MYP4 General Course Description                                                                                     Teacher: Marina Velázquez

Students explored a variety of artistic styles, materials, and techniques while examining how art can reflect identity, culture, and environment. They began the year with a mixed-media collage project inspired by Puerto Rico, using layered imagery and symbolism to express personal or cultural narratives. Students then advanced their technical skills through a three-medium drawing unit, combining graphite, pen and ink, and colored pencil in a single cohesive composition. The class also explored land art, creating site-specific works using natural materials and reflecting on the relationship between art and nature. Throughout the course, students developed both creative confidence and a deeper understanding of how context shapes artistic meaning.

Collection #1 

Collage

Students explored themes of identity, culture, and place by creating mixed-media collages inspired by Puerto Rico. Drawing on visual references from the island’s landscapes, animals, symbols, and cultural traditions, students gathered and layered images, textures, and materials to create compositions that reflected their personal or imaginative connections to Puerto Rican life. They experimented with composition, layering, and contrast while learning about the expressive possibilities of collage as an art form.

Collection #2 

Three-Medium Drawing

Students advanced their drawing skills through a structured exploration of three distinct media: graphite pencil, pen/ink, and colored pencil. They began by practicing techniques for each medium, focusing on line quality, shading, texture, and color blending. Students then developed a final artwork that integrated all three mediums into a cohesive composition. They were challenged to consider how each material could enhance different aspects of their work—whether through contrast, detail, or emphasis—and to plan their approach thoughtfully. Students gained confidence in their ability to control different tools and to layer techniques in intentional, visually engaging ways.