Art
All courses in the Creative Art Center are elective and taught within a studio/workshop atmosphere. Art courses are not only for those planning a future in the arts, but also for those who have an interest in art and desire to increase their understanding and appreciation of art.
Art Courses
Art Studio I
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets on cycle days
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Art Studio 1 is geared towards students of all ability and skill levels who enjoy art and prefer a variety of art activities. Projects are designed to teach the elements and principles of art in an open studio atmosphere. Students will produce a variety of 2D and 3D assignments; the RHS Art Center has an amazing array of art supplies, tools and equipment to facilitate student creativity. This course is a good introduction to taking any other courses in the art center.
Art Studio II
1.0 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Note(s): No previous Art courses required
This course is designed for students who enjoy art or who are interested in going on to advanced art classes. Students will develop and refine a variety of art skills in the areas of drawing, color theory, painting, design, sculpture, computer graphics, pottery, metals, jewelry, printmaking, and many other types of art. Art skills, art theory, and art appreciation are taught through assigned projects while other projects will be based on student choice. Student will be required to keep a sketchbook as a homework component. This course will prepare students for future advanced classes.
Art Studio H
1.0 Credit; Weighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 11, 12
Prerequisite(s): A- or better in Art Studio II; Teacher Recommendation required
Students interested in a more challenging, in-depth art experience enjoy Art Studio Honors. These students are interested in advancing their creativity and skill levels. All students in the class have a very high skill level and an enthusiastic interest in art. Students are required to work similarly to a professional artist. They thoughtfully frame their personal goals and objectives, mapping out the direction in which they want their work to progress. They then design projects that lead them to accomplish their goals. Homework is in the form of assigned projects.
Advanced Placement Art and Design: 2D Art and Design
Advanced Placement Art and Design: 3D Art and Design
Advanced Placement Art and Design: Drawing
1.0 Credit; Weighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 12
Prerequisite(s): A grade of “B+” or better in Art Studio H; Teacher Recommendation Required
The Advanced Placement Art and Design course is designed for students who are seriously interested in the practical experience of art at an Advanced Placement level. Students in this class prepare a portfolio that can be used to enhance their college application. The course follows the curriculum and instructional goals of the Advanced Placement Art and Design program as determined by the College Board. Emphasis is placed on further development of technical, creative, and critical thinking skills and the ability to think artistically at an independent level. All assigned work prepares students to take the Advanced Placement Art and Design exam that allows them to receive college credit/placement.
Advanced Placement Art History
1.0 Credit; Weighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Art history is a humanities course which explores history, culture and civilization through art. It’s a course for students who want to understand art and its historical context. Students will examine the major forms of visual art expression from early man to the present and from a variety of cultures. Students learn how society has influenced art, and how art has influenced our understanding of history. Psychology, religion, and economics are explored in relation to history and art. This is a good course for students who plan to travel in the future, as it provides an understanding of art and culture around the world. Students electing this course may receive college credit or placement in the humanities by taking the Advanced Placement Art History exam. There is no prerequisite for this course, but students should be prepared to read and write at a college level. This is an academic course, not a studio course and requires no artistic ability.
Intro to Ceramics
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester or Cycle Day
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Students will experience the satisfaction of designing, building, and glazing their own clay work. Throughout the course, students will focus on developing hand-building techniques as they pinch, roll and flatten clay into creative and functional 3D works of art. Students will be mesmerized by the potter’s wheel as they develop basic throwing skills necessary to create a variety of functional vessels. The creative fun begins when students combine their hand-building and throwing skills to create on of a kind works of art. All clay works are glazed; students will learn a variety of surface decorations and glazing techniques suitable to both decorative and functional pieces. Working with clay is physical; it’s a perfect fit for students who are kinetic learners because creating clay requires students to move around the studio space as they work.
Behind the Scenes Workshop
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester; Format: Meets on Cycle Days
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Behind The Scenes Workshop is a course designed specifically for students who wish to showcase their unique artistic interests and talents in a big way. This course will allow you to leave your mark at RHS through direct involvement in the creative hands-on production of many school-wide projects and events. Shine a spot light on your talents as you help design, paint and construct sets and props for the LM pep rally, theatrical productions, and musicals. Work collaboratively with peers to paint murals around RHS, highlighting the many wonderful facets of our school community. Join a crew of dedicated artists, working “behind the scenes”. This course is open to all students and ability levels.
Advanced Ceramics
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester or Cycle Day
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Intro to Ceramics
Advanced Ceramics is designed for students who want to continue their work in clay. It teaches production pottery techniques of mold making and mosaic design/setting to further students’ knowledge and experience ceramic arts outside the classroom. Like every skill, the key to success for a ceramic artist is practice; this course will allow students the opportunity to practice clay techniques beyond a basic application. Students will work to find their “clay voice,” defining who they are as a ceramic artist as they propose and create projects based on individual strengths and interests.
