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Visual Arts
The Studio Visual Arts Program is built around the philosophy that art education is basic to the individual’s holistic growth and is vital for understanding and responding to the world in which we live. Studio visual arts give students a voice and venue for self-expression and the appreciation of diversity. The core principles of art education are focused on studio habits of mind that emphasize high-order thinking skills that promote the practice of creatively solving problems with originality, flexibility, fluency, and imagination. Students learn to take risks, practice critical analysis and judgment of their personal work as well as the work of others, and learn to attend to visual contexts that convey both emotional and conceptual context. Students are coached to envision, imagine, and believe in the possibility of the impossible. With intentionality and purpose, students engage and persist in the development of craft and craft knowledge. Studio habits of mind emphasize learning that encourages exploration and taking the journey to reach beyond one’s capacities.
In the new $3.5 million Studio Visual Arts facility, students have the opportunity to work with a broad range of media. They are introduced to elements of art and principles of design through drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, and related crafts. Student work is showcased throughout the school year-round. Faculty, staff, visiting artist and student work is also consistently displayed in our spacious teaching gallery housed in the studio arts facility. Portfolio students are honored with their annual show at the Reitz Union Gallery in the spring, while printmaking students show their work at Sweetwater Print Cooperative. In addition, many studio visual arts students are chosen for the Spotlight on Youth celebration held at the U of F Performing Arts facility.
