Why Art?

Art is everywhere. 

In Visual Art class, we will discover how art affects our lives and how it enhances our world.   While I don’t expect every student to become professional artists, I do expect them to give their full cooperation and effort and to help make this course interesting, informative and fun.

Why Art?

Providing students with increased exposure to the arts provide them with a greater understanding and appreciation of their culture, history and environment.  Schools which promote the arts produce children who are more capable of personal expression and have higher levels of self-esteem. Studies have shown that students involved in the visual arts tend to outperform their non-art peers in verbal, reading and math tests-from first grade all the way through the SATs.  For many students, the arts provide them an area in which they can excel.  The arts are enhancements to physical development, social development, motor abilities, spatial judgment and coordination.
 

The visual arts curriculum supports the Middle School's academic curriculum and provides instruction and experiential learning in art. The program begins with the premise that each child can enjoy artistic expression and take pride in the work he or she creates. Students learn how to explore self-expression through various forms of media.

What can students expect?

Students can expect to try new techniques, learn about new concepts and terminology, they will also get a little dirty from time to time.  There will be writing assignments in addition to hands-on creations.  All students have been informed of specific expectations and class policies.
 

Students will work with a wide variety of materials, including tempera, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, craypas, india ink, wire, collage, printmaking, papier mache, acrylic, cardboard construction, and mixed media. Projects are designed to develop and stretch their imaginative and technical skills, while encouraging students to take risks and experiment with new materials and techniques. Topics include instruction in composition, color, form, and line. Students also learn the basic vocabulary involved in discussing and critiquing a work of art. The importance of respecting one's own work as well as the work of other students is stressed since diversity is an intrinsic part of the artistic experience. Students study the works of famous artists and other cultures in order to learn from them and to learn about the connection between the historical context of artist's time and the work created. Trips to museums or galleries may supplement and enrich the art curriculum.

Philosophy of the Visual Art Department

The Visual Arts are a unique language through which individuals communicate their ideas, feelings and cultures. Multi-sensory experiences are the means by which humans understand the world and the arts are the quintessential expression of that awareness.

Art expression is a right. Plato said, "Avoid compulsion and let your children's lessons take the form of play." Art embodies this joy of learning, offering the opportunity for even young children to develop deep understanding and the ability to communicate that understanding.

Art Education encourages students to develop physically, creatively, socially and perceptually. Art promotes problem solving, decision-making and judgment skills which help to develop the whole intellect and contribute to the promotion and integration of concepts common to all academic areas.

Students come to understand and appreciate the role of the artist as a designer and creator. The child is consistently involved with his/her own learning from the inception of an idea to its concrete realization. Creatively in problem solving is essential for the emotional well-being of a hard working individual.

Our goal is to train children to have the flexibility of artistic thinking. Visual art teachers guide children to become reflective thinkers, able to judge their own performance and place it in the frameworks of their social environment.

Through the study of different cultures, the student understands the role of the artist as visual historian and respects the differences among individuals and among cultures. Art utilizes concepts from all areas of the curriculum, deepening understanding by combining thought and affect.

Every student in the Wilmington Public School System needs to be provided with the knowledge, skills, and understandings of Art Education in a structured and sequential art program.