Note: Sculpture, Drawing and Painting will run in the 2021-2022 school year and then again in the 2023-2024 school year.
Sculpture
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Using wood, stone, foam, plaster, wire, metal, clay, and other media, students create their own free-standing, wall-hanging, mobile, and low-relief sculptures. Students learn how to address positive and negative spaces in their work as well as how to problem solve through their designs. A variety of tools will be used to produce an array of three-dimensional pieces in stone, plaster, wire and mixed-media. This course is a great “hands-on” experience and appropriate for all levels of artistic ability.
Drawing
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester; Format: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
All forms of art are based on an ability to first show an idea by drawing. Learning to draw and improving your drawing skills is a very satisfying experience. This course teaches the student how to see as an artist and more accurately record their observations via drawing. Techniques such as observational drawing, figure drawing, shading, design, and perspective are explored. Students will use a variety of materials such as markers, colored pencils, and pastels. Sketchbooks will be used for out-of-class assignments. This is a great class for students who would like to learn how to draw and for those who would like to draw even better.
Painting
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester: Meets Daily
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
The focus of this course is learning how to paint using various techniques and media. During the semester, specific techniques will be taught to create effects in student work as ideas are explored. Students will learn color theory and its importance to painting. A wonderful variety of painting materials are covered in this course including watercolor, acrylic, oil and some mixed-media. Different subject matter will be explored such as landscape, fantasy art, still-life, abstractions, etc. This is a great class for students who would like to paint and those who would like to paint better.
Note: Commercial Art, Silkscreen Printmaking, Metals and Jewelry, Mixed Media and Adaptive Art Education will not run in the 2021-2022
school year and then again in the 2023-2024 school year.
Commercial Art
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester or Cycle Day
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Commercial art plays a key role in the shaping of our popular culture today; if you love television, movies, magazines, and technology this course is for you! Students will be introduced to the varied fields of commercial art including illustration, advertising and graphic design with a variety of hands-on and technology-based projects. Students will explore the connection between Commercial Art and Pop Art icons such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claus Oldenburg through traditional art projects such as silk-screens, comic strips and monumental sculptures. Creativity and innovation with technology is shaping the future; it’s an exciting time to learn new software or explore the creative potential of one that is familiar.
Silkscreen & Printmaking
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester or Cycle Day
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Students will study a wide range of printmaking concepts and techniques, working hands-on with fundamental printmaking disciplines. Why take print making? It’s trendy! Create your own wearable art; students will learn how to create and cut stencils for single and mutli-colored silk-screen designs. It’s traditional! If you love to sketch with graphite, the techniques of Intaglio will allow you to create high detailed and textured value compositions similar to graphite drawings. Mass production! All printmaking techniques create multiples, students will be able to keep and share their work with family and friends. Relief printing on linoleum or woodblocks challenges students to think creatively with positive and negative space; beautiful designs can be made into everyday items like stationary. Innovative thinking! Printmaking techniques, when combined with other artistic interests, offer students a highly creative, hands-on experience appropriate for any level of artistic ability.
Metals and Jewelry
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Semester or Cycle Day
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
This course is an introduction to the art of metals. Students learn to fabricate original metal designs using a variety of metalsmithing techniques such as forming, soldering, casting, enameling, and direct construction. Students can choose from copper, brass, or nickel-silver metals in their work. Some drawing is required on selected projects. This course is a great “hands-on” experience and appropriate for all levels of artistic ability.
Mixed Media
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Year
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Format: Semester or Cycle Day
It’s time to reinvent the rules! This course is designed for students who like to try new things and for those who thrive on finding creative solutions. Mix-media art is all about exploring the combination of possibilities of mixing different art materials and techniques. Students will discover that self-expression happens when they create with a variety of media/techniques and only when they lose the fear of doing something “wrong.” Projects include creative art journals; book binding and paper making and weavings; creation of “yarn” from a variety of recycled materials including fabric and plastic. Let’s change physical properties, what happens when glass and plastic is melted? Students will redefine the “rules” of media and production by sewing on paper, casting printing plates, water coloring plaster. It’s time for students to get out of their comfort zone, apply what they know and reinvent the rules; “the worst mistake is not to make any” because, “mistakes are the greatest teachers.
Adaptive Art Education
0.5 Credit; Unweighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets on Cycle Days
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite(s): Teacher Recommendation
The adaptive art education program is designed to meet individual needs of students that focus on students’ interests and abilities in a variety of art making activities designed to emphasize tactile and sensory input. Educators and students will work together to develop appropriate individual goals to strengthen and enhance motor skills in a creative setting. Socialization between peers is encouraged while supporting and modeling positive and age appropriate interactions. Students will increase independence toward art production and demonstrate care for and management of art supplies related to their art activities. Students will be recommended for this course based on specific needs.