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THINKING WITH YOUR PENCIL: A drawing and painting student works on shading a cartoon style portrait. The drawing and painting course teaches students to translate their emotions into the form of a drawing through basic drawing techniques, as exemplified by this student. Photo by Ellie Holt
Thinking With Your Pencil
April 15, 2015
“Anyone can draw,” art and ceramics instructor Jan Colt says, “
“
Anyone can draw, you just have to think with your pencil and work with your brain.
— Jan Colt
The SJHHS drawing/painting and ceramics courses inspire students to create using techniques developed by artists throughout history dating from the first contour cave drawings to the modern non-objective art of the 21st century.
The 21st century marks the revolutionary advancement in computer technology, meaning the increase in importance and need for workers with skills in the visual arts.
Companies, careers, and jobs now search for creative people who know how to learn and communicate using constantly changing technology and are trained to think, draw and design using visual arts based skills. The creative problem solving and visual observation techniques desired by employers form the foundation for the art curriculum provided at SJHHS.
“I believe that taking this art class has furthered my skills in preparation for being a fashion designer when we learned eight figure heads (figure drawing) and also creating the illusion of 3D in drawings.” Maggie Barnes (11)
In addition to equipping students with skills to enter the workforce, the drawing/painting and ceramics courses encourage and inspire students to delve deeper into their minds and express their individual creativity, discovering talents and abilities that may not know they possess themselves.
“This class provides us with an environment where we are free to express our thoughts emotions and imaginations with all the tools necessary.” Alex Pagan (12)