Arts: Visual Arts

21st Century Maker Skills
Grades: 10-12
In this course, students will embark upon a journey of exploring, creating, and researching using 21st century tools and technologies. Students will learn how to design and create 3-dimensional art and craft elements using a variety of tools such as a CNC router, Laser cutter, band saws, and a multitude of other tools available in our modeling and fabrication laboratory. A strong emphasis is placed on student-generated design and conceptual ideas for each assignment, including carefully planned preliminary sketches. 

Art History: Recurring Themes
Grades: 10-12
More than ever before, we live in a world of man-made appearance, and whether we are conscious of it or not, what we see affects us. In this course, students will develop visual literacy and learn to recognize how various cultures have expressed and perpetuated many deeply held values through art and architecture. The ultimate question is this: how does art (from painting and architecture to advertising and fashion) influence our own sense of reality and shape our own desires? To approach this question in a manageable way, students will examine three or four major themes that recur throughout art history, such as Sacred Space, The Body, Power & Protest, Gender & Identity, and The Environment. They will study a broad range of works, comparing the ways artists from different time periods and cultures have responded to each theme. The class will discuss, read, and write about art, watch videos and film clips, and take a field trip or two to see some art in person. (Readings will be provided in class.) This course can be taken for arts or history credit.

Ceramic Sculpture
Grades: 9–12
In this course, students will engage with various ceramic materials and processes, while examining and creating three-dimensional forms. They will use the elements and principles of art as starting points for discussions around how objects are seen and perceived in three-dimensional spaces, and ultimately, “What makes a good Sculpture?”  This course may be repeated with permission of the instructor. 

Ceramics
Grades: 9-12
Students of ceramics become acquainted with the basic techniques and skills of using clay to create both functional and non-functional objects. Design principles, hand-building methods, safety, and studio etiquette will be covered. In the second half of the term, basic glaze theory and some wheelwork are explored. An emphasis is placed on personal expression and skill consistency. Students will keep a sketchbook/journal throughout this course and will record all works in a digital portfolio. This course may be repeated with permission of the instructor.

Darkroom Photography
Grades: 10-12
This course introduces students to black and white film photography and 35mm SLR camera techniques. Students learn how to determine a correct exposure, control depth of field and motion, process film, and finally, learn the various procedures to make a print from a black and white negative. They are asked to consider photography as a method for personal expression while also examining photography as a means of visual communication. Grades and comments are based on assigned projects and student growth in technical and communication skills as measured by a series of group critiques conducted throughout the term.  All students are required to have a 35mm camera whose aperture, shutter speed, and film speed can be controlled manually; the school will rent cameras to students who need them. 

Design Thinking
Grades: 9-12
Design is everywhere — in books, at the supermarket, on the interstate, and on the internet. Students learn about design concepts in a hands-on manner that emphasizes construction, clarity, composition, and critique. They focus on the process of making things using a design thinking model. Real world examples and experiences are worked into the course as much as possible, including a field trip to IKEA. 

Digital Photography: Personal Expression
Grades: 9-12
This class introduces students to photography as creative expression, using photography as a means to communicate an idea, a message, or an emotion. Students will learn camera functions, including how to determine a correct exposure and how to control depth of field and motion. They will be introduced to Adobe Photoshop, Camera RAW, and Adobe Lightroom techniques. Topics will include staging and lighting considerations, collage/montage, and beginning animation techniques. Students will explore creating images that incorporate the subjective view of the photographer. Grades and comments are based on student growth as measured by project work, and a series of group critiques conducted throughout the term. 

Drawing
Grades: 9-12
How do we view the world around us? Drawing is about seeing; it’s about careful observation and perception. This course deals with that world of seeing, observing, and perceiving. Students will experiment with charcoal, pencil, pen and ink, and pastels while introducing techniques and skills to enable them to gain confidence in their visual expression. 

