High School Programs: Courses

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

Students in this course are introduced to a variety of materials, methods, and skills required for fashion designers. Using traditional and non-traditional illustration methods, students develop first a group, then a collection using a range of fabrications. Each student works through the process of sketching, selecting fabrics, and draping design concepts. Students draw from actual garments and produce simple constructions using muslin and paper. This course is open to students working at all levels. No previous experience is necessary.

This class introduces students to the basic principles of draping and pattern making. The dressmaker's form is explored through the use of paper and muslin. Students develop an original garment from first sketch to a muslin sample. Fabric choices and pattern manipulation are topics that will be discussed. This course is open to students working at all levels. No previous experience is necessary.

Get your drawings and character illustrations out of your sketchbook, off the paper, and make them move. This course introduces you to traditional and experimental analog animation techniques including cutout, drawing on film, Claymation, and under-the-camera collage. You will complete a series of exercises that will focus on drawing skills, character development, and storyline, and leave the course with completed concept illustrations and a series of short animations that construct, embellish, and narrate your own imaginary world. Films and videos illustrating various animation techniques will be shown in class.

In this advanced level course, you will work in the media of your choice (drawing, painting, sculpture, video, performance, etc.) with an emphasis on interdisciplinary practice. Through faculty guidance and peer engagement you will explore a range of creative strategies used by contemporary artists as a way to develop your own personal methods and processes, create strong, portfolio-quality work, and learn to articulate your ideas verbally and in writing. Visiting artist presentations, critiques, and field trips supplement studio coursework.

Through interdisciplinary approaches that encourage material exploration, students investigate a variety of painting practices and image making strategies. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, presentations on contemporary artists, critiques, and discussions supplement the studio experience. Lead by their individual projects and goals, students may choose to work in oil and/or water-based paints or other media of their choice. Students should have basic drawing and painting skills.

Designed for students with basic drawing experience, this course introduces a variety of new and challenging approaches to drawing and water-based painting. Using traditional and non-traditional materials and methods, students examine formal issues such as composition, mark making, color, texture and surface, and form an understanding of the differences and similarities between dry (drawing) and wet (painting) media. By exploring the ways these materials can be used together students are encouraged to adopt a broader, contemporary view of the drawing/painting relationship. Regular visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, presentations, and critiques supplement studio exercises and individual projects. This is an excellent preparation for future painting courses.

In this course you work with the instructor and classmates on individual and group projects that expand and reinforce your knowledge of the camera, lighting methods, digital image manipulation, and printing techniques. Assignments are designed to help you identify and develop your personal direction and greater conceptual awareness. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, artist?s presentations, and critiques supplement the studio experience. Prerequisite: Previous digital or analog photography experience is essential.

In this class you will learn how architects develop design ideas through drawing. Using the city of Chicago as your subject, free-hand perspective drawing, drafting, and digital computer modeling are introduced. Projects begin with basic drawing, then proceed to perspective and drafting techniques, and end with using computer-aided design software.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

Develop your observational drawing skills by working directly from a clothed model. Using a variety of drawing materials and methods, including pencil, charcoal, pastel, ink, and collage, you will be introduced to portrait drawing with a focus on anatomy and proportions of the human head. Through trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists, both traditional and contemporary approaches to portraiture will be addressed. Prerequisite: Previous drawing experience; figure drawing experience is beneficial, but not required.

If you have an interest in exploring the role and techniques of the fashion illustrator, this course is for you. In it, you will develop drawing skills and fashion illustration techniques with an emphasis on individuality of style and expression. You will draw from live clothed models and study garments from the School's collection.

If you have an interest in exploring the role and techniques of the fashion illustrator, this course is for you. In it, you will develop drawing skills and fashion illustration techniques with an emphasis on individuality of style and expression. You will draw from live clothed models and study garments from the School's collection.

For students with previous painting experience, this course focuses on contemporary approaches to portraiture and self-portraiture. Working from life, you will develop painting techniques with an emphasis on traditional and non-traditional portrait painting processes. You will also have the opportunity to work in water-based paints.

In this course you will examine the equipment and methods of digital photography and learn to capture and print both black and white and color photographs. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and critiques supplement the studio experience. You must supply your own SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) digital camera with manual functionality. (No point-and-shoot cameras.) This course requires little or no photography experience.

This course introduces you to Macintosh computer through graphic design. Projects will include designing logos, postcards, and flyers as well as aspects of digital imaging in fine art. You will be introduced to the basic principles of generating and manipulating images, font usage, and page layout. In addition to down-loading images from the world wide web, use of scanners, and printing will be introduced. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign are some of the software programs that will be used.

Fold, cut, stitch, and glue to create a variety of one-of-a-kind books. In this course you will learn traditional and non-traditional binding techniques to make books that can be used as sketchbooks, journals, and/or 3D objects. You will also explore how to move your own personal content towards sequential works that can be developed for illustrated books and graphic novels, incorporating words and pictures using a variety of 2D materials and methods. The class will visit the Art Institute's collections and SAIC's Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection to study a wide range of book structures and formats, and examine how idea research can aid in the making of personalized book projects.

In this course you will be introduced to traditional landscape drawing. Working both inside and outside the studio, this class uses the architectural and natural sites of the city of Chicago as its subject. By working with a variety of drawing materials, you will develop an understanding of observation and interpretation of landscape. Visits to the Art Institute collections will expose you to historical approaches to landscape drawing. This course has no prerequisites, but is a perfect combination with the Artist Materials and Techniques course.

If you are entering your freshman or sophomore year in high school, this class was specifically designed with you in mind. This course introduces a variety of materials and techniques used by visual artists, including: charcoal, conte, pastels, cray-pas, pen and ink, ink wash, and collage. You are encouraged to develop your skills by drawing from direct observation. Visits to the Art Institute collections are used to enhance your understanding of the range of possibilities available to the artist.

In this course you will learn to introduce creative elements into autobiographical, critical and persuasive essays, and also explore new forms such as creative non-fiction and the lyric essay. By uncovering material within yourself and responding to video clips, writings, and current events, you will learn to generate and then develop your own ideas. You will also be encouraged to express your point of view while developing practical skills that prepare you for college-level writing and college entrance essays.

This course introduces you to the qualities and uses of color as a way to both represent a subject and express an idea. Applications of color relativity, hue, intensity, and color/space relationships are studied. Projects include studying how the artist uses color in a representational and creative approach.

In this course you will be introduced to a variety of materials and methods used in water based painting. Working from a variety of subjects, materials to be explored may include ink, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media. Through visits to the Art Institute of Chicago we will explore the many traditional and contemporary uses of water-based mediums and learn about the artists who have used them. Students should have previous drawing experience, but no painting experience is necessary.

In this course students will focus on the generation of new text through journaling, free writing, writing through music, digging through their own memories and dreams, and other methods of responding to the world in written form. You will learn how to edit and revise a work, as well as respond critically to the writing of others; learn how to craft short stories, monologues, poetry and personal essays; push the limits of creativity and personal expressions and gear up for the college writing process.

Explore the possibilities of producing high-quality publications using low-cost resources. Working alongside students with various backgrounds and practices (creative writing, sculpture, photography, fashion, etc.), you will publish limited edition books and `zines as a new means of communicating your interests and ideas. You will learn basic Adobe Photoshop and InDesign skills, experiment with printing from low-and high-quality printers with a variety of papers, and explore a variety of bookbinding methods. You will also learn about pricing and how to promote your editions. No previous experience is necessary.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

Building on previous portrait drawing experience, you will concentrate on various traditional and non-traditional approaches to portraiture. Working from clothed models, and other visual sources including photographs and your imagination, you will continue to develop your drawing skills while experimenting with a variety of dry and wet drawing materials and methods. This course is also designed to help you begin to identify and develop a personal direction by exposing you to historical and contemporary artists and approaches to portraiture. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, artist presentations, and critiques supplement the studio experience. Prerequisite: Previous portrait and/or figure drawing experience is essential.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an organizer of thoughts, feelings and image making. In addition to developing fundamental skills, you will investigate a range of contemporary drawing materials and methods, and explore essential elements of 2-D design. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and presentations on contemporary artists supplement the studio experience. This course is recommended for beginners or those wanting to improve current skills.

In this advanced level course, you will work in the media of your choice (drawing, painting, sculpture, video, performance, etc.) with an emphasis on interdisciplinary practice. Through faculty guidance and peer engagement you will explore a range of creative strategies used by contemporary artists as a way to develop your own personal methods and processes, create strong, portfolio-quality work, and learn to articulate your ideas verbally and in writing. Visiting artist presentations, critiques, and field trips supplement studio coursework.

This class is for those who have little or no experience in oil painting. You will be introduced to the materials, tools and processes associated with this medium. Color theory, composition, structure, proportion, and perspective will be explored through observational painting, as well as exercises that will encourage you to confidently experiment with oil paint while developing a solid foundation for further exploration in painting. Note: A nude model may be utilized in this course. Prerequisite: Basic drawing and painting experience.

In this course you work with the instructor and classmates on individual and group projects that expand and reinforce your knowledge of the camera, lighting methods, digital image manipulation, and printing techniques. Assignments are designed to help you identify and develop your personal direction and greater conceptual awareness. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, artist?s presentations, and critiques supplement the studio experience. Prerequisite: Previous digital or analog photography experience is essential.