Academics at Saint Mary High School

Art Department

Faculty:      Mrs. Ellen Farley

Course Offerings:      Art I      Art II      Art III      Art IV

The art program at Saint Mary High School is designed to offer comprehensive instruction in the visual arts to the students. Instruction includes development of competency in 2- and 3-dimensional media, introduction to major accomplishments and insights in the history of art, and awareness of the principles and elements of design on which the visual arts are based. Depending on student needs and goals, the art program strives to provide sufficient instruction for the casual artist as well as in-depth experience for the artistically orientated.

The Art Department is involved in the development of the total student, with a competitive program for the students looking toward college/university art acceptances; as well as a complete course of study for students who elect art as enrichment. Art builds awareness, fosters ways of seeing and perceiving, and hopefully develops insight. Jackson Pollack said that “art is coming face to face with yourself.”

Art classes by nature rely on creative approaches and encourage students to extend their ability to closely look at, think about, and react visually to a series of criteria. Looking at art produced in other cultures and time periods should enlarge the students’ art perception, as should focusing attention on different mindsets that have shaped art produced over the ages.