With school back in full swing, teachers all around campus are making plans for their students who are already working on their first assignments, tests, and projects. As the Examiner’s arts and entertainment writer, it’s my job to share with you some of the most exciting and creative things RMA students get to do this year as they express their creative sides and explore their imaginations in Lower, Middle, and Upper School art.
Great plans start with great teachers, so let’s get to know our wonderful art teachers, Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Miniard, as well as what they have planned for our art lovers the first weeks and throughout the year.
Mrs. Hunter, our Upper School art teacher, majored in art at UNCP and has been teaching at RMA for sixteen years. She specializes in painting and ceramics and offers those (and many other art classes!) for our students, including Art 1, Ceramics (1, 2, 3, and 4), Drawing, and Painting; later this year, students will also be able to take Sculpting.
In the 9th grade Art 1 class, students are reviewing art history and terminology and will soon start a contour drawing, which, according to Mrs. Hunter, is a basic line drawing that creates an illusion of depth and volume. Her Ceramics 1 class is starting by learning about basic methods of handbuilding techniques (so any type of pottery that doesn’t involve using a potter’s wheel), starting with pinch pots, which are pots made by pressing a hole into a ball of clay and pinching around that hole to form the shape. Ceramics 2 and 3 classes are making “cups of kindness.” With this project, students make any kind of cup–a mug, a pencil holder, etc.–for somebody who is special to them to show their appreciation. Drawing and Painting classes are finishing up a value study, which shows lightest to darkest shades of a color, and are beginning to lay the foundation for an original drawing or painting. Some of the future projects Mrs. Hunter has planned for her students this year are small decorative boxes for Ceramics 1, and projects for Ceramics 2 and 3 based on their personal interests. For example, a previous student, Logine Said ‘23 created a Gucci purse out of clay because she loves designer clothing and accessories.
Mrs. Miniard, our Lower and Middle school art teacher, has been teaching at RMA for seven years. She was previously a student here, graduating in 1998, and is the sister of one of our staff members, Mrs. Gross, who is RMA’s Director of Admissions. Mrs. Miniard’s personal specialty is painting, specifically landscapes with acrylic paints, and is currently trying to master painting animals with acrylics. She teaches Lower School Art, Middle School Drawing, and Middle School Painting.
Currently, all of her classes for all grade levels are learning about the color wheel, which shows the relationships between colors, and color theory, which explains the effects of color mixing and why certain colors pair together well. Middle School students are also focusing on still life drawings and color value, which is how dark or light a color is. In addition to teaching these traditional classes, she also teaches all levels of our Exceptional Children. Like the LS and MS students, Mrs. Miniard’s Upper School EC students are working on creating their own color wheels using clippings from magazines. Future plans Mrs. Miniard has for classes include paper mâché 3D Art for all Lower School students, and still life drawings and self portraits for Middle School students.
RMA is lucky to have such wonderful art teachers helping students explore their creativity. We look forward to seeing the completion of the first art pieces of the year as well as future projects. These are often displayed outside of Mrs. Hunter’s and Mrs. Miniard’s rooms, as well as in the front office, so be on the lookout for student art as you walk around campus!
