Visual Arts

Art Department Goals

It is the Art Department’s goal that each and every student will move beyond basic skills in drawing to a fluency that allows them to express themselves visually and with confidence. By the time Waring students graduate, they should be able to draw from direct observation with relative ease, have an understanding of ideas related to visual art, and feel confident in their ability to express themselves visually.

The Art program is designed to build skills year to year through a progressive and linked series of curricula. Building basic confidence and skill by drawing from direct observation is the hallmark of the lower levels of the art program. In honing the ability to draw from direct observation students learn to take the time to look and see the world with greater depth and clarity. To this end, black and white is used primarily until students reach the tenth grade level. In Group 3 (Grade 10), students begin to explore both color theory and how color impacts their expressive abilities. The final two years of the art program are given over to elective offerings, and students choose a course that will allow them to explore a particular process or concept (such as photography, printmaking, or 3-D design) in depth.

Sketchbook work is an important component at every level of the art program and beyond. Student sketchbooks provides a means of assimilating the lessons taught each week and as a way of exploring their own growth as an artist and observer of the world. Their sketchbooks also accompanies students on field trips and travels, and provides a vital interdisciplinary link to other aspects of the Waring School experience.