Beginning Visual Arts
This course deals with the fundamentals of visual arts and is designed for students with no or limited K-8 pregression in visual arts. The student is given the opportunity to explore a variety of visual arts media while studying the relationships of two and three-dimensional elements and principles of design.
Intermediate Visual Arts
This course builds on the foundation of knowledge developed in complete K-8 progress of visual arts or have achieved beginning level high school standards for visual arts.
Proficient Visual Arts Honors
Prerequisite: Intermediate Arts or Teacher Recommendation
The proficient art course is designed for students who have achieved intermediate level visual arts at high school level. Course will continue experiences with two and three-dimensional media while placing strong emphasis on experimentation into the different techniques possible within each media.
Advanced Visual Arts Honors
Prerequisite: Intermediate Arts or Teacher Recommendation
Advanced visual arts level course is designed for students who have achieved proficient level visual arts at high school level and involves more in-depth knowledge of art processes, media, and history. Course allows art students opportunities to further develop talents in medium(s) of their choice. Major project(s) and a portfolio are required.
AP Art History
AP Art History provides an understanding and enjoyment of architecture, sculpture, painting, and other art forms within historical and cultural contexts. Students examine major forms of artistic expression from the past and present and from a variety of cultures, prehistory to present. They learn to look at works of art critically, with intelligence and sensitivity, and to articulate what they see or experience. No prior exposure to art history is required. However, students who have done well in other courses in the humanities, such as history and literature, or in any of the studio arts are especially encouraged to enroll.
AP Art History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university art history survey course. Students may receive college credit based upon an acceptable score on the AP Art History examination.
Studio Art Honors
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation; Advanced Visual Arts
This course is designed for students seriously interested in the practical experience of art and gives opportunity for individual progress and accomplishment.
AP Studio Art
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation; Studio Art Honors recommended
AP Studio Art course is designed for students to work with diverse media, styles, subjects, and content. Each of the three portfolios consists of three sections:
• The Range of Approaches (Breadth) section illustrates a range of ideas and approaches to art making.
• The Sustained Investigation (Concentration) section shows sustained, deep, and multiperspective investigation of a student-selected topic.
• The Selected Works (Quality) section represents the student’s most successful works with respect to form and content.
Students’ work is informed and guided by observation, research, experimentation, discussion, critical analysis, and reflection, relating individual practices to the art world. Students are asked to document their artistic ideas and practices to demonstrate conceptual and technical development over time. The AP Studio Art Program supports students in becoming inventive artistic scholars who contribute to visual culture through art making.
According to surveys of comparable curricula at four-year colleges and universities, they are each equivalent to a two-semester college art course. Students may receive college credit based upon an acceptable score on the AP Studio Art examination.
Photography (SALC)
This course provides foundational understanding of photography. Topics include lighting, spacing/distance, landscape, and core graphics principles.
Ceramics/Sculpture
An introduction to the art of working with clay. Course includes techniques as hand-building, surface treatments, glazing, and use of a pottery wheel.