Visual Arts

The visual arts are a means to gain personal satisfaction through individual accomplishment in the creation of images and forms. The program is solidly based on a respect and understanding of where students are creatively, what they require from their work, and the means to move them from one developmental stage to another as they become more expressive, inventive, and perceptive. The program focuses on artistic creation as the central component throughout, with perceptual and reflective elements growing out of the students’ active involvement with materials and processes. Through expressive/creative experiences, students become familiar with such facets of artistic thinking as; the ability to formulate problems and create multiple solutions, the ability to pursue a project over time, the willingness to solve problems inventively, the ability to take risks, and finally to reflect critically on one’s own work. Students develop a way of thinking that functions beyond the studio into other areas of the curriculum.

The program focuses primarily on the uniqueness of the individual, fostering and valuing the specific expressive qualities and interests of each student as she/he progresses through PreK3 - 12. Collaborative work exists, but its goals are secondary to the individual.