Advanced Studio Practice

For Seniors who have built their skills and developed personal concepts for their artwork. How will you continue to build your creative voice after graduation? Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up.” This course will explore creative strategies to keep art in your life after high school, including workshopping, refining your interests, and learning to seek out and enjoy seeing art in the world.  Open to 12th graders who have taken at least one level 2 class and with the recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Advanced Mixed Media

If you are committed to Mixed Media and ready to go deeper, this class is for you. Working with materials you already know and love, you will develop a portfolio of works about a particular theme. Research into how and why artists have used layering and alternative materials in their art will support your studio practice.  Prerequisites: Mixed Media and recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Advanced Digital Art

This course builds off your technical skills and interests in Digital Art. You will enhance your understanding of digital art-making tools while developing your point of view as a digital artist. Researching contemporary digital practices will support your self-directed process and help you explore how to display your work on campus.  Prerequisites: Digital Art and recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Ceramics

This course is dedicated to the exploration of how a ball of clay can lead us toward complex ideas and functional objects. Based on hand-building techniques and wheel throwing students will focus on form, structure, making mistakes, and idea development. By exploring the cultural connections of food and community and the rituals they were created for, students will build vessels and tableware for a social gathering. There will be time for students to design their paths as their skills and confidence grow to give them more control over the objects they envision. Prerequisites: 3D or by the recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Mixed Media

Find. Cut. Glue. Spray. Transfer. Draw. Repeat. How do we create meaning through layering? Combining what we find and collect, we will develop innovative ways to build two-dimensional works of art. Rubber stamps, collage, fiber art, and wax are just some of the techniques and materials we will explore. We will also look at contemporary artists who create meaning by layering materials and techniques, discuss the results of our experiments with each other, and share ideas on a regular basis. Be prepared to play, to make a mess, and to produce a lot of work.  Prerequisites: 2D or by the recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Studio Practice

This class creates the community, structure, and space for the most serious artists to pursue their work. Students taking this class have shown to be independent, dedicated artists prepared to bring their interests to the class. Group critiques, research in contemporary art, readings, and documentation of the creative process will be major elements of the course.

Open to 11th graders who have taken at least one level 2 course and with the recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.

Costume & Fashion Design Studio

Drawing from many disciplines and utilizing a variety of skills and technology, students will learn to research and communicate their ideas through a series of student-driven individual projects and mainstage shows. Students will explore the visual communication, history, and impact of clothing both on the stage and in everyday life, and they will deepen their understanding of the principles of costume and fashion design. Students will also learn the skills and techniques needed to then create their own designs. These techniques may include research, collage, sketching, digital sketching, figure drawing, sewing, draping, pattern making, tailoring, dyeing, distressing, painting, and craft. Students entering this class should be highly motivated and work well independently. This course can be taken more than once and at the Honors level with permission from the instructor. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Three Term Course No Prerequisite Required.

Advanced Design & Tech (Honors)

Advanced Design & Tech is a one-term, process-to-production course designed to prepare students for 2 public performances at Beaver. The course begins by focusing on script analysis and design, and then students work as theater technicians and designers to bring the play to fruition with the Advanced Theater Acting and Advanced Costume Design classes. Technical theater roles encompass areas such as stage management, set, light, and sound design as well as technical direction and engineering. Students entering this class should be highly motivated and interested in an intense and exciting experience that requires a great deal of commitment. This course involves two weeks of rehearsal outside of the regular school day at the end of the process so that the play can be performed in its entirety while adding technical elements and costumes. Recent productions include She Kills Monsters and Exit, Pursued by a Bear. One Term Course: Winter Term  Prerequisites: Design & Tech Studio or permission of the instructor.

Design & Tech Studio

Design & Tech Studio is a course for students interested in Technical Theater and/or Theatrical Design. Drawing from many disciplines and utilizing a variety of skills and technology, students will learn to research and communicate their ideas through a series of student-driven individual projects and mainstage shows, allowing them to learn and utilize design and production tools as well as carpentry, scenic painting, props, lighting, and sound. Students will explore how theater artists use these tools for creative problem solving and to communicate with audience members. The successful student would gain an understanding of shop and theater safe working practices, basic construction skills, knowledge of lighting and sound instrumentation and rigging, as well as how communication, planning, and collaboration are central to the health of a theater production. This course can be taken more than once and at the Honors level with permission from the instructor. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Three Term Course No Prerequisites.

Visual Arts Foundations

Learn how to find ideas by experimenting with materials, tools, and artistic thought. This class will support your studio habits to explore a range of mediums like drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and digital arts. We will also focus on building community and developing the possibilities of what art can be.

Senior Studio (Honors)

Culminating with the annual Senior Show, this 2-term class creates the community, structure, and space for the most serious artists to pursue their own work. Students taking this class have shown to be independent, dedicated artists who are prepared to bring their interests to the class. No projects are assigned. Group critiques, research in contemporary art, readings, and documentation of the creative process will be major elements of the course. Open to 12th graders with the recommendation from the Visual Arts Department Head.