Fine Arts

Course Description:
This course is a continuation of Advanced 3-Dimensional Art I. The student and teacher work together to create an individual curriculum that explores advanced 3-dimensional disciplines and techniques beyond the student’s previous coursework and knowledge. This course is also designed as a university or college preparatory class to fill-in or rework gaps in the presented body of completed works (portfolio). A class requirement will be to design a self-promotional piece that can be sent to universities and colleges with his/her application.

Course Description:
Develop traditional observational and drawing technique, beginning with a simple line. Learn to render value and form through a study of light and shadow. Color will also be introduced. Explore basic media, including graphite, charcoal, and colored pencil, and develop compositional awareness with an emphasis on the elements and principles of design. Subjects will include a series of object studies and personal reference images.

Course Description:
Continue to develop foundational drawing and observational skills through exposure to new media and subject matter. Study portrait and figure drawing, further explore composition, and also create a project of choice. Media introductions and exploration may include work with pastel, pen and ink, scratchboard, printmaking and watercolor.

Course Description:
Further foundational drawing and compositional techniques with a keen focus on intensifying observational skills. Develop individually creative directions through classroom projects and enrichment activities. Participate in an interactive classroom environment that is rewarding in terms of quality production as well as an enjoyable creative process. Work with a variety of media, including graphite and colored pencil, conte crayon, charcoal, and pastel. Build a strong base for use with drawing or any other art medium.

Course Description:
Individual drawing skill and technique will grow further through landscapes, portraits, and figures as well as through an opportunity to develop personally directed themes and imagery. Media will expand to include others of interest including mixed media. As skills and confidence develop, individually stylized mark making will begin to emerge.

Course Description:
Experience, practice, and develop work with several painting mediums. Begin developing initial painting techniques through watercolor with an introduction to color and brushwork. This will be followed by exploration of Acrylic painting through studies followed by a final painting. Subjects will include landscapes and other personal visual references.

Course Description:
Study traditional oil painting techniques, learn to mix and apply color, and explore brushwork after learning to stretch a canvas. Work also with pastel and learn to develop layers of pigment and detail through this dry painting medium. Subject matter includes life and object studies, landscapes, figures, portraits, or other personal visual references. Develop a level of confidence in painting through experience and practice with various media. Time may allow for pursuit of a final work in a media and subject of personal choice.

Course Description:
Photography students engage in art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and production leading to the creation of portfolio quality works. This course is designed to give the student an experience and understanding of photography and how it relates to the visual arts. The students will have extensive darkroom experience in which they will process film and develop prints for each of their projects. The focus is on composition and technical skills.

Course Description:
This course is structured to give the student a basic knowledge of digital design as it relates to the visual arts. The focus is on learning two main Adobe Creative Suite software programs: Photoshop (image manipulation) and Illustrator (vector art). A final portfolio and blog will be developed by employing Weebly, an online CMS (content management system). Students will come away with a better understanding design composition, layout, typography, and marketing skills.

Course Description:
This course is designed to give students an introductory experience and understanding of the world of photography as an art form. Students will be assigned thematic projects and will be expected to participate in classroom discussions. Students will focus on the exposure triangle, components of the camera, and editing photos. The student will be using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom software on MacBook laptops provided by the school.

Course Description:
This course would further develop the student’s visual problem solving skills learned in Design I with a special emphasis on using the computer and design programs. The students would also study the history of design and work collaboratively with other disciplines. There will also be a focus on presentation skills and how it will benefit the students as they continue their education and/or enter the workplace.

Course Description:
Create a Drawing portfolio focused on the Quality, Concentration, and Breadth of work produced: Concentration developed through the investigation of concepts, issues, and personal themes and subject matter, Breadth represented through experimentation and development through various art solutions, Quality presented through five strongest works. Must exhibit personal maturity and independent work habits, and accept the committed challenge of a rigorous studio art program. Along with the chance to receive college credit and/or advanced placement for college, develop artistic skills while preparing a portfolio of art for college or work. AP portfolio exam submissions are required, conducted through formal evaluations according to national standards of performance.

Course Description:
Create a 2D Design portfolio focused on the Quality, Concentration, and Breadth of work produced: Concentration developed through the investigation of concepts, issues, and personal themes and subject matter, Breadth represented through experimentation and development through various art solutions, Quality presented through five strongest works. Must exhibit personal maturity and independent work habits, and accept the committed challenge of a rigorous studio art program. Along with the chance to receive college credit and/or advanced placement for college, develop artistic skills while preparing a portfolio of art for college or work. AP portfolio exam submissions are required, conducted through formal evaluations according to national standards of performance.

Course Description:
A two-year program that develops aesthetic, imaginative, and creative faculties in a global context, with an emphasis on critical thinking, multicultural understanding, and exposure to various viewpoints. Develop knowledge and skills around a visual arts journal, which becomes a personal record of development and evolution as an artist. Discover original inspiration through media exploration to create a fully developed body of work. Examinations will be conducted regarding Comparative Studies of other artists' work, presentation of experimentation and development of artwork through a Process Portfolio, and completed work through Exhibition. Final evaluations are conducted according to International Baccalaureate standards of performance.

Course Description:
This course is a basic introduction to ceramics. Hand building techniques including slabs, molds, pinching and stamping will be learned using low-fire clays. All work will be kiln-fired using slip decoration and low-fire glazes. Accurate journals will be kept. Additionally, iPads are used for research on the internet.

Course Description:
Handbuilding and wheel throwing will be explored using high fire clays, with a concentration on form. Surface application techniques, slip decoration, resist, underglazes and glazes will be used on clay forms. Historical and technical information along with kiln firing will be learned. Accurate journals will be kept to record glazing data. Ipads are used to research projects and record progress. Many illustrated books , as well as current ceramic magazines as well as current magazines are available for students to use. 

Course Description:
This course is designed to further develop the ceramic skills beyond Ceramics 2. Students will continue to learn wheel throwing techniques and broaden their investigation of hand building techniques. Design Thinking and Product Design projects will be incorporated throughout the semester.

Course Description:
The student and teacher work together to create an individual curriculum that explores advanced 3-dimensional disciplines and techniques beyond the student’s previous coursework and knowledge. This course is also designed as a university or college preparatory class to fill-in or rework gaps in the presented body of completed works (portfolio). A class requirement will be to complete one art service learning project within the semester.

Course Description:
This portfolio is intended to address sculptural issues as related to depth and space. Design involves purposeful decision making about how to use the elements and principles of art in an integrative way. For this portfolio, students are asked to demonstrate proficiency of 3-D design through any three-dimensional approach, including, but not limited to, figurative or nonfigurative work that makes use of (appropriates) other artists’ works (including photographs) and/or published images must show substantial and significant development beyond duplication.

Course Description:
This course, which is equivalent to an introductory college art history survey, focuses on developing students’ art historical skills as they examine and analyze major forms of artistic expression from a variety of cultures from ancient times to the present. This course involves critical thinking and will develop an understanding and knowledge of diverse historical and cultural contexts of architecture, sculpture, painting and other media. While visual analysis is a fundamental tool of the art historian, art history emphasizes understanding how and why works of art function in context, considering such issues as patronage, gender, and the functions and effects of works of art.