine Art 2 through 4, including Fine Art 3 Honors and Fine Art 4 AP, explained how if a student wants a future career in art, it is important to build a portfolio.
“In any of the art classes that you would take at Mentor, we help students build a portfolio because the portfolio is like your resume,” Mrs. Kane says.
There are a variety of semester long classes that students can choose from other than the portfolio prep class.
The semester-long art courses that students at MHS can take include Digital Photography, Digital Arts, Metalsmithing, Ceramics, Drawing, Printmaking, and Portfolio Prep. These classes can hone and develop a variety of useful skills that students can apply not only to a career in art, but to a variety of other jobs. Mrs. Toot said that the most important thing students learn in her digital art, design, and photography semester classes is learning the Adobe programs. These programs provide students another form of art, Digital Media, if they are not interested in traditional art forms like drawing or fine art. Metalsmithing taught by Mrs. Henry is a class that many students enjoy including Olivia Wojtasik, a student at MHS.
“I love learning all these new art techniques!” Olivia said about the metalsmithing class. “I never would’ve been able to even come up with these types of ideas for projects before this class.”
Some of the Metalsmithing projects include making jewelry, cookie cutters, and even glass fusing.
Ceramics taught by Mr. Sanelli is another hands-on class and a good option for students not interested in fine art. There are 4 levels of ceramics each a semester long. Ceramics 1 begins with hand building projects and as students progress to Ceramics 2 they begin to use the pottery wheel.
The Drawing class, also taught by Mr. Sanelli develops students’ skills in drawing perspective and proportion as well as the other elements of art. In drawing 1 students projects mostly consist of just using a pencil and paper but in the next 3 levels of drawing, students get to experiment with combining a variety of art mediums including pen and watercolor.
Printmaking did not run in 2025 because not enough students signed up for the class, however there are many enjoyable projects in the printmaking class. These projects include a variety of different printmaking techniques ranging from relief prints to carving into metal plates.
Lastly, Portfolio Prep is extremely helpful when preparing for the Fine Art 4 AP exam as well as preparing for college applications if art school is an interest for students. Even if a student does not want to go to college for art, they can still receive a scholarship for college if they have a solid portfolio. Another way to earn scholarships, or scholarship money, is by entering art competitions.
Marlena Slaninka, a senior at Mentor High School is currently a Fine Art 4 AP student who won the 2025 Congressional Art Competition. She won first place, and the prize she won was a round-trip to Washington D.C. and attendance at the Meet District Rep Tour of the White House and the Capitol Building. For this nationwide congressional art competition there is only one winner per district. Marlena won this competition with an art piece depicting her sitting with her knees to her chest and her hands crossed looking straight at the viewer. A light shines in her direction revealing that her shadow has deer antlers. Nature, especially animals and the forest, is a common theme throughout Marlena’s portfolio. Marlena had to enter into the Congressional Art Competition because she is in Fine Art 4 AP. She has also previously taken other art classes at MHS.
“I am currently in AP Fine Art 4, and I have taken Fine Art 1, Fine Art 2, and Fine Art 3 honors,” Marlena explained. “If you’re an artist and you have finished work, it doesn’t have to be amazing as long as its done and ask your teacher’s opinion and submit it.”
Entering into art competitions can be done through MHS such as the PTA Reflections Contest. In the PTA Reflections contest, there is a different theme that is selected every year by students nationwide and the winning theme is chosen by the National PTA Reflections Committee. There are many art competitions that high school students can participate in such as the Scholastics, Governor Show, Congressional Art Competition, OAEA contests, and the Laketran bus wrap design contest. These competitions and contests provide students with many opportunities including a trip to D.C. like Marlena won, scholarships, prize money, and recognition for their artwork.
Mentor High School’s Fine Arts department’s variety of art classes provides students with as many creative opportunities as they are interested in. Whether it is digital art, traditional art, metalsmithing, or ceramics, students can choose what they prefer. Semester art classes are also perfect for filling up a schedule if there is an empty space in a student’s school day. The art department is full of caring and creative teachers that give students the skills they need to advance their art in whatever direction they want to take.
