Art students were armed and ready with chalk, paint brushes and photographs for the 33rd annual Art Day.

“Art Day impacts students by providing many creative outlets for them,” ceramics and jewelry teacher Deena Amont said. “There are many activities, so students can tailor their day to meet their own particular needs.”

Art Day was a low-key event for art students to enjoy a variety of art forms.

Art students departed Lawrence and headed to Highland, Kan., last week to compete in art contests and also take workshops to enhance their artistic knowledge in photography and Photoshop. The competitions included team clay, chalk drawing, amazing art race, self-portrait, wheel throwing and art history.

“I always enjoy it,” senior jeweler Ann Taylor said.  “It’s really encouraging, and it’s something fun you can do. You can still be artistic and not be very serious about it, so it’s never boring.”

Along with these hands-on activities, there was also a student exhibit filled with artwork done by high school students.

“For me, it is a special treat for those of my students who have worked amazingly hard on their class and portfolio work all semester,” photo teacher Angelia Perkins said.

As fun as the day was, many didn’t notice the work it took to be successful in Art Day. Students prepared a sketch for the sidewalk chalk competition, reviewed their portfolio to gather artwork and planed out their themed costumes for the Art Day theme.

“All of the work that is submitted for the competition of course must be completed well in advance,” Amont said.  “Students also plan out the chalk sidewalk drawing based on the theme, which is ‘The Face of Art.’ ”

Not only does Art Day improve art skills they can use in art classes at school, it also helps students get a better feel for what it’s like to be in a college environment, and it is beneficial to see other peers’ artwork.

“What’s cool about art day is that it’s on a college campus,” senior photographer Ryan Luna said. “So if I were to go to an art school, it’s sort of that environment, like they have studio settings.”

And group competitions help teach real-life skills like problem solving.

“Every project or assignment is basically a problem making or problem solving assignment to solve a design problem,” Amont said. “Art day activities are mostly based on that concept — laying out the boundaries of a problem and letting students ‘loose’ to solve it.”

After all of the competitions, the top three schools receiving the highest scores for individual and team competitions earn trophies. To cap off the day, students and teachers are gathered for the award ceremony where award-winners can collect their handmade ribbons and trophies.

Awards encouraged students to stay artistic and keep involved in art classes.

“Last year when I went, my piece won best in show and so that kind of encouraged me to keep going with jewelry,” Taylor said. “Especially because I was going to stop, but then I did well and that encouraged me to keep going.”