Honors Studio Art Portfolio and Honors Advanced Studio Art Portfolio are semester courses previously offered to students during their Upper Mid and Senior years respectively. This year, the two courses have been combined into one.
The new course allows students to investigate advanced drawing techniques, printmaking processes, and oil or acrylic media. Enrolled students are also able to conduct self-directed projects that emphasize concept development.
Ms. Terri Moore, director of studio art, has been teaching the course for over twenty years. She said, “Students will develop a sense of curiosity, answer that curiosity through their research, and use their critical thinking to develop their ideas into a solid concept. From there, they start to build their first piece. The process is not just about creating a pretty picture, but more about how one engages with their work.”
Recently, students completed their first semester projects. The class of Ms. Colleen McGuire, instructor in visual arts, created a maquette of a landscape and painted studies displaying a range of perspectives.
Ms. Moore’s class worked on an unified art investigation of the school’s Biomass plant industrial interior and produced three pieces.
Students began with graphite studies, then moved onto more detailed pieces of the same scene in charcoal. Eventually, students drew their compositions onto wooden panels using charcoal. Jacquo Pierre ’24 said, “We were challenged using charcoal on wood, and we leaned into creating edges with contrast rather than just using lines.”
Phoenix Feng ’25, a student in Ms. McGuire’s class, said, “It was really interesting to work with 3D objects and arrange them in a composition to create observational drawings for our dioramas. Ms. McGuire talked about the importance of observational drawing to hone our skills, and I love that we had the chance to practice that.
“I also enjoy how there is a lot of self-guided work in portfolio class, so we can collaborate with and learn from each other,” she added.
The course allows students to develop qualities that are useful outside of the field of art.
Ms. Moore said, “In taking the class, you’ll learn how to be a creative problem solver, to think spatially, to be vulnerable, to push yourself where you’re failing and persevere, to create a body of work that has a narrative—and to become a kickin’ artist.”