Filmmaking: An Introduction
Grades 10-12
This course will introduce students to the different elements of film theory, genres, and filmmaking, including the development of cinema from silent film to “talkies.” The focus of the class will be two fold: study and analysis of film history and different film genres; and hands-on work in all aspects of filmmaking from pre to post production, including script writing, shot composition, mise-en-scène, sound, and editing. Over the course of the semester, students will watch, describe, and analyze a range of scenes, films, and genres through units of study including hands-on experimentation and the creation of film and visual material. The study of different film styles and elements and accompanying hands-on experimentation will equip students to create a final short film at the end of the course. 

Graphic Design
Grades: 9-12
This course introduces basic skills and key concepts relating to the creation of visual media for use in print and online. Students develop their understanding of graphic design concepts while utilizing industry-standard software packages such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. They are introduced to concepts related to visual design through a series of exercises and assignments. Assuming the role of graphic designer, students complete a number of real-world design problems, such as: the production of logos, posters, and magazine page layouts. Student work will be assessed on the basis of how well each student has satisfied the requirements of each assignment, and critiques will be conducted periodically throughout the semester. 

Painting
Grades: 9-12
This class is devoted to enriching a student’s development as an artist through the practice and study of painting in oils and acrylics. Students learn about the basic tools and techniques used in painting and will create a series of works of increasing complexity. They work primarily from life, beginning by exploring the ideas of realism and believability. As the class progresses, students will begin to delve into the murkier depths of painting, known as expression, eventually merging the two with a work of personal significance. 

Woodworking
Grades: 9-12
In this course, students learn basic woodworking concepts and skills. Safe studio practices are emphasized. The main thrust of this course is the logical process of designing and crafting in wood. Three major projects are usually completed in the course, with some students exceeding that number. A strong emphasis is placed on student-generated design and conceptual ideas for each assignment, including carefully planned preliminary sketches. 

Winter Arts Course

Figure Drawing
Grades: 10-12
This intensive study of drawing from the model meets two times a week after school during the winter sports season (from early November through February). Using a variety of drawing media, including pencil, charcoal, pen and wash, pastel, watercolor, and tempera, students explore gesture, proportion, mass, foreshortening, portraiture, and composition. Opportunities for expressive interpretation of the figure occur in the final portion of the course.  Prerequisite: Painting or Drawing or permission of the department. 

What is art? What is it for? Who controls it? Who gets to decide what art is? We often think of the existence of art as self-evident and transparent, but, in fact, it is the product of a host of assumptions made by those who create it, use it, or buy it. This class will blend history, art history, and anthropology to examine the changing ways in which societies have used and imagined art, from prehistoric painters to 21st century investors in NFTs, over the course of human history. Rather than a chronological survey of works of art in and of themselves, this is a course about the idea of art and artists. As such, the approach will be comparative and thematic. Specific course topics and case studies will be driven by student interest, but they may revolve around questions like: Who owns the art of the past? Must an artist starve? Do patrons create art? Why does the value of a work of art change if our understanding of the work’s creation changes? Is there a difference between a Grecian urn and an IKEA pitcher? What happens to an object made in one context when it is taken into another context? Can a body ever be art? Does art that memorializes the past have a value separate from the event it memorializes? This class may be taken for an art or history credit.

Ceramics
Grades: 9-12
Students of ceramics become acquainted with the basic techniques and skills of using clay to create both functional and non-functional objects. Design principles, hand-building methods, safety, and studio etiquette will be covered. In the second half of the term, basic glaze theory and some wheelwork are explored. An emphasis is placed on personal expression and skill consistency. Students will keep a sketchbook/journal throughout this course and will record all works in a digital portfolio. 

Darkroom Photography
Grades: 10-12
This course introduces students to black and white film photography and 35mm SLR camera techniques. Students learn how to determine a correct exposure, control depth of field and motion, process film, and finally, learn the various procedures to make a print from a black and white negative. Students are asked to consider photography as a method for personal expression while also examining photography as a means of visual communication. Grades and comments are based on assigned projects and student growth in technical and communication skills as measured by a series of group critiques conducted throughout the term. All students are required to have a 35-mm camera whose aperture, shutter speed, and film speed can be controlled manually; the school will rent cameras to students who need them. 

