Visual Arts

9th Grade. Weaving techniques introduced and student complete small twined baskets. Process, precision, and artistry emphasized. Sculptural exploration begins with a twisted branch; students imagined a vessel within it. Historical and cultural richness of basketry around the world is covered, and the class culminates in the works of inspiring contemporary artists.

9th Grade. Students work with lights and darks, building three dimensional forms on a two dimensional plane, and creating strong compositions that balance light and shadow. Students explore a variety of media, including charcoal, graphite, and pen and ink. Techniques used include stippling, chiaroscuro, blind contour, and gesture drawing.

10th Grade. Process of manipulating and embellishing sheets of copper to create useful and beautiful objects. Students learn how to use torch for annealing, cut with a jeweler’s saw, drill, pierce, adorn with stamping tools and hammer texture, as well as form skills such as sinking and raising.

10th Grade. Follows Black and White drawing course. Students expands on foundation of working with light and shadow to include color, composition, and experimental drawing techniques.

10th Grade. Students build clay vessels using the coiling method, a pottery and sculpture technique used worldwide. Students learn to shape and design pottery through scraping, sanding, and carving before they are fired burnished by stone or fired.

10th Grade. Students design and weave chenille scarves or pillows on four-harness floor looms. Students a;sp learns to weave a colorfully patterned band on a tablet weaving or inkle loom, designed as belts, guitar straps, camera straps, or other functional items.

11th Grade. Students introduced to materials, tools, and techniques of bookbinding. Various types of book structures are created—sewn pamphlets, hinged albums, accordion books, and, finally, a formally bound book.

11th Grade. Students explore two mediums: "veil painting," which is a wet on dry method of watercolor; and acrylic painting. Veil painting focuses on transformative aspects of color into form, emerging from the interplay of layers of warm and cool colors. With acrylics, students explore subjects ranging from portraits to interpretations of a masterpiece. They use light and dark values expressively, while also creating a harmonious composition

1oth Grade. Focus on hand's skeletal and musculature system, relative proportions, subcutaneous bone landmarks, and idiosyncrasies. Students render a realistic and well-proportioned hand. They sculpt a hand in clay over a wire armature, while experimenting with a variety of sculpting tools. Students choose a hand gesture true to their hearts and develop an individual style.