Fine Arts Department
	Cadet Throwing a Ceramic Pot The Fine Arts Department at Benedictine develops the student as a creative thinker and confident problem solver.   Benedictine offers a broad range of art electives including Introduction to Art, 2D media, 3D media, Advanced Ceramics, AP Ceramics, AP Studio Art Drawing, Photography, Advanced Photography, Graphic Design, Band and Drum Line.  The courses are set up in a paradigm to build creative thinking skills and mastery of technique.  We take pride in successfully teaching the boys how produce professional artwork. Benedictine is blessed to have one of the finest art facilities in the region.  The annex building of our school has the main art room and ceramic lab.   Our ceramic lab includes 10 pottery wheels, a 16.5 cubic foot high/low fire kiln, a 7 cubic foot Raku kiln, and a complete safety air filtration system.  Our main building includes a black and white photography lab for film processing and paper printing. Benedictine competes each year in several art competitions and gallery shows.  One of our main competitions is Scholastics Art and Writing Competition.  We have consistently placed each year with students winning silver and gold keys.  Our gold key winners in ceramics were able to compete on a national level in New York.  Galleries the cadets have shown in include: Toad’s Place RVA, Barnes and Nobles, ArtWorks, and Art6 Gallery.  Each year we have an end of the year art show in May at the First Fridays Artwalk downtown.    In order to stay active in the art community and offer exposure for inspiration, we have select field trips throughout the year.  Places we have traveled include: Washington DC (National Portrait Gallery, Horshhorn Museum, The National Gallery, The Botanical Gardens, and The Freer Gallery), New York City (The MOMA, The MET, and The Guggenheim), and Philadelphia (Rodin Museum and The Philadelphia Museum of Art).   Bass and snare ensure the Corps stays in step The Drum Line and Band students learn all aspects of percussion instruments, while also supporting the Corps of Cadets during all marching activities. These include daily formations, special events, and Corps activities such as Homecoming and Veteran’s Day.   Students from Benedictine College Preparatory have been accepted to and attended art colleges and universities including Virginia Commonwealth University, Savannah College of Art and Design, New York University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Maryland Institute College of Art.

	Faculty
	Elizabeth S. Scolaro B.F.A., Virginia Commonwealth University Rachel E. Siewers B.S., James Madison University   Matthew Coyle B.M., James Madison University; M.M., University of Northern Colorado

	Course Offerings
	Art 1- Introduction to Art and Design The student will study and apply the basic design elements and visual art vocabulary in class assignments. Included in the exploration of several media including painting, drawing and printmaking, will be the concerns of aesthetics, history and criticism. The student will become familiar with the standards of safety, quality of product, and use of tools and techniques to create spatial illusion. Open to grades 9-12 Credits: 1 2D Media - Drawing, Painting and Printmaking Emphasis in this class is placed on composition, selecting subject matter, and learning techniques and skills pertinent to various media. The class will experiment with a variety of media such as graphite, charcoal, ink, scratch board, pastels, various printing media, etc. Typical projects include life drawing, still life , portraits, working with photos and landscapes. Sketchbook homework and integration of history, aesthetics and criticism are part of this course. Open to grades 10-12 Prerequisites: Art I, Instructor’s approval Credits: 1 3D Media I and II– Sculpture, Ceramics Students use basic design techniques to become proficient in the technical aspects of 3-dimensional design. Study of basic chronological history, paradigms, of sculpture and sculptors are included to provide an overview of this artistic field. This course provides instruction in basic sculpture and pottery, including hand building and wheel thrown clay vessels. Design skills and craftsmanship will be emphasized. Open to grades 10-12 Prerequisites: Art I; instructor’s approval Credits: 1 Raku This is an upper level ceramics course integrating chemistry and pottery.  Raku is a Japanese style firing of pottery with the use of oxidation reduction.  This type of firing creates different reactions to the glazes including a metallic property to a glass finish, oil spotting, crackle glazing, and soot.  The student will experiment with horse hair, Sunday comics and powdered raw elements from the periodic table into their glazes.  Student must have either taken Chemistry or be currently enrolled in Chemistry to take this course. Open to grades 11-12 Prerequisites: Art I, Instructor’s approval Credits: 1 Photography This course is offered to higher level art students who are interested in a specific area of visual arts- photography. In addition to developing technical skills, this course provides an art historical foundation for photography. Slide presentations, critiques and class discussion are an integral part of this course. Slide presentations, discussions, individual work , inquiry, the National Geography Convention and trips are an important curriculum of the advanced arts curriculum. The students are expected to devote a substantial amount of time outside of the class toward their work. The emphasis will be on creating a large number of works in black/white film and investigating the process of printing in-depth. Students are expected to develop their own themes and issues to explore in their photos. 20th century photography and current photojournalism will be taught to motivate the student artist. The portfolios will include: explorations of pin-hole camera, photojournalism, and computer graphics. Open to grades 10-12 Credits: 1   Advanced Placement Studio Art – 2D Media/3D Media The student in this course will engage in advanced study in the medium of his choice as it pertains to the areas offered by the Advanced Placement testing service. This course is designed for those students who plan to attend art universities or schools and/or demonstrate a serious interest in the practical experience of art. Prerequisites: Instructor’s approval Credits: 1 Graphic Arts and Design The students will first learn to use various image/manipulation programs.  They will then learn to use these programs to visually communicate their ideas and be better prepared to compete in our ever-changing age of technology. Students will get an introduction and review of the fundamentals of design and color theory, in addition to a review of basic computer skills.  This class will focus on creative problem solving as it pertains to fields of visual communication such as advertising, design, and commercial art. Prerequisites: Art I,  Instructor’s approval Credits: 1 Percussion/Drum Corps   In the Percussion/Drum Corp  Course at B.H.S. students will explore the essential building blocks of music (rhythm, melody, and harmony) using percussion instruments as their medium and learning tool.  Along with forays into general music theory students will be introduced to basic music history, general music theory, current events in the modern music, ethnomusicology.  In addition, percussion specific information, such as rhythm nomenclature, roll rudiments, diddle rudiments, flam rudiments, drag rudiments, mallet percussion technique, construction, maintenance, etc. will be disseminated.  The purpose is to provide a broad, generalized music education covering a variety of topics using percussion as its focus. The  Drum Corps will focus on marching cadences, drill and ceremony, with other areas of study including Latin percussion ensemble exposure (afro-cuban rhythms – son montuno, juajuanco, bolero, etc.) and orchestral studies. Open to grades 9-12 Credits: 1 credit