Fall Trimester

In this class we will discuss the history of tattoos and the varying styles, reviewing periods from as early as 3300 BCE to today.   

We will learn about the design elements incorporated from ancient tribal tattoos, to the new school style of today, who started these techniques, and the symbolism involved.  Students will be tasked with designing (through paper, ink, paint, or  digital) to create original designs incorporating the different styles discussed.  

What will your designs say about the person who you imagine wearing them?

Students who have already taken this course are not eligible to repeat. It is the same course.

For dancers who selected by seniors for their Capstone dance pieces. 

Mrs. Hawkins will supervise choreography and rehearsal sessions for Senior Dance Capstone pieces.

Selected dancers will be automatically enrolled in this course if chosen for a seniors Capstone.

This course is at Annapolis HS.

Dancers also enrolled in the Choreographic Techniques course can also be cast. Ms. Hawkins and Ms. Cagle will work with you to navigate both.

Learn how to shape movements in new ways with use of various techniques that will expand your movement vocabulary in order to choreograph and stage dances with more confidence and variety. 

Prepare to be pushed out of your comfort zone, work through the creative process, and learning how to both give and receive effective critique. 

This course was created to provide support to dance primes leading up to the Junior Spring Choreography Unit. It is strongly recommended for juniors and sophomores. Freshmen should wait until they complete Year 1 to enroll in this course.

This course is at Annapolis HS. 

Dancers also cast in a Senior Capstone can still take this course. Ms. Hawkins and Ms. Cagle will work with you to navigate both.

Clay is a material rich in history and possibilities for art making, and hand building is the oldest use of the medium. 

Hand building is a ceramics technique that allows you to create forms the clay in your hands without using a throwing wheel. 

Using the coil method, students will create a fish design jug that will have an air pocket which will cause the jug to gluggle when pouring.

The story of Gluggle Jugs dates back to the mid-19th century in Staffordshire, England. Originally designed as practical pouring jugs for the kitchen, these fish-shaped vessels quickly gained popularity for their playful aesthetic and distinctive "gluggling" sound.

Comics are not only a fun art form, but a useful exercise to improve other skills such as story boarding and perspective drawing. 

In this class, you will learn the fundamentals of comic making.

From script writing to thumbnailing to illustrating, students will use these techniques that are essential to creating a full fledged graphic novel.

Priority for enrollment will be given to students who have not taken this course previously.

Creative artists have long experimented with miniature expression through words and visual images. Limited space challenges us to tighten our ideas, stretch our imaginations, and focus on the essence of our creations. 

Writers today explore the popular flash fiction (1,000 words or less) and micro-memoir (750 words or less), but in this project, you’ll have the chance to go even smaller, exploring dribbles (50-word stories), drabbles (100-word stories), or even haiku. 

Visual artists, too, are drawn to diminutive forms. Painters create tiny portraits and landscapes small enough to fit in a pocket, while illustrators entertain us all with single-panel cartoons. Salavat Fidai, an Instagram sensation, sculpts intricate art on pencil points (and let’s not forget the artistry of fingernail designs). Perhaps you’ll create a tiny garden or a floor plan for a tiny house, inventing clever storage for essentials. There are many tiny possibilities, and the choice is yours.

Regardless of the form, capturing a compressed moment can expand into much larger meanings, revealing unexpected truths and insights. As we explore several themes and concepts, you’ll be encouraged to create a collection of tiny works inspired by these prompts, polishing your favorites for a final presentation. All Apex Arts’ primes are welcome.

You can see other examples here: Tiny Creations Examples

Clay is a material rich in history and possibilities for art making, and hand building is the oldest use of the medium. 

Hand building is a ceramics technique that allows you to create forms the clay in your hands without using a throwing wheel. 

Using hand building techniques, students will design and create a abstract sculpture with representational elements that reflect themselves.

Strengthen the deep muscles of the core through targeted exercises combined with breath work to gain muscle control and full body strength. 

The goal is to gain awareness and control over the body through focused training of the core and extremities. Students can anticipate feeling more comfortable in the way their body moves, knowing they can move more functionally for proper strength and alignment in the day-to-day as well as their specific discipline. 

Students will complete benchmark measurements at the beginning and end of the class to compare to determine how mobility and strength has improved over time. 

This class will teach students the skills needed for successful sound design, specifically for a live performance. 

By observing and dissecting how well-known sounds were created in TV/Film and live media, we will spend time capturing and manipulating audio elements - even those found in our everyday lives - to establish a mood and support a scene. 

Students will learn and understanding how crucial to successful storytelling proper sound design really is. 

At the end of the course, students will design, create, and produce sound design elements that will accompany the fall festival performance of "The Mysterious Case of the Red Death".

Working with collage elements, watercolor and ink, employ beautiful, minimal brushstrokes within your collage to depict the wonders of the natural world in the style of sumi-e. 

Learn about traditional sumi-e (Japanese for “black ink painting”), which is meant to convey the ch’i, or vital energy, of what it depicts.

 Explore the possibilities of color, hue, and value as you create works of your own.

All primes welcome. 

Students will learn about the impact that the arts can carry when it focuses on topics that affect our community both socially and emotionally, and create their own projects that use their artistic talents to speak up and speak out about issues important to them. 

Examples would be bullying, the environment, unity, or any other cause that the artists want to highlight. 

Students will work together to prepare a performance piece for the Fall Festival. 

Singing experience recommended.

If you want to pursue a collegiate or professional career in acting, musical theater, opera, commercial music, or dance - this course is a must for you. In this project, students learn how to find, prepare, and perform competitive audition repertoire - from songs, to monologues, to dance combinations, to callback sides. 

Learn about the professional industry, explore the concept of type, create resumes, pose for headshots, practice self-taping, and prepare for upcoming school, collegiate, and professional auditions. 

This is an excellent opportunity for students to hone their skills in the audition room. This project culminates in a mock audition open to the public during the Fall Festival. 

All primes welcome, visual art experience recommended.

This course is designed to introduce screen-printing techniques. The emphasis will be on preparing the screen, cutting stencils, creating designs using drawing fluid, and color registration for successful prints. 

Throughout the course, students will learn several techniques for creating silkscreen prints and develop a series of single—and multiple-colored edition prints on tote bags, shirts, and paper.  They will be encouraged to experiment with different techniques and materials and to develop their unique style. In addition to learning the technical aspects of screen printing, students will be free to explore their ideas and create prints that reflect their interests and perspectives. 

At the end of the course, students will have created a series of single and multiple-colored edition prints on tote bags, shirts, and paper. These prints will reflect each student's interests and perspectives and showcase the technical skills they have developed throughout the course. The final presentation will be part of the Fall Festival.

All primes welcome.

Students will develop a short film or online video series that employs the following techniques: Scriptwriting, research, casting, filming/production, coaching talent, video editing (as well as choosing music/audio for their piece), and online distribution platforms. 

Material can be fiction or non-fiction, but should have a common through line or plot line that includes character development, inciting incident, rising stakes, resolution and character evolution. 

Films and video series will be presented as part of the Fall Festival.