Fundamentals of Art is the introductory art class at East High. Students must pass Fundamentals of Art in order to take any other art classes. During Fundamentals, students will learn about the elements of art and how to apply them. The course is designed to provide students with a foundation that will serve them in any area of the visual arts they may wish to pursue. Projects are enriched with elements of art history, contemporary visuals, and emphasis on careers and employability skills.
Still Life Drawings
While creating still life drawings, students learned to draw from observation of three-dimensional objects. They also explored various geometric forms and shading techniques.
Self-Portrait Drawings
Students applied line and value drawing skills to create self-portraits. These drawings were challenging for students because they were required to observe themselves from looking in a mirror, rather than drawing from a picture. Students worked to achieve accurate facial proportions and a realistic style.
Color Theory Flora and Fauna Illustrations
During this project, students studied natural history illustrations, then created their own while using specific color schemes such as triadic, monochromatic, analogous, and complementary. Students created their illustrations in a modern style inspired by artist Liz Laribee.
Calligraphy Landscapes
While creating this project, students learned to combine multiple art techniques (calligraphy and watercolor painting). They also learned about essential landscape elements such as the horizon line and strategies for creating perspective, or showing distance.
Foam Character Stamps
For this project, students chose a character to repeat throughout their artwork, and created a foam stamp of that character. On a separate paper, they created a background for their character using a variety of art media. To complete the project, students printed their stamps at least twice on their backgrounds.
Art Twist-ory
At the start of this project, students explored a variety of historical artists, including Wassily Kandinsky, Margaret Kilgallen, Gustav Klimt, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Vincent van Gogh. They chose one of the listed artists, then either re-created one of their artworks, but using at least three art media, or created a new artwork in the style of that artist.