Art

The Art offerings at Rock Point include three years of Art History, with a strong hands-on and studio component. The senior year is a Studio Art curriculum. The goals of the Art Program are to expose students to the development of art and ideas about art through time, from cave drawings through contemporary art; to teach students how to use and care for various art materials and supplies; and to allow and encourage students to connect with their creative instincts. Additional goals of the Art Program are as follows:

• to teach students to recognize and understand the major themes in Art History 
  

• to give students a written and visual vocabulary with which they can communicate about art

• to help students connect the world of art to the ideas and themes in other parts of the curriculum

• to provide time and space for students to develop their skills and techniques
• to help students develop and maintain a well rounded portfolio

• to help integrate students’ lives and interests with the wider community through displaying their art both at school and in the community
• to provide time for, and to encourage, students’ participation in community art activities

Grade 9: The Beginnings of Art

The freshman class covers the “beginnings of art,” including Paleolithic, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Early Christian and Byzantine art. Some of the studio component projects that accompany this study include making a mosaic, mask-making, and designing and drawing a cartouche.


Grade 10: Art of the Middle Ages

The sophomore class covers art from the Middle Ages (early medieval to Gothic) and the Renaissance, with a focus on the Masters. Some of the studio components of this course include making a book of illuminations, fresco painting, and watercolor designs of stained glass Cathedral windows.


Grade 11: Modern Art

The junior class curriculum covers Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Mixed Media Assemblage. The focus of the class allows for more development of technique and drawing and painting skills. This year students begin assembling a portfolio.


Grade 12: Studio Art

The senior class follows a mixed curriculum with a focus on observation work that covers traditional drawing, collage, painting, watercolor, printing techniques (including block printing and silk screening), nontraditional mixed-media, and recycled art. This class is for non-artists and artists alike, and it is an opportunity for students who want to attend art school to work on portfolio requirements and begin to fill in gaps in their studio art education.