The Visual Arts enrich our lives, serving physical, social and communicative functions, deepening our life experience and compelling us to extend our thinking and connections. Education through the Visual Arts is self-development, which increases personal awareness and experiences of diversity, builds physical, intellectual and emotional skills, strong self-discipline, responsible work habits, personal innovation, and life long tools for personal wellness and professional achievement. Engaging with our offerings in Visual Arts, Visual Design and Photography helps students to understand themselves and the world, fostering foundational skills for now and the future. The Visual Arts enrich all of us and are beneficial to every student and all pathways.
Our Department offers a fulsome educational experience, designed to involve all facets of art: studio, theory, history, analysis and appreciation. Whatever the aim, students become accustomed to the process of turning ideas into refined products with attention to project goals, specific criteria and fine detail through the use of essential critical thinking/creative process models, while also experiencing open-ended discovery and support for personal creative directions and needs. We utilize a range of approaches to image making, honouring artistic traditions and personal expression while embracing modern technologies and trends.
Art is discovery. When you take art, you learn a lot about the world, yourself and opportunity. Everyone can make art and benefit from art-making. It's beneficial to your health and well-being and allows you to express yourself, relieve stress, set your imagination free and discover who you are. An art course can offer a healthy balance to the other areas of study and the complexities of modern living while offering an opportunity to develop valuable workplace skills.
The GTA is the third largest employer of creative professionals. Many design firms, film houses, Virtual Reality and Gaming studios are located here. Many others are finding that they can forge their own unique creative way with a personalized niche market career that may be done anywhere (even a more affordable real estate market). Creative opportunity is only as limited as imagination, personal awareness, effective decision-making, plus applying self to all the aspects of implementation and process, beginning with Discovery.
For information on courses available, visit MyPathWayPlanner
- Consider the Learning Goal and Success Criteria throughout the project. Every assignment will have a range of possible solutions. Challenge yourself to be creative within the framework of the assignment.
- Actively listen and read and review. Learning involves an exchange that focused attention enhances.
- Fully engage in the creative process. Exploration, experiment, consultation, evaluation and refinement are part of the process of making art.
- Practise your technique. Practice improves your skills. Great artists only become great through time spent fine honing art techniques. Anyone can become a great artist if there is a commitment to develop art skills through practice. Work in your sketchbook or planning book regularly to build rendering and design skills.
- Look. Skills like drawing and composing photographs are as much about looking and comparing as they are about putting your pencil to paper or angling your camera accurately. We can develop our visual skills through careful visual examination of our world and constant exposure to great artworks. Be curious about the world. All artists are observers. Pay attention to the details.
- Get organized. Having orderly notes and recorded dates reduces stress and builds life skills.
- Complete all coursework. Maintain a consistent effort throughout the course
- Use class time productively. Spending class time wisely will mean less homework and less stress as due dates approach and will help to build good habits for the world of work.
- Count on yourself. You can meet the challenge when you engage in the steps. Challenge yourself to be an artist. Try and it begin to flow.
- Start. When stuck, starting anywhere is a way to ‘unstick’ yourself. Asking helps, too.
- Include Yourself. All our projects allow personal choice and are designed to encourage personal expression. Engage yourself and build personal interest and connections in your choices.
- Be open. Even if we are already good artists, there is always more to learn and try. Avoid sticking to only the approach that has helped you to be successful in the past. Explore new techniques, materials, design methods and subject matter. Trying something new may mean that success will not be instant, but, in the end, it will enrich us. Get inspired. Encounter art. Explore the world and your environments.
- Prepare for admissions interviews in advance. Building a portfolio of work is an extended process. Arrange a consultation with your art teachers.
Create, build, grow, enjoy - that's what art is all about.