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Course Offerings
Introduction to 20th Century Art - A hands-on course which considers the major “isms” of the 20th century beginning with Impressionism at the end of the 19th century. Units generally take one week – time to learn about the artist connected with the art form and then to create an art object or image in that style.
Advanced Ceramics - Students may select to focus on ceramic sculpture or pottery. Potter’s wheel. Mold making. Skills in teaching ceramics and work with loading a kiln will enable students to apply for employment in summer camps for children. Resume writing and how to look for a job in the summer.
Advanced Illustration – Introduction to commercial illustrations (editorial, story, and advertising) from both a production and a business perspective (working with art directors, contracts, artist’s rights, copyright laws, and reproduction rights).
Advanced Painting – Oil or acrylic. Atelier method with great deal of choice in size of canvas, subject matter and style. Explore different techniques to discover those that best suit one’s style. Reproductions and reference material, museum visits, gallery visits. Portfolio development.
Advanced Photography – Further study based on skills developed in Beginning Photography. the course further develops students’ skills in black-and-white photography and introduces studio lighting, darkroom manipulation such as polarization, new films and chemicals. Students will create a color slide presentation set to music. They will work with concepts of photo plus text in darkroom-created and computer-created images. Prerequisite: Beginning Photography
Advanced Printmaking 1 and 2 - Build on skills first encountered in basic printmaking. Monotypes, woodcuts, multi-block prints, collographs, acid etchings, lithography, and silkscreen. Portfolio development.
Advanced Sculpture - Students have the option to choose one or more of several media. Maquettes, drawings, working on commission, public and private sculpture, commemorative and architectural sculpture.
Advanced Watercolor Painting 1 and 2 – Application of aquarelle (transparent) watercolor techniques introduced in Studio Practice 2. Variety of subject matter inlcudes landscapes, seascapes, portraits, still lifes, interiors, and figures. Techniques such as wet on wet, wet on dry, layered, stop out, resist, mixed media. Portfolio development.
Art History and Art History, Advanced Placement – Required of art seniors. Open to other studios as a humanities course if schedule and space in the class permits. Year-long course. Chronological approach in studying major art forms and periods from Paleolithic to the present. Relationship of art to the culture of the period. Lessons illustrate by extensive collection of slides. Three museum reports required each term.
Basic 3-D Design – Using a variety of materials such as bristol board (paper), metal, wood, and found objects. Constructing and assembling forms that resemble structure.
Basic Ceramics – Pinch pot, slab, and coil methods. Sculpture. Glazing.
Basic Printmaking – Acetate etching, linoleum block printing, and woodblock printing.
Beginning Photography – Become familiar with the equipment, techniques and processes of black-and-white photography. Develop the ability to “see” photographically as an art form. Emphasis on photography as an art form which uses metaphor, irony, narrative as well as essentials of graphic design line, shape, texture, values, volumes. Related images. Hand finishing techniques. Mounting work for presentation. Portfolio development. Note: students must have access to or use of a 35-mm manual camera. Group purchase of supplies such as film, chemicals, and paper.
Beginning Sculpture – Build on skills developed in Basic 3-D Design. Introductory experiences in additive (building up as in clay sculpture), subtractive (carving), assemblage (metals and other materials, found objects, papers) constructions, kinetic sculpture. Emphasis on the three-dimensional quality of pieces. Representational and nonrepresentational. Maquettes and sketches as preliminary steps in creating sculpture. Choice of material and technique.
Children’s Book Illustration - Visually interpret characters and events from children’s literature using humorous, dramatic, whimsical, decorative, mysterious, adventurous, loose and tight realism, cartoon, and abstract approaches. Use various media such as colored pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, collage, and mixed media.
Computer Graphics – Advanced design course using the computer as a tool to express advanced design concepts. Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Quark Xpress. Pre-requisite: Grade of 90 or above in Studio Practice 3 (Basic Design).
