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Drawing and Painting, AP Studio Art and Art Spectrum

Drawing and Painting, AP Studio Art and Art Spectrum courses mainly consist of students working individually on assignments.

Drawing and Painting involves using a combination of different 2-D materials such as graphite and sketchbooks. Students will learn about art history, do research and other activities that will increase their knowledge on art. According to art teacher Deanna Messinger, the class also gives students room to express their individuality. ?Learning to communicate through symbol and metaphor, exploring a variety of drawing and painting materials, you learn to not only develop your technical skills but develop your creativity and imagination as well,? Messinger said.

In Art Spectrum, students learn how to design, draw, paint, create and sculpt 2-D and 3-D art. According to Messinger, students not only learn the fundamentals of art, various techniques and different types of art but they are also placed in an environment that allows them to learn more about their artistic side. ?This is a great course to feel more confident about what you might like to do in the arts,? Messinger said.

AP Studio Art deals with a variety of activities such as photography, drawing, painting and printmaking. This is a class in which students decide their own deadlines and what they want to create for their 12-piece requirement for the AP test. Junior Monica Liu recommends this course to students who are independent and can keep themselves on task. ?It?s pretty easy to get really behind and then the class becomes a lot more stressful than it needs to be,? Liu said. ?It?s a great class if you love art.?

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Ceramics:

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Ceramics and Sculpture is an art class that goes beyond the two-dimensional art typically done in high school. In Ceramics and Sculpture students will go through three basic units, including a clay unit and a bronze-casting unit. Students have done projects where they mimic certain materials, such as leather or wood. In the past students have done carving, wood, plaster, and environmental sculptures. The class will even take a trip to the Stanford Art Museum to see the sculptures. Students will use tools and learn how to work with different types of materials.

Ceramics and sculptor teacher, Erik Bowman, says that this class differs from most other art classes. ?It is a visual art but it?s three-dimensional so it?s more hands on; it?s more physical,? Bowman said.

According to Bowman, any artistic student is great for this class, but anybody would be welcome.

It is ideal that students complete Art Spectrum before taking Ceramics and Sculptor.

Graphic Design:

Graphic Design is a class teaching students how to utilize design in functional ways through problem solving and visual communication. According to Gleason, students use softwares including Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop to produce a variety of striking imagery. ?It?s an art class, but what really underlies the art and images in Graphic Design is problem solving,? Gleason said.

In addition, students learn the concept of visual communication and language through principles of art. According to junior Lauren Johnson, one of the most memorable projects involves accomplishing the challenge of constructing a design that sends a message to a viewer to start or stop a specific task. ?It made people think outside the box and figure out how to trick others into doing something,? she said. Gleason says students are given the opportunity to be creative with the execution of project assignments like these, as long as the outcome is what is desired.

While fulfilling credits for the Visual Performing Arts requirement, Gleason says Graphic Design is also a useful experience for the future. ?There are specific jobs that people are asking for that have to do with the concepts we learn in Graphic Design,? he said. Gleason recommends taking this class to people who enjoy associating creativity with art. ?I recommend this to anybody who likes to do creative work and problem solving, as well as finding ways to communicate through visual art.?

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Photo:

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Most people?s idea of photography is pressing the shutter button on their phone, but Gunn?s photography program helps students develop much more advanced photography skills. ?If you want to do more than a snapshot for your Facebook profile pictures or whatever it may be, we teach you how to use the camera,? photography instructor Jennifer Hogan said.

Overall, students tend to appreciate the relaxed environment the photography program maintains while still inspiring learning. ?It?s very laid back but you still learn a lot of new things about photography,? junior Photo 1 student Jonathan Medina said. ?The teachers know a whole lot, they are very knowledgeable.?

Students generally begin in Photo 1 and then may take Advanced Photography. For real enthusiasts, one can apply for a spot in AP 2-D Studio Art. All of these courses fulfill the visual and performing arts credit graduation requirement. ?If someone was considering taking a photo class, I?d definitely tell them to do so,? junior Michaela Mertz said. ?It?s really fun and you learn a lot. You don?t need to be good at photography to have a great time.?

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Theater:

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Theater 1, 2 and 3/4, in addition to a Stage Tech class, are offered. The former fulfill the Visual and Performing Arts requirement, while the latter offers Career/Tech Ed credit.

Theater 1 is the first theater class students take, and each successive one, if students continue, builds upon the skills learned before. In this class, students receive an introduction to theater, play games, improvise and start exploring scene and monologue work. In Theater 2, students begin learning about the history of theater, how to prepare audition materials and expand on scenes and monologues. Theater 3/4 builds on previous material, while also allowing students to embark on entire plays, writing, in-depth projects, scripts and create their own productions. Theater teacher James Shelby recommends students to take all the theater classes because by the end, students will have learned their weaknesses, strengths, how to give and receive constructive criticism and how to take risks, and they will have an understanding of the canon of theater.

Not only is theater a fun and multi-faceted class, but it also allows students to grow and express themselves creatively. ?Theater is a way to find out who you are, to express yourself,? Shelby said. ?You get to play other characters, explore your emotions, other people?s emotions, play different parts, explore the world. It involves so many aspects: your physicality, music, your voice, costumes.?

Shelby and theater students recommend anyone to take the class to explore and try different things. ?I like the community a lot,? junior Anthony Keech said. ?The people in theater are really nice and they?re so into trying new things and ideas. They don?t put you or your ideas down.?

For students interested in the design and production of theater, Stage Tech meets after school once a week for about two hours. Students can take a yearlong or semester-long session. This class explores dramaturgy, creating costumes, building props and how to put on a production.

Source: http://gunnoracle.com/2013/03/3034/

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