Staff:
George Ratkevich - Visual Art Program Coordinator
Lindsay Appleby - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Sarah Baldwin - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Christina Chang - art teacher, Burlington High School
Alexandra Djordjevic - art teacher, Burlington High School
Courtney Fallon - art teacher, Pine Glen Elementary School
Keith March Mistler - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Stephen Scarpulla - art teacher, Fox Hill Elementary School
Lauren Vigneau - art teacher, Francis Wyman Elementary School
Joanne Vigneau - art teacher, Burlington High School
Donna York - art teacher, Memorial Elementary School
The Art & Design program helps students develop their visual literacy (an understanding and appreciation of guiding concepts such as the elements and principles of design), creative problem solving, design thinking (a focus on steps in the process of making), and technical skills (craftsmanship). Students develop their Studio Habits of Mind (which comes out of the framework of Studio Thinking designed by practitioners at Project Zero at Harvard’s School of Education.). They develop their craft, becoming more technically skillful in using a wide range of tools, materials, and artistic processes, and they learn to take care of those tools and their studio workspaces. They begin to see and embrace problems as opportunities, develop focus, and they learn to persist and persevere at tasks. Art students learn to envision and imagine, thinking creatively, developing their ability to come up with new and better ideas. They learn to plan well and work through the many, sometimes messy, stages of the creative process. They express themselves, making art that conveys ideas, feelings, or personal meanings. They observe, looking closely and carefully at things, attending to nuance, noticing the small things that the casual observer won’t. They become more and more sensitive to the natural environment as they work from observation, memory, and imagination. They reflect on what they and their fellow artists have done, learning how to look at and talk about art, to defend their work, to take in and process constructive criticism from their peers. They stretch and explore, reaching beyond what they thought they could do. They learn to embrace opportunities, discover through play, and learn from their mistakes. They work and interact with one another in the community that is the art class, and they share their work with their school, family, and community. They make connections, learning about culture and history, current practices and innovation, and interacting with others through their study of art and art-making. We believe that students’ art classes help balance their academic classes, and that art-making is an essential, enriching experience that helps to more fully develop a well-rounded person.
Student work was published or displayed in Collab, the high school’s literary magazine, the Scholastic Art Awards, the high school’s 46th annual Art Exhibition, seventh annual Fashion Show, and thirteenth annual Portfolio exhibition, the Regional High School Art Exhibition hosted by the Lexington Arts & Crafts Society, in other competitions and exhibitions, and in the high school’s Cambridge Street Gallery, which continues to provide exhibition space to BHS alumni artists, community members, students, and faculty. All the elementary art teachers held their annual school art exhibitions in May. Middle school teachers shared the work of their students during their Open House night.
Selected Burlington High School art students also participated in the Exhibit 15 at the Bedford Town Hall in the spring. This exhibit was born out of the desire to have a smaller, regional showcase of student work that was free for students, while also bringing neighboring communities together for a celebration of artistic excellence. The show recognized exceptional work, enlisting help from professional artists and educators to serve as jurors who determined award-winning pieces in each category. This was the first year of the show, which we hope will become an annual tradition.
Advanced photography students once again collaborated with students in the Winchester High School photo program in an exhibition entitled “Photosynthesis XIV” at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester.
For the 2019-20 school year, the high school offered more art & design choices for incoming freshmen, including 2D Design Foundation, 3D Foundation, Drawing Foundation, Painting Foundation, Photo Foundation, and Creative Art Foundation, as well as an entryway into our Portfolio program for the truly committed artist at any grade level (called “Art Fellows”). We also offered more semester courses and honors-level versions of many of our courses.
George Ratkevich - Visual Art Program Coordinator
Lindsay Appleby - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Sarah Baldwin - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Christina Chang - art teacher, Burlington High School
Alexandra Djordjevic - art teacher, Burlington High School
Courtney Fallon - art teacher, Pine Glen Elementary School
Keith March Mistler - art teacher, Marshall Simonds Middle School
Stephen Scarpulla - art teacher, Fox Hill Elementary School
Lauren Vigneau