A CELEBRATION OF
CDS MIDDLE SCHOOL ARTISTS

In the 2020-2021 school year, in order to follow COVID-19 health and safety protocols, special area teachers came to their students' homerooms, pushing carts with supplies. This new challenge brought with it a unique opportunity--offering digital art with Adobe Photoshop to the 7th and 8th grades while students in grades K-6 practiced traditional visual arts. 

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Beginning in Kindergarten, every Charleston Day student receives art instruction weekly. The lower school grades focus on learning and exploring art with art history, painting, drawing, sculpting, collage and printmaking. The middle school art program builds year after year, with each eighth grader graduating with a strong portfolio consisting of still lifes, portraits, landscapes and other various works.

Middle school art classes advance students’ understanding of the elements of art and principles of design through the study of famous artists and art history, personal expression, exposure to a variety of techniques and materials, and modern design. Students gain confidence and mastery in drawing from observation with still life assignments, renderings from photos, and occasional outdoor excursions. These year-long classes are organized in a natural sequence of art elements, including line, shape, value, color, texture, form and space. Techniques include, but are not limited to, drawing, painting, printmaking, and 3-D construction. Creative risk-taking and time management skills are supported and developed in the middle school years.