Locally Sourced: A Studio Art History Exploration is a class that is unique to VA. In it, students discover that they don't have to go far to appreciate art. Sometimes, great art can be right under our noses-even on their campus. Visual Arts Department Chair Lisa Eckhardt McNealus ’79 leads lessons in art history that are supplemented by visits to various art installations around campus as well as the architecture in Saxtons River, VT. At the beginning of the course this fall, students visited Leavitt House on campus to view the landscape artistry hung on the walls, and interpreted the style and tone of each piece. In the following unit, focusing on portraiture, Ms. McNealus introduced them to the works of Michaelangelo, John Singer Sargent, and Kehinde Wiley in preparation for their art exploration in Proctor Hall, home to the Center for Learning, to look at portraits of notable Vermont Academy figures such as former Headmaster Laurence G. Leavitt, former Headmaster Michael Choukas '46, former long tenured trustee Olin D. Gay 1905, and others. The class discussed the varying artistic styles of the works in accordance with what each figure meant to the school. The following class period, they returned to sketch a portrait of their choice. The course aims to instill in the students an eagerness to seek art wherever they go, simultaneously understanding what it means to appreciate it.

 

Performing Arts Chair Steve Cady teaches an explorative class titled Introduction to Electronic Music. Throughout the course of the trimester, students were introduced to  a variety of endeavors involving sound, electricity, and digital music. They gained foundational knowledge in many elements of electronic music, building the groundwork for future musical and sound-related pursuits. Software such as FL Studio, Mixcraft 9, Audacity, Garage Band, and other stripping tools were used to dissect pieces of music. Students in the class recently used these tools for a project in which they were challenged to choose a piece of music to sample and create their own tune. Through this experience, they enhanced their understanding of pitch, rhythm, atmosphere, and musical aesthetic. Each shared their reimagined tunes over the speakers in one of the music rooms of Shepardson Center. The eclectic selection of musical choices included the 1960s “Batman Theme” by Neal Hefti, Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine”, “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood, and more. In the next unit, students in Introduction to Electronic Music will use fading, automation, and digital composition techniques to further their understanding of electronic music.

 

Ceramics faculty member Ryan Burch leads a year-long Introduction to Pottery class that introduces students to many elements of the artform. In the first trimester, students learned the basic methods of forming, glazing, and firing ceramics. To build a foundational skill set in the art of ceramics, they used pinch, coil, and slab building methods, gained an understanding of basic wheel throwing, made and tested different types of glazes, and explored different firing methods. Mr. Burch notes that, “both effort and craftsmanship will be of utmost importance” in his course. In a recent class, students learned the different techniques for attaching handles to their work-in-progress mugs. Mr. Burch gave a demonstration on creating a “coil handle” with a needle tool and paddle, as well as a “pulling handle” technique. The rest of the lab period was dedicated to hands-on time, where students got to work stationing themselves at the throwing wheels, affixing handles to their mugs, peeling slabs off of blocks of clay, and more. The process was equal parts collaborative and individualized. Near the end of the trimester, students will take their finished mugs to a local coffee shop to celebrate their work. Throughout the year-long course, students will practice coil building, carving, painting and sgraffito, slab building, finding, digging, and testing local clay, introduction to wheel throwing mugs, raku and Japanese tea ceremony and serving dishes and sets.

 

At Vermont Academy, our students are challenged while their passions are ignited. Other art classes offered at VA include Honors Advanced Art, AP 2D Art, Drawing, Filmmaking, Digital Photography, Improvisational and Devised Theater, Theater Production, Advanced Music, Music Theory, 9th Grade Arts, and more. 

 

Stay tuned for more highlights within each of our academic departments.