Fashion Art 1 and 2 - Fashion design of women’s, children’s, and men’s unconstructed clothing based on a variety of sources: construction lines, other designers, popular media, history, nature, and man-made objects. Using a variety of illustrative techniques to present designs. Introductory pattern making project using muslin, needle, and thread. Mood board presentations. Creation of a “designer’s book” which can be used as a portfolio for admission to major post-secondary fashion institutions.
Gallery Management and Operations - Only for juniors and seniors who wish to explore the field of arts management rather than that of producing art. Hands-on experiences by working in our Gallery, mounting exhibitions, packing for shipping, publicity (press releases), and reviews of exhibits. Limited to maximum of six students. Ability to work independently required. Resume writing.
Human Anatomy – For students who wish to improve in drawing from observation. Bones, muscles, and nomenclature. Step-by-step skeletal drawings, body in action. Different techniques in rendering. Students share the cost of hiring professional model and purchase of text.
Humorous Illustration - The serious side of ‘cartooning’: The drawing skills necessary to express an idea with wit and simplicity. This art form, widely used in commercials, newspapers, and magazines, commands more attention than any other single art form. Caricatures. Graphic shorthand for showing concepts. Careers in animation and cartooning explored.
Illustration with Colored Pencils - Emphasis on drawing skills to create pieces suitable for advertising, editorial, books, and magazines, and medical/scientific journals. Variety of styles and techniques.
Interior Design – Similar skills used in architecture: scale drawings, architectural lettering, floor plans, elevations, watercolor rendering, and perspective drawings. Model making. Symbols used in interior design for fixtures (sinks and tubs, etc.) and furnishings. Commercial considerations such as working for a client.
Mixed Media 1 and 2 – Recommended, but not required, before Advanced Painting. Course offers a wide variety of approaches depending upon inclination and specialization of the teacher. May include: advanced work in drawing from observation using a variety of media; variety of media and combinations of media; and Conceptual, Performance and Installation Art.
Murals - History of “painting on walls”. Design of mural for specific space in our school requires scale model, thumbnails, and finished ‘roughs’ submitted to Review Committee. Experience in working for a client. Students will work in teams on the selected designs. Priority is to complete escalator murals, which give the floor number and include a reference to the major use of the floor. Experience shows that one class can complete five murals in a semester.
Pen and Ink Illustration - Emphasis on specific medium (pen and ink) for use in illustrations in books, magazine spot drawings, school publications, portraits, greeting cards, etc. Types of lines, such as accented, stripple, cross-hatch, and contour. Patterns created in pen and ink. Use of markers. Introduction to the field of Medical/Scientific Illustration.
Realistic Drawing - Single-period drawing class stressing realism. Sharpening of observational skills combined with unique choices of subjects will be emphasized. Varied media will be used such as: graphite pencil, colored pencils, pastels, pen and ink, markers, silverpoint on a variety of papers. Techniques in each medium will be developed with creative interpretation as the major goal. Sketch books (homework) and museum visits are required for all these courses.
Stage Design – Similar skills used in architecture: scale drawings, architectural lettering, floor plans, elevations, watercolor rendering, and perspective drawings. Model making. Use of current school productions to serve as the basis of subject.
Studio Practice 1 (Basic Drawing) – Drawing from observation, composing on the page, using values (darks and lights) and textures to create two-dimensional visions of three-dimensional objectives.
Studio Practice 2 (Basic Painting in water-based media) – Adding the element of color, color theory.
Studio Practice 3 (Basic Graphic Design) – Using elements of design (line, shape, texture, value, color) to create principles of design (balance, movement, space, proportion, variety, placement, mass, emphasis, and repetition). Introduction to graphic design using computers.
Studio Practice 4 (Basic Painting - oils, acrylic) – This is the culminating course in the foundation program, which brings into use the student’s skill in drawing, color and design. Students will paint on canvas paper, canvas board and stretched canvas.
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