Mrs. Smith- Art Explorations, Fine Art 1, 7th/8th General Art
Katie Smith
[email protected]
440-974-5344
Background information:
This is my 14th year teaching art, with the past 7 years teaching at Mentor High School. I also teach 7th/8th grade General Art at Memorial, and I have experience teaching art at the elementary school level. I love my job and having the opportunity to introduce and explore various types of media with my students and helping them find their strengths in art.
I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University, where I majored in Art Education with a minor in Studio Arts. I continued my studies at Kent State to earn a Master’s of Education.
Philosophy:
My goal as a teacher is to help students become creative individuals and critical thinkers. I strive to increase student motivation and understanding of the arts while developing awareness of how the arts are integrated into other disciplines. Much of art deals with problem solving and skills that are applicable to other subject areas, jobs, and everyday life. The most important thing that I want students to take away from art class is their own personal growth.
To learn more about the curriculum, visit Mentor High School’s program of studies.
Art Explorations:
Want a chance to create, experiment with new materials, and get your hands dirty with drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and more? This course is open to all students who are interested in a year-long “product based” art class. This course explores a variety of media and techniques. It also prepares the student for any semester art courses or for entering the Fine Art track. Students will be required to pay a class fee for consumables. This is a Prerequisite for other Art Electives
Fine Art 1:
Experiment, explore and create! This course is designed to be the first course in a series of Fine Art classes. Its purpose is to involve students in a variety of media and techniques while advancing skills as they begin the portfolio preparation process. Students will create a visual journal in which they will experiment, play, document learning and reflect on artistic processes. They will practice and build their knowledge of different techniques, skills and styles of art in small projects called “micro labs”. Students will then create larger “masterpieces” in which they will be able to make artistic choices in the subject matter, media and style with an emphasis on the meaning behind their work. This course is designed for those students indicating a serious interest in art, but not necessarily a career in art. Previous preparation in seventh and eighth grade art, combined with demonstrated proficiency in media and techniques and a teacher recommendation serve as a basis for student participation in Fine Art 1. A portfolio of work will be assembled. Students will be required to pay a class fee for consumables.
Prerequisites: 8th grade Fine Art, teacher recommendation and/or Portfolio Review
Information for students and parents:
Student work is photographed throughout the year and added to an ongoing digital portfolio through Google Slides and/or Schoology. It is important for students to keep up with their portfolios in order to show progression of their work and in order to be successful on their midterm and final exams. Information about what should be included in their portfolios and how they are graded is shared in class but also can be found on our class Schoology pages. Make sure to ask your child about their portfolio so you can see what they have been working on!
Homework and Grading: Sufficient time will be given in class to complete projects. If work does not get completed in class, anything unfinished will become homework. After a project is handed back, students have 2 weeks to make improvements in their work and resubmit it to raise their grade. We are continuously looking for ways to grow and improve our work so I encourage open discussions when it comes to grading and want to help students do their best.
