Visual Arts
Risk Takers.
Developing self expression with confidence and pride.
At The Davis Academy, the Visual Arts program serves as a transcendent experience for students. From the youngest Davis student to our eighth graders, artists are encouraged to explore, create and take risks without fear of making mistakes. Confidence grows before our eyes as students surpass their own expectations and exhibit an amazing balance of wonder, determination, and pride. Additionally, the children find personal meaning in their art, all while delving deeper into their Jewish identities via the many Judaic-themed projects we do.
Students are exposed to a wide range of art techniques including the following: drawing with graphite, charcoal and pastels; acrylic and watercolor painting; printmaking, sculpting with clay and other materials; digital art; and photography. In addition to these creative art techniques, students learn about artists and art movements (both past and present) that have helped shape the world in which we live. Students learn how to critique and discuss art through the lenses of both the elements of art and principles of design, as well as discussing art’s role as a bigger cultural component of our society.
Our Visual Arts program helps students build integral skills such as critical thinking and creative problem-solving. In art, we are not looking for one correct answer, we are looking for all of the possibilities. This ability to think along a variety of paths is used by students in every aspect of academics and life.
Opportunities to self express, to take risk and to collaborate, has led to respect for and appreciation of others' unique skills connecting student to one another while creating a sense of community. I have seen my students of all ages take comfort in their artwork and art creation. There is a therapy that happens when creating art that brings peace of mind, positivity, and a sense of escape. Creative practices also help with one’s ability to adapt and cope with the unknown. Students are developing resilience, innovation, and inventiveness when working out visual problems, all of these being key attributes to handling our world right now and making the best of a tough situation.”
Rebecca Ganz
Lower and Middle School Visual Arts Teacher
