Arts

This course introduces the varied aspects of our arts program. Students will spend a semester in Studio Arts and a semester in the Performing Arts. Each semester course exposes students to the essential concepts and skills of the field and will promote a sense of hands-on engagement and enjoyment of the visual arts.

This course is designed to acquaint students with various aspects of the visual arts and to provide training in basic skills and understanding. A strong emphasis on drawing is at the core of the program. However, elements of composition and an introduction to color theory and painting may also be included.

Color, design, drawing as it applies to painting, and principles of composition will be the main focus of this course in the first semester. Work will be done from imagination and from two- and three-dimensional sources. In the second semester, the focus will shift toward working more creatively and thinking critically. Subjects such as still life, landscape and self-portraiture may be covered. Works by master artists will be discussed and will provide important models for many of the assignments. Prerequisite: Studio Art 1 or permission of the instructor. A materials fee is required for this course.

A second year at the Advanced Studio level is designed to meet the needs of the serious developing student artist leading to preparation of an art school portfolio and/or for an Advanced Placement exam in Studio Art.

This course explores the specific discipline of photography as a visual art. Assignments are designed to allow for experimentation while developing appropriate techniques. Students will operate a manual 35 mm SLR camera, process film, develop prints, present and evaluate work, refine their visual awareness and understand the elements of design while learning to appreciate the work of other artists. Students may utilize tripods, flash, various lenses and other formats of film to create images. Specific weekly assignments include depth of field, composition, photo essay and the use of pinhole and Holga cameras.

This course explores the specific discipline of photography as a visual art through the tools of the digital camera and associated computing. Students will learn about how the digital camera works, imaging, editing and websites. Students will work to create a digital album, new rolls, adjust exposure, color and sharpness in iPhoto and or Photoshop.

This course explores the specific discipline of photography as a visual art. Students will learn the basics of using a 35 mm camera and darkroom techniques associated with black and white photography. The aesthetics of fine art photography and reproduction of high quality work are emphasized in conjunction with producing personal work.

This course explores the specific discipline of ceramics as a visual art. Assignments are designed to allow for experimentation while developing appropriate techniques. Skills learned include designing wheel or hand-built pieces, including functional vessels and other decorative objects. Weekly assignments include production of bowls, vases, mugs, pitchers and hand built pots from coils and or slab construction or a combination of methods.

This course explores the specific discipline of ceramics as a visual art. In ceramics students learn to create pieces of their own design, based on techniques they acquire from demonstrations, videos and from collaborative work with each other. Students utilize the tools available in the studio: electric or kick wheels, a slab roller, an extruder and many hand tools. Firings are accomplished in an electric kiln or by primitive sawdust or Raku firing.

This course introduces students to the computer as a creative tool for expressing visual ideas. One of the primary goals is for the student to become proficient in using Adobe Photoshop. Students will be taught how to use the basic and more intricate functions of the program to create individual work. Class activities include studio assignments focusing on problem solving and the creation of design as a means of visual communication. Students will have the opportunity to check their art on a professional color printer; twice a year there will be an art show in conjunction with the other art disciplines in which the work of the graphic art students will be printed on a large format art printer on canvas, or on watercolor paper for exhibition.

This hands-on course teaches students how to plan, design, execute, and produce a graphic publication such as a school yearbook. Computer design and lay-out skills are learned, photographic and visual design skills are engaged, and the art of communication to a specific audience is enhanced. In the springtime, after the yearbook has been completed, the focus of the class shifts to ancillary projects such as the production of a senior slide show, the spring supplement to the yearbook, and support of the literary magazine Parnassus.