Visual Arts Department

Grades 11, 12
The emphasis of this course is the development of artistic and technical skills in hand building, wheel-throwing, glazing and firing technique. Advanced students are allowed to pursue work independently under supervision of the instructor. They are allowed the freedom to develop, improvise, refine and explore techniques and materials as an guided independent course of study.

Grade 10
Students are acquiring, developing, and refining their artistic skills in hand building, wheel throwing, glazing and firing techniques. Students are exposed to different construction and glazing techniques to experiment with such as carving, sgraffito and wax resist. Students create sculptural forms such as self-portraits using hand building techniques and utilitarian forms such as bowl, cups and vases using the pottery wheel.

Grade 9
The emphasis of this class will be the development of artistic and technical skills in hand building and glazing and an introduction to wheel-throwing. Students will continue to develop their technical skills with carving and texture applications, glazing methods and construction techniques, applying them to projects such as animal sculptures, and utilitarian forms such as bowl, cups and vases using the pottery wheel.

Grades 7, 8
Students expand their knowledge and skills of basic hand building techniques in clay such as pinch, coil, slab and joining. Students will continue to develop their technical skills with carving and texture applications and glazing methods as a vehicle for self-expression. Students will create utilitarian forms such as cups and bowls and sculptural forms such as animals.

Grade 6
Students are introduced to basic hand building techniques and basic glazing techniques. They will learn basic construction techniques such as pinch, coil, slab, and joining. Students will also learn about carving and glazing methods as a vehicle for self-expression. Students will create utilitarian forms such as cups and bowls and sculptural forms such as animals.

Grades 11, 12
Grades 11 and 12 fiber arts concentrates on developing student knowledge, interests and awareness of hand and loom weaving techniques that have their foundation in historic and cultural traditions.

Grades 11, 12
This course focuses primarily on student self-expression. Projects are theme based and require students to research imagery and art styles that best represent what they want to show in their work. During the second semester, students are asked to work on projects independently demonstrating their own personal voice and artistic expression.

Grade 10
10th grade painting and drawing focuses on composition, design and idea development. Student work is driven by personal content themes while still enhancing and developing technical skills. Projects include 2- point perspective, botanical and landscape painting, self-portraits, abstraction and mixed media.

Grade 9
Ninth grade painting and drawing focuses on further development of skills and more thoughtful use of personal expression. Students begin to incorporate more content driven ideas into their work emphasizing expressiveness and personal imagery. Projects include self-portraits, 1-point perspective tonal drawings, landscapes and abstraction.

Grades 7, 8
Seventh and eighth grade painting and drawing reinforces concepts and techniques learned in 6th grade. Students work with more complex 1-point perspective issues, mix and use different color schemes, explore composition and design ideas that include objective and non-objective themes. Students also research famous artists and create reproductions of their work.

Grade 6
Sixth grade painting and drawing introduces students to a variety of fundamental and traditional materials and techniques. The class focuses on 1- point perspective, color and value mixing, contour drawing and using a grid to redraw an image. Materials used include pencils, color pencils, pastels, oil pastels and watercolors.

Grade 6, 7
Grade 6 Drawing, Printmaking, and Mixed Media focuses on developing the students’ knowledge of the elements and principles of art and design through active engagement in the studio environment. During the course of the semester students are introduced to a variety of techniques and art media including pencil, pastel, acrylic paint, collage, and fiber. Students are also introduced to art history and the fundamentals of art criticism.

Grades 11, 12
This course focuses on developing students’ understanding of how art connects to their life, community, and culture. This course continues to develop students’ self-expression and artistic techniques through rigorous and active engagement in the studio environment. Some of the projects are based on learning specific art media and techniques (i.e. portraits, printmaking, etc.) and others ask students to develop independent projects based on their personal inquiries.

Grades 7, 8
Printmaking and Mixed Media is a visual art course that applies traditional elements of design (line, shape, form, space, value, texture, color, time, and motion) through the use of non-conventional materials. Projects have an emphasis on creating original art from recycling, repurposing, and recreating objects found in everyday life. Students are encouraged to develop their own voice as young artists and broaden their view of what art is and what it can be.

Grades 11, 12
Students are usually given 2 projects a year by the instructor (such creating a sculpture that will serve as your last marker, or creating a vessel that is suspended off the ground). For the most part, students are required to work and develop independent projects under the guidance/supervision of the instructor. They may choose to either refine skills that have been learned in previous classes and/or experiment, explore, and develop other skills, techniques, and forms.

Grades 10
Students are introduced to moldmaking (for lifecast and resin sculpture) using plaster, casting and finishing techniques (polyester resin-plastic), project planning and design for each phase of their projects, a little engineering, science, and math (Archemides method of displacement for determing volume, error correcton in mold volumes, mass and balance, ratios for resin to catalyst -determined by shape and density, etc.). The class will also continue to work with clay as a primary material and means for generating ideas and forms for other materials.

Grades 9
Students will learn about the materials that they use, refine techniques they have learned in previous classes, will learn a little engineering about form, mass and balance, will further investigate the history of the discipline, and aesthetic decision making. The projects in this class over the past year have included totems (an interpretation of human form), figure modeling, animals (modular assembly), studies in texture, and symbols of power and authority (such as staffs, rods, and rayguns).

Grades 7, 8
This is an introductory course that teaches the basic skills and concepts used in the creation of three-dimensional works from clay. Students will learn about the materials that they use, basic ceramic construction techniques, glazing, the history of the discipline, and aesthetic decision making. The artwork in this class (such as figures and animals) will be created from modules that are created and assembled by the students, giving them an opportunity to change and modify the appearance and structure of their work at various stages of the process.