Drawing & Painting

Purpose: To develop the student’s breadth and technical ability. Drawing and Painting will provide the students with a number of opportunities to strengthen their observational skills. Students will achieve this goal by completing many still life drawings. The students will also create works that will encourage creative thinking and will foster the ability to include conceptual ideology into their work.

Responsibilities:
Regular Attendance
Productive use of class time
Appropriate planning
Meet deadlines
Respect for classroom, classmates, and teacher
Work through problems sufficiently
Complete home assignments
(Optional) –Maintain a sketchbook (especially recommended for serious art majors)
Projects: In class projects make up the majority of your quarterly grades and final average. It is mandatory that all projects be turned in to receive a mark for that quarter.  Projects should display an advanced level of talent, originality, and effort.  The sum of the projects completed by the student will be their portfolio. Thus, the student should take them seriously and push themselves to excel on each and every assignment.

Home projects: Each quarter the student will receive one home project. These assignments will be graded equally to regular in class projects. They will count as a full project grade. They are designed to help expand the number of breadth pieces that the student has in their portfolio. It is the students responsibility to budget their time and turn them in on time.

Sketchbooks:  (8 sketches per quarter)
   Critiques: There will be one critique each quarter. Participating in class critiques is mandatory. Discussing your work with your peers will    help you to grow as an artist.

Grades: will consist of the sum of all projects for any given quarter averaged equally. This includes the home assignment.

8th Grade Art

Course Description

Eighth grade art is a course that meets every other day for 40 weeks. This course is designed to expose the student to a variety of materials, art forms, methods, and approaches. The student’s projects will center on the elements of art and the principles of design. This approach will prepare students for Studio Art, if they so choose, in a following school year. Periodic use of visual examples will help to strengthen the students understanding of the elements and principles and will also foster a greater appreciation of Art.

Each grading quarter will center around one of the following; drawing, painting, sculpture, or design. The students are expected to handle the classroom materials and equipment with respect and appropriate usage.

Requirements

The students are responsible for the following:
1.Attendance (important since all work is completed in class)
2.Active participation in discussions and all activities
3.Effort (productive use of class time x “trying hard”)
4.Cleaning up after yourself and maintaining a clean and safe room
5.Treating classmates, the teacher, and themselves with respect
6.Purchasing a sketchbook (8x11 or 9x12 spiral bound) (Optional) Recommend for students who plan on continuing with further study in the art department.
7.Number 2 pencils, 2 ultra fine sharpies, and a small hand held pencil sharpener

Grades

Grades will be based on student’s performance in class, attendance, attitude, effort, work produced and a portfolio of work. Each quarter students will receive project grades, and short group exercises that will combine to form their grade. The students will also have a midterm project and final exam project. These projects will count as a sixth of the student’s final grade. All work can and will be completed in class. No Homework!

Critiques: Students will occasionally participate in class critiques where they will learn to discuss work using the elements and principles as they connect to composition and visual communication.

Studio Art

1. Course Description

Studio art is a foundation course which fulfills an arts requirement for graduation. The diversity of the class members creates an opportunity to experience a broader scope of the school community. It is important that a cooperative atmosphere be established and maintained for a productive program.
The curriculum will concentrate on the production of assigned visual projects, both 2D and 3D. An understanding of the elements and principles of design in art will be promoted through a variety of activities.
There will be many occasions to view reproductions and video tapes (DVD’s) of artworks. The use of visual examples will help to strengthen your understanding of the elements and principles of design, and also to develop an appreciation for art.

2. Requirements

A.The student is responsible for the following:
1.Attendance
2.Active participation in discussions and other class activities
3.Demonstrates acceptable effort on assignments and class work
4.Purchasing a sketchbook (8x11 or 9x12, spiral bound) (OPTIONAL)
5.Hand held pencil sharpen (small)
6.Lead pencil and two ultra fine sharpie markers.
7.Demonstrates respect for classmates, teacher, and art room materials.

B.Grade will be based on the student’s performance in class, attendance, attitude, effort, and generation of ideas, work produced and a final overall portfolio review. The student’s yearly grade will consist of 4 quarterly grades average equally with a midterm project and final project grade.

Sculpture

Course Description

40 week course

This course explores the elements of shape and form through the creation and development of three dimensional art works. At the end of this course the student will be able to: demonstrate self-expression; demonstrate the use of a variety of materials such as; clay, wood, wire, paper mache, natural and found objects; demonstrate the technique of carving, modeling, casting, and assemblage; prepare, present and display finished works. The students will also develop problem solving skills when working from historic sculptural works to create their own works. Students will be exposed to a number of past and present sculptors, and will gain a greater understanding of sculpture’s role in our society and environment.