Visual Arts Program
Integration of Visual Arts and Academics
The study of art is integrated with the study of history at each grade level, with students studying and reproducing representative artistic works of a particular historical time period in each grade.
Lower School Art
By creating works of art, students are able to use their hands, their minds, and their talents to bring glory to God. In the Lower School, students first learn the basic building blocks of artistic creation—color, line, shape, form, texture, value, and space—and then apply these concepts and techniques to a variety of mediums in increasingly sophisticated ways. Basic perspective is introduced in the lower grades and studied in more depth in the higher grades. The emphasis is on teacher-directed exploration and experimentation, and the students are encouraged to pursue in their work the beauty, order, and variety seen in God’s creation. Because observation and memory are keen at this age, art slides, prints, and book illustrations are used to stimulate the students’ imagination and creativity and introduce the students to the masterworks of world art.
Middle School Art
In Middle School Art classes, students’ innate creativity and skills are nurtured and developed. Students complete various projects throughout the year, each focusing on an element of art – line, shape/form, color, texture, and value. During each project, students learn how master artists or art movements used that element, and the vocabulary needed to discuss those works of art. Students learn the skills needed to produce art in that way, as well as proper craftsmanship and responsibility in the care of tools and materials.
High School Art
Drawing and Painting Classes
In this hands-on Studio Art course, students will advance their drawing and painting skills though practice. Students will examine the work of a Master Artist for each new project, understanding their techniques and bringing this understanding into their own work. In order to advance their compositions, they will also learn how to apply the principles of art such as emphasis, balance, proportion, and color in dynamic ways. Students will learn the technical skills needed to produce art using pencil, charcoal, ink, acrylic paint, and watercolor.
Print and 3D Art
In this hands-on Studio Art course, students will advance their skills though practice. Students will examine the work of a Master Artist for each new project, understanding their techniques and bringing this understanding into their own work. In order to advance their compositions, they will also learn how to apply the principles of art such as emphasis, balance, proportion, and color in dynamic ways. Students will learn the technical skills needed to produce linoleum block prints, screen prints, and monoprints, as well as sculpt in foam, clay, and altered books.