Faculty Members Heidi Gesch (hgesch@lhsmayer.org) Course Offerings (Certain courses may not be offered every semester) Fundamentals of Art .5 Credit Grades 9-12 Ceramics I .5 Credit Grades 9-12 Crafts .5 Credit Grades 9-12 Drawing .5 Credit Grades 9-12 Ceramics II .5 Credit Grades 10-12 Painting .5 Credit Grades 10-12 Sculpture .5 Credit Grades 10-12 Studio Art .5 Credit Grades 10-12

God is the Ultimate Artist. After creating the entire universe, He looked at all that He had made and it was good. Through His creation God communicates His majesty, power, and wisdom. God gave us art as a tool to deepen our appreciation of His creation, to sharpen our skills of observation and problem-solving and imaginative thinking, to enrich our understanding of His people past and present, to communicate our own thoughts and feelings, and to be moved to worship Him for His magnificence. God-given artistic ability provides us an avenue for finding pleasure in making works of art, marveling at the level to which this ability can take us, and praising Him for fearfully and wonderfully making each human being. Believing this to be true, students will be motivated to strive for excellence in their artistic endeavors.

Goals of the Department

1. The students will grow in awareness and appreciation of the beauty of God’s world.
2. The students will develop a standard for evaluating works of art.
3. The students will recognize and use art as a means of communications.
4. The students will develop personal artistic ability.
5. The students will understand art of the Western world in its context as an integral part of Western civilization.
6. The students will gain skill in imaginative problem solving.

 

1. As students do drawings, paintings, sculptures, or prints based upon careful observation of details in God’s creation, they will be moved to a deeper appreciation of the beauty of God’s world.
2. Through systematic class critiques of their own works of art, students will develop a standard for appreciating, understanding, and evaluating all works or art.
3. Studying famous works of art—the societal environment in which they were created, the personal philosophy of the artist, the message conveyed and the methods used to convey said message—will help students recognize and use art as a means of communication.
4. By giving a basic set of instructions for a project and then suggesting ways to individualize that project, the instructor will be promoting creative thinking, which develops problem solving skills.