Visual Arts

List of 4 items.

• Ceramics

  The tactile medium of ceramics provides students with the opportunity to create three-dimensional form through their own artistic expression.

  In the ceramics studio, students work with wheel throwing techniques, traditional sculpting methods, and other hand-building processes. They learn about the management of clay from the raw state, to the fired state, to the glazed end product, and they have the opportunity to use conventional or alternative firing methods to heighten the expressive nature of their work.
  
  

  Beginning students can try a semester-long Ceramics 1 class, while more advanced artists can pursue in-depth development of pottery and sculpture in the yearlong Advanced 3-D class. The clay studio is alive with all levels of students who work together and exchange ideas in a vibrant social environment.

   

  The ceramics room works much like a visual arts laboratory, where risk-taking and moving a lot of clay is part of the daily energy of the studio. Students and teachers work together in this vibrant atmosphere, where a dialogue between the teachers and students is encouraged.

  
  OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:
  

  • Creating wheel-thrown pottery and sculpture
  • Building sculpture with slabs, coils, and one of 10 Brent pottery wheels
  • Glaze application for low- and hi-fire firings
  • Exhibiting work in traditional and installation settings
  • Working with clay mixer and pug mill, test kiln, Bailey hi-fire gas kiln, and Skutt hi-fire electric kiln
  • Advanced Studio Art - 3-D
  • Extracurricular options

  “I believe every one of us is an artist, yet it takes an extraordinary mentor to really nurture creativity. The faculty at Episcopal are experts in this. EHS gives all of its students the change to be their personal best in the arts and to remain true to themselves on campus and beyond.”

  - Alexander Keevil '04

• Digital Graphics

  In Digital Graphics, students learn how to create engaging and attractive visual designs that communicate their ideas with purpose and panache. Classes begin by teaching graphic design fundamentals, including composition, color theory, and typography, while also striving to cultivate an awareness of one’s audience and marketing target. Using the Adobe Creative Suite, students create a variety of designs in a project-based curriculum, including posters, T-shirts, logos, and short animation.

• Drawing & Painting

  Rendering is the most fundamental and often the most critical activity of the visual artist.
  
  Historically, artists have used drawing techniques to describe with delicacy and accuracy anything from the highly representational to the utmost abstract. Episcopal’s drawing courses focus on the discipline and applied skills needed for rendering from life.
  
  

  The painting courses concentrate on using the medium to bring color, volume, and scale to a two-dimensional composition. Students move through either area of study, or both, developing basic skills that lead them toward the freedom to create their own works.

  
  OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:
  

  • Graphite, charcoal, chalk, and pastels
  • Acrylics, watercolors, oil bars, and mixed-media
  • Printmaking
  • Light and shade, line quality, rendering of form, and illustration of depth
  • Elements of design
  • Extracurricular options
  • Advanced Studio Art - 2-D

  “Art education is not just valuable to aspiring artists. It teaches visual literacy that is valuable to everyone. Art education enriches our lives by making us aware of the beauty of the world, and it enables us to express our thoughts and feelings through visual media.”

  - Billy Sullivan '69

• Photography

  Through photography, students see their world as if for the first time; images through the lens cut away the unnecessary and boil down meaning to only the essential.
  
  Students first learn the origins of photography and the camera obscura through theory and practice. With the firm understanding of camera operations and darkroom techniques, these budding young photographers are able to create and capture pictures that are uniquely their own, ultimately telling us who they are.

  
  Episcopal’s photography program blends traditional darkroom teaching with the ever-evolving digital imagery platform. Whether taking Photo 1 or working toward an Advanced Portfolio, students have the opportunity to use a variety of cameras, processes, and software.

   

  OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:
  

  • 35-mm and digital SLR camera work
  • Film developing and darkroom printing
  • Digital photography with Adobe software
  • Independent Study
  • Extracurricular options
  • Advanced Studio Art - 2-D

  “At Episcopal, the arts are a fundamental part of the curriculum. With the growth of the arts program, the School has emphasized creation and production of arts on campus. There is little debate that we live in a screen dominated world. From phones to laptops to LCDs, and moving-image billboards, visual culture is here to stay. I think that the faculty at Episcopal do a great job providing students with the tools to actively explore and create in a rapidly evolving visual world.”

  - Will Mebane '91