Norfolk Collegiate School provides a wide variety of creative offerings in the fine arts for upper school students. Through the arts, students expand their human capacity to perceive across all cultures throughout civilization. Norfolk Collegiate School offers a diverse curriculum and a wide variety of extracurricular activities.
Norfolk Collegiate School offers the following classes in the fine arts:
Art History surveys the development of art and architecture from early humans to the modern world. The course encourages visual learning and the study of many different cultures. Specific course content includes painting, sculpture and architecture. While visual analysis is stressed, the course also emphasizes understanding works in context, considering such issues as patronage, gender and the functions and effects of works of art.
Art Foundations, an introductory art class, explores the fundamental concepts of art—line, shape, color, perspective, design and form—using many different mediums and techniques.
Art II expands students' knowledge exploring new and different techniques in pottery, drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Keeping a sketchbook will be an integral part of the course for practice and reference.
Drawing consists of interpreting life images around us through various media: pencil, charcoal, pen and ink and scratchboard, among others.
Design is an advanced studio course where artists will broaden their creative spectrum, designing and constructing 3-D works of art. Students will work with interior design, logo design, fashion and jewelry design, furniture design, screen printing, batiking and textiles. Students will be encouraged to expand their creative and intellectual thinking skills.
Pottery I allows students to explore pottery, sculpture, and mixed media with clay. Students will become potters with both thrown vessels and hand-built clay items.
Advanced Pottery is a continuation of the concepts in Pottery I. Students investigate in greater depth the varying techniques associated with sculpting clay.
Painting explores the different styles and techniques of oil, acrylic and watercolor painting on both paper and canvas. Individual styles will be developed and encouraged while learning from the great masters.
Yearbook Production allows students to produce the school's yearbook, The Acorn. Students learn the “language" of yearbooks, layout design, digital imaging, Photoshop and InDesign, as well as photography techniques.
In Photography students explore the art as a means of visual expression. They study a composition's organizing ideas, including balance, emphasis, unity, variety, pattern, movement, proportion and rhythm. Students explore camera vision; equipment and technique; black and white, color and alternative processes; the use of natural and artificial light; and the photographic applications of digital technology.