Fine and Studio Art
Our Visual Arts Curriculum caters to students of all abilities. Whether you're dabbling in painting for the first time or developing a robust sculpture portfolio for your art school application, you'll have the opportunity to one your creative voice.
Horgan Art Studio
The Horgan Art Studio in Gillespie Hall, which opened in 2012, includes a large central work space for drawing, painting and design classes, a ceramics and 3D design studio, digital photography lab, and private spaces for Portfolio students. It is a first-class facility, one that has bolstered our already strong arts program. Courses in drawing, painting, photography, and portfolio preparation are offered annually. Special topics in 2D and 3D design, including ceramics, fashion design and sewing, as well as independent studies in more advanced topics cycle into the curriculum based on student need and teacher expertise.
One of the most exciting opportunities for our art students comes in January, when students can enter their work at the annual Scholastic Art Awards. It's a competitive event and Dublin has been represented well at this show.
Drawing, Painting & Photography
Learning to draw is essentially learning to see more clearly and learning how to interpret what is seen. The elements and principles of art as well as proportion and basic perspective are studied. Painting combines opportunities for appreciation of other cultures, strategies for expression and communication, chances to work through adversity and opportunities to make discoveries of the self.
Digital Photography includes basic theory, connections between traditional and digital photography, camera controls, camera/Photoshop interface, “developing”/editing in Photoshop and strategies for maximizing print quality with the Iris ink jet printer. Parallel with this is a curriculum based on the elements and principles of design. The group critique process is infused in our curriculum, and gives students many opportunities to learn how to discuss their non-verbal creative ideas in language.
3D Design
Three Dimensional Design envelops students in the study and creation of artwork that is defined by the elements of form, space and volume. Emphasis is on critical thinking applied to problems with multiple solutions.
In the fall, our 3D curriculum explores biomimickry and architectural design with projects built from wood, paper and glue. In the ceramic studio, students will work in slab, pinch coil, wheel throwing and additive/reductive clay sculpture in the round. The process of imbuing material with meaning through moving from the abstract to the concrete and back again is the major conceptual task of this course. The element of space is primary but explorations of texture and color are also of vital importance. Projects include a portrait mug, functional work, and vessels for the protection of dreams and the imprisonment of nightmares.
Advanced Art Portfolio
Dublin's Advanced Art and Portfolio program is for those students who wish to take their art studies even farther. Geared toward juniors and seniors, this advanced independent study curriculum satisfies our fall and winter sports requirement and allows committed art students to practice their chosen medium more in depth. A considerable amount of art history is also folded into the work. In recent years Dublin students have gone on to pursue their passions at schools such as the Rhode Island School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, New York University, Pratt Institute, Cornell University, and the Art Institute of Boston, among others.
Fine Arts Department
Courses and Extracurriculars
- Drawing
- Painting
- 3D Design: Wood, Paper, Glue
- 3D Design: Ceramics
- Digital Photography I and II
- Advanced Art
- Independent studies and J Term Courses in Sewing and Fiber Arts