Digital Photography: Photo Documentary
Grades: 10-12
This class introduces students to representational documentary photography, and the use of the computer as a photographic tool. Students learn camera functions, including how to determine a correct exposure and how to control depth of field and motion. Students will be introduced to Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw, and Adobe Light Room. At the same time, they will explore photography as a means of documenting reality, and exploring how images can tell a story, capturing the world as it exists, without directing or editing the scene. Grades and comments are based on student growth as measured by a series of projects and group critiques conducted throughout the term. The school will rent cameras to students who need them.

Drawing
Grades: 9-12
How do we view the world around us? Drawing is about seeing; it’s about careful observation and perception. This course deals with that world of seeing, observing, and perceiving. Students will experiment with charcoal, pencil, pen and ink, and pastels while introducing techniques and skills to enable them to gain confidence in their visual expression. 

Filmmaking: Other Voices
Grades: 10-12
This course aims to introduce students to the topic of women and gender studies in film and filmmaking. The focus of the class will be two fold: analyze the representation, labor, and creative works of women and LGBTQ+ people in cinema from silent film to contemporary productions in different film genres in the US and globally, and hands-on work in all aspects of filmmaking from pre to post production, including script writing, shot composition, mise-en-scène, sound, and editing. Over the course of the semester, students will watch, describe, and analyze a range of scenes, films, and genres through units of study that will include hands-on experimentation and the creation of film and visual material that will incorporate elements of the films considered at the end of each unit. The study of different film styles and elements and accompanying hands-on experimentation with both will equip students to create a final short film at the end of the course. 

Illustration and Sequence
Grades: 9-12
Illustration and Sequence is a course about communicating ideas through images. Students will focus on drawing and collage techniques that lead them to creating illustrations about both personal and universal ideas. The class will spend a significant amount of time looking at contemporary artists and illustrators online and in books. Students will also explore how pictures, when grouped together and put in an order, can be used to tell stories, as seen in books, graphic novels, and animation. 

Junior Portfolio (Accelerated)
Grade 11
This accelerated course is designed for second-semester juniors who wish to pursue work toward the completion of a portfolio for their college applications or for archival purposes. Students should come to this class with solid experiences in 2-D, 3-D, or arts technology courses. Assignments are designed to enhance skills and experience and to develop a personal aesthetic and unique approach to art-making. The ability to work independently and outside of class time is essential. Prerequisite: Permission of the department.

Making About: Now
Grades: 10-12
This team taught course will begin not with a visual arts discipline but with ideas. We will make art — both about and from the daily newspaper using both two dimensional techniques like drawing, printmaking, painting, digital maker tools and collage, and three dimensional techniques like Papier-Mâché as well as installation. This class will take over the Arts Center using all studios for a less discipline-specific approach to making. This class is offered in alternate years and is not offered this year. It will be offered in 2024-25.

Metal Fabrication and Manipulation
Grades: 10-12
This course allows students to learn basic techniques, design considerations, and safety skills while working with ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and some non-traditional materials to create both personal and sculptural objects. This study includes cutting, shaping, smithing, enameling, and soldering methods for wire and sheet stock. Students will be expected to work with sharp tools and hot objects. 

Mixed Media
Grades: 9-12
In this project-based course, the emphasis is on experimentation, improvisation, and working from one’s imagination. Students explore the expressive potential of both traditional and non-traditional materials and methods, making 2-D and 3-D works that combine elements of drawing, painting, and collage. The goal is for students to discover and develop meaningful personal imagery—whether representational, symbolic, or abstract. To that end, students investigate various sources for inspiration, such as contemporary art, the natural world, memory, dreams, mythology, and popular culture. 

Printmaking
Grades: 9-12
In Printmaking, the world of the handmade and the mechanical intersect. When making prints, artists can make images and print them over and over again. This course explores both how to create relief prints, monoprints, and work with stencil techniques, learning how to construct images that lead to successful printing on paper and fabric. 

Sculpture
Grades: 9-12
In this course, students will engage with various sculptural materials and processes, while examining and creating three-dimensional forms. They will use the elements and principles of art as starting points for discussions around how objects are seen and perceived in three-dimensional spaces, and ultimately, “What makes a good Sculpture?”