On May 29, an estimated 300 people crowded into the classroom-turned-gallery to view pieces that fit "standards of exemplary art," judged by a committee of fine arts teachers. The fair showcased work from the department's new advanced placement programs in sculpture, painting and drawing.

"The quality of work is much higher now, and so are our standards of excellent art," says department chair jef Wind. "The dedication of the students has been incredible this year; they really put their hearts into it."

Art teacher Eric Stachnick hopes his students' dedication will leave fair-goers with a newfound respect for high school artists. And with AP-quality art added to the mix, Stachnick says the fair has risen in its level of maturity.

"All of the work was strong, including AP artists, who know where their artwork is going, which added an interesting cognitive element," he says. "I want people to stop and reevaluate the work of my students and go, 'Wow, this is amazing.'"

Debbie Johnson, mother of Willow Glen junior Adam Johnson, agrees that the art fair was nothing short of amazing. "The art was so wonderful and inspiring, and very encouraging," she says. "It really made me see how strong the art program at Willow Glen High School is."

Standing between the Picasso imitations and sun sculptures, Willow Glen senior Monica Montelongo and her sister, sophomore Angelica Montelongo, watched to see if their dedication would pay off—literally.

"I hope that when people leave today, they will see that their money is being put to good use and donate more to the arts," says Monica Montelongo.

Her fellow classmate Mike Bedolla decided on a more aggressive approach for donations, attempting to raffle off three "limited edition jef Wind sharks" created especially for the fair. "Wind's classes are just so rad; I can't explain it," he says. "It's by far the best experience I've had at this school. He's instilled so much in me."

Perhaps the largest exhibit from Wind's sculpture class was a wall covered with vibrantly molded suns. According to Wind, these personalized suns encouraged students to create something unique rather than "doing something that has already been done."

Though Wind's sun project spanned an entire wall, one functional refrigerator filled with clay soda cans quickly became the center of attention.

Wind says "The Claes Oldenburg can project took an everyday object, a can, and enlarged it to make it powerful."

Among the pieces at each fair, Wind says around 20 are eventually sold, but the decision to market their work is left solely to students. In most cases, says Wind, art lovers will approach students personally for custom-made pieces.

But this year's fair offered more to attendees than visual art; Willow Glen senior Danny Saucedo played R. Kelly remixes on his guitar for over two hours. Saucedo also played songs from his latest independent CD, Also Ran, while attempting to sell copies for $10. When asked if he would be taking a break to look around the fair, Saucedo replied, "These CDs aren't going to sell themselves!"

But in the end, Wind says, the annual fairs are not about collecting money or selling CDs; they're about getting exposure for the students.

"I want people to look at our students' work and see that these students are really thinking," he says. "These pieces are visual statements; they're sentences; they're paragraphs."