Visual Arts

High school visual arts offer opportunities for all students to develop an awareness of art as a visual expression of creative thought. Courses are offered for both novice and experienced students. Advanced courses provide the opportunity for further concentration. Students wishing to pursue visual arts may take classes in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, video production, stagecraft, special effects and prosthetics, and graphic design. GWA also offers continued, multi-year course tracks for high school students interested in intensive study of a chosen visual art medium.

The middle school visual arts curriculum serves to promote creative problem-solving, encourage students to think independently, develop resilience, and instill in them an appreciation for the arts. Students are encouraged to engage in new activities and to conceptualize and expand upon their own original ideas. Art can help students connect their feelings of self to the community and world around them, but also can help differentiate them and give them a sense of individuality. They learn to be resilient in their efforts; that mistakes are not final, instead, they are opportunities. Students learn with and from each other, and collaboration is encouraged as every student has something valuable to offer.

We have expanded the middle school art program to also include classes in Computer-Aided Design and Video Production. Our sixth through eighth-grade students have more opportunities than ever to participate in interesting and engaging hands-on project-based classes.