Visual Arts

The visual arts curriculum in Middle School continues and expands on the work explored in previous grades. In fifth and sixth grades, all students take Art Studio for one semester and Ceramics for the other semester. Seventh and eighth grade students take semester-long arts electives.

One of the art projects in Art Studio classes relates directly to another area of the grade-level curriculum. Fifth grade projects have included plaster carvings of Egyptian gods, mosaics in the style of ancient Greece and Rome, and sculptures of cakes and pastries. Sixth grade projects have included stained glass and tile niches with Islamic inspired patterning, and pen and ink drawings. Ceramics classes teach slab techniques, pinch pots, sculpture, jewelry making, wheel throwing, and glaze chemistry.

Seventh and eighth grade arts electives include ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, video production, digital photography, animation, and woodworking.

Arts workshops in two- and three-dimensional formats are offered throughout Upper School as well as electives in ceramics and design (exploring architecture, fashion/textile, landscape, interior, lighting, product/industrial, transportation, toy, and graphic design). Darkroom and advanced digital photography are options, and the IB program’s Visual Arts I & II are taught over a two-year period to encourage students to develop a serious body of work, with evolving connections and themes in their own art in a variety of media and forms.