HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

FINE ARTS
Curricular Highlights
Members of the Fine Arts Department made the decision, this year, to institute an in-house Arts Showcase. The
Showcase replaced our usual participation in the Hunterdon County Teen Arts. The decision was based on a
desire to include more students in the event and to provide for more in-depth work with professionals. The first
Annual Arts Showcase took place on May 20 th and 21 st . Two professional artists were on hand to offer personal
critiques to Visual Arts students. In addition, Hunterdon Central graduates returned to offer Art demonstrations
for parents, community members and current students. Current students also offered demonstrations on wheelthrowing,
oil painting, printing and drawing. Over 250 pieces of artwork were on display in the Commons for
the event. All of the Visual Arts teachers were on-hand to set-up for the event and meet with parents during the
event.
Instrumental students provided background music during the event. In addition to the events of May 20 th and
21 st , Instrumental Music students were able to participate in half-day workshops with Georg Balog, a professor
at TCNJ. These workshops served as a clinic/critique of selections for the instrumental concerts.
The feedback about the Arts Showcase from students, staff, parents, community members, alumni and critiquers
in attendance was very positive. Discussions have already begun on how the event can be expanded and
improved upon for next year.
Students in several Art classes participated in the Memory Project, which is a national program where students
create portraits for children in orphanages around the world as a keepsake, for the second year. The
involvement in the program was funded by a grant from the Hunterdon Central Foundation. Students
completed approximately 45 portraits for the organization. A reception was held at the Arts Showcase for
parents of the students involved, the Foundation members and Board of Education members in May. We were
informed by Ben Schumacher, the coordinator of the program that, nationwide, we helped draw 6,000 portraits
this year of children.
Reduction block printing was added as a learning unit in Art 2. Students were challenged to make a three-color
print. This required multiple stages of reducing the printing block using subtractive carving techniques, and
pulling prints of a different color at each stage. Students printed on painted canvas board, specialty printing
paper, for their own Photoshop images, and collages.
The instructional units for Digital Photography were further refined. Reducing the number of projects, but
increasing the expectations, has resulted in students producing better photographs. Now that the Photo program
is established, there is a clearer understating of what needs to be taught, explained and demonstrated to the
students to get a consistently good output of photographs from the students. The classes continue to evolve and
change which demonstrates my ability to keep the courses interesting while evaluating their effectiveness.
The “16 Habits of Mind” were incorporated into the Commercial Arts class for their flag-book layouts. I shared
results with my Habits of Mind learning community. Students also worked with librarian Emily Ford as a client
to make bookmarks for the IMC with my Commercial Arts class.
Honors Gifted & Talented Art 2 Class exhibited their life-size expressive self-portraits in the IMC.
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