- Brandon High
- Fine Arts Department
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Fine Arts
Art is for everyone! Art is a skill that can be learned and grown with practice just like any other skill. There are multiple art classes, here at Brandon High School, to suit a variety of interests. All art courses fulfill the performing arts requirement for graduation.
Ceramics and Pottery I, II, and III Honors allow students to work with their hands and sculpt clay for all projects. Students will learn the entire process of clay from where it is formed, how to work through the different stages of clay, and how it is fired to achieve an artwork that is both beautiful and useable. Students will make both sculptures and practical items like cups and bowls. Ceramics and Pottery is a full-year course with 3 levels, so the possibilities of creativity are endless.
2D Studio Art I and II and Creating 2D Art students work on a flat surface like paper or canvas and use mediums like paint, pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, and printmaking to name a few. Students will learn the fundamentals of art, like the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, in these project-based courses and build on their skills to become better artists. Students will also learn about artists and art movements significant to history as well as modern 2D artists. Creating 2D Art is a one-semester course. 2D Studio Art I & II are full-year courses.
3D Studio Art and Creating 3D Art make sculptures. In these courses, students will use materials like paper mâché, plaster, clay, wire, and cardboard to name a few. Students will learn the fundamentals of art, like the Elements and Principles of Art, in these project-based courses and build on their skills to become better artists. Students will also learn about artists and art movements significant to history as well as modern 3D artists. 3D Art is offered in both a full-year and semester format.
In all courses, students are given guidelines of projects to learn specific skills, but they are free to use their own creative ideas in the execution of their projects. Let the creativity begin!






Dimensional Art Courses
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1. CREATING 2-DIMENSIONAL ART
Grade 9-12th
1/2 credit
This is a semester-long survey course that will include the medias of drawing, painting, printmaking and/or collage. It will be available to students who have not taken 2-D or Drawing/Painting already.
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2. STUDIO ART I (2 DIMENSIONAL)
Grade 9 or 12th
1 credit
This is a year-long course where students experiment with the media and techniques used to create a variety of two- dimensional (2-D) artworks through the development of skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and/or design. Students practice, sketch, and manipulate the structural elements of art to improve mark making and/or the organizational principles of design in a composition from observation, research, and/or imagination. Through the critique process, students evaluate and respond to their own work and that of their peers. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.
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3. STUDIO ART II (2-DIMENSIONAL)
Grade 10-12th
1 credit
Prerequisite: 2-Dimensional Studio Art I or teacher recommendation. See Mrs. Mulvihill-Luke, room D300.
This is a continuation of skills learned in level one drawing, painting, or 2-dimensional art classes. Students will explore and make work that is at a higher level in the areas of drawing, painting, collage and/or printmaking. It is geared towards students who want to further their artistic skills learned in 2-Dimensional Art 1 or Drawing and Painting 1.
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4. CREATING 3-DIMENSIONAL ART
Grade 9-12th
1/2 credit
This is a semester-long survey course that will teach more than one 3-D media such as sculpture, assemblage, and/or ceramics. It is geared towards students who are interested in making 3-dimensional art. There are no prerequisites for this course.
Ceramics /Pottery Courses
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1. CERAMICS/POTTERY I
Grade 9-12th
1 credit
This is a year-long course where students explore how space, mass, balance, and form combine to create aesthetic forms or utilitarian products and structures. Instructional focus will be on ceramics and/or pottery. Media may include, but are not limited to, clay and/or plaster, with consideration of the workability, durability, cost, and toxicity of the media used. Student artists consider the relationship of scale (i.e., hand-held, human, monumental) through the use of positive and negative space or voids, volume, visual weight, and gravity to create low/high relief or freestanding structures for personal intentions or public places. They explore sharp and diminishing detail, size, position, overlapping, visual pattern, texture, implied line, space, and plasticity, reflecting craftsmanship and quality in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms. Students in the ceramics and/or pottery art studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.
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2. CERAMICS/POTTERY II
Grade 10-12
1 credit
Prerequisit: Ceramics/Pottery I
Students explore spatial relationships through the use of nonobjective, abstract, or representational forms, products, or structures. Instructional focus should be on ceramics and/or pottery. Processes and techniques for substitution may include, but are not limited to, wheel-thrown clay, glaze formulation and application. Media may include, but are not limited to, clay and/or plaster with consideration of the workability, durability, cost, and toxicity of the media used. Ceramic and/or pottery artists experiment with and manipulate space-producing devices, including overlapping, transparency, interpenetration, vertical and horizontal axis, inclined planes, disproportionate scale, fractional or abstracted representation, and spatial properties of the structural art elements. Craftsmanship and quality are reflected in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms. Students in the ceramics and/or pottery art studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works.
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3. CERAMICS/POTTERY III HONORS
Grade 10-12
1 credit
Prerequisite: Ceramics/Pottery II
This course builds upon the skills learned in Ceramics 1 and 2. Students who take this course should be able to work independently and be self-motivated. Media may include, but are not limited to, clay and/or plaster with consideration of the workability, durability, cost, and toxicity of the media used. Ceramic and/or pottery artists experiment with and manipulate space-producing devices, including overlapping, transparency, interpenetration, vertical and horizontal axis, inclined planes, disproportionate scale, fractional or abstracted representation, and spatial properties of the structural art elements. Craftsmanship and quality are reflected in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms. Students in the ceramics and/or pottery art studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works.