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Visual Art Program

Color, Line, Shape, TextureThe Visual Art program at Carden Day School focuses on the Elements of Art and the development of craft while fostering an appreciation for artistic beauty in all its forms. Students meet weekly with the Visual Art teacher, who provides guidance in art making techniques as well as exposure to a wide range of historical and contemporary artists. Throughout the creative process, students become competent and confident in their abilities, and develop habits such as problem solving, risk taking, and perseverance. Special classes of Art Appreciation and Art History are introduced in all grades. The program is highly integrated into each grade level to enrich and balance our curriculum.
Fine Art integration into our curriculum begins in Junior Kindergarten and grows in complexity throughout elementary school.
In Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten, students explore the basic principles of color, line, shape, pattern, and texture with hands-on projects that improve dexterity and develop fine and gross motor skills. The Visual Art program also helps improve students’ ability to concentrate and follow directions as students learn to understand, organize, and utilize concepts.

In First and Second Grades, students learn to create and descrive a visual image to improve reading comprehension. In Visual Art, they build an aesthetic vocabulary allowing them to articulate the visual image. Students continue to develop their artistic skills with painting, drawing, printmaking and clay projects incorporating interpretation and expression.

In Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades, students improve their technical skills in drawing and design including one point perspective and use of line and value to create space, movement, texture and form. Students explore paining techniques and historical art movements and add to their aesthetic vocabulary.

Extending our classrooms into the community, Carden partners with local museums of Art to boraden the Visual Art program. Students are introduced to various artisit and art forms.
A painting of water splashing against hillsIn Middle School, children's appreciation for Fine Art and Art History grows as they continue to explore the techniques needed to better express themselves creatively.
Building on the skills obtained in the lower grades, middle school students become familiar with the Principles of Design while completing a variety of projects. They develop increase mastery of of several mediums including drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Students increase their knowledge of how the Elements of Art are used to achieve specific goals, such as how shape can be used to create emphasis, or how color choices affect the mood of a piece.
In addition to art production, students are introduced to a variety of artwork from around the world to develop the ability to analyze and speak about the art using the conventions of art criticism. Students explore the connection between history and art through projects that further broaden their understanding of the background and essence of world cultures.
Frequent research projects and field trips to the Bay Area museums add breadth and depth to the foundation of our program. Beyond the museums, students are encouraged to seek out art forms in non-traditional areas such as parks and architecture. In additions to the visual arts, students are introduced to other cultures and history through various Bay Area forums.