Middle School Visual Arts    

It is the goal of the Visual Arts Department to create an open, positive learning environment where technique relative to the medium presented may be taught on an applied level to nurture student imagination, self expression, and creative competency.

These aspirations are achieved through demonstrations, hands-on assignments, dialogue, guest artist lectures, museum visitations, historical lectures, problem solving, and visual aids.

Fifth Grade Art
Full year-Grade 5

This course is designed to give students a broader understanding of cultures and artists from around the world while building upon the foundation of the technical and conceptual skills they learned in the fourth grade. Students will use a wide variety of mediums while working individually as well as in groups. They will explore a wide array of two-dimensional projects with an emphasis on developing an awareness of cultural traditions and master artists work from around the world.

Sixth Grade Art
Full year-Grade 6

This course is designed to build upon the techniques and skills students learned in fifth grade art to explore art throughout history. Students will be exposed to a wide range of artists and genres through two- and three-dimensional projects to gain a better understanding of the beginnings and roots of many of the visual arts. Students will better understand how art has influenced our world today and respond and add their own imaginative twist to old subject matter.

Seventh Grade Art - Enrichment Strand
One Quarter - Grade 8

The goals of Art 7 are to foster an appreciation for art, to enhance visual and tactile awareness, to reinforce each student's sense of self-respect and individuality, and to foster respect for unique expression and craftsmanship in art. The main thrust is in two-dimensional image-making. Students also learn about artists and terms that are used in the visual arts. The quarter includes lessons in observation, thinking, and drawing, as well as in the intricacies of line, light, contour, value, shading, perspective, and the different drawing mediums in studio and natural settings. 

Eighth Grade Art - Enrichment Strand
One Quarter - Grade 8

This quarter-long course builds on the concepts of Art 7 by further developing technical skills and self-expression through a variety of two- and three-dimensional art media. The goal of this course is to expand the students’ awareness of the world around them and to see how the arts are woven into the fabric of all of our lives. We will be exploring drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and ceramics in both traditional and contemporary hands-on applications. This class is designed to provide a natural transition into some of the offerings in the Upper School curriculum.

Eighth Grade Ceramics - Enrichment Strand
One Quarter - Grade 8

This is a quarter-long introductory course focused on the varied artistic applications of clay. Students use hands-on techniques to throw, sculpt, hand-build, and manipulate clay to produce functional and non-functional three-dimensional forms. Emphasis is on creativity, productivity, process over product, and artistic self expression. An introduction to glazing techniques rounds out this tactile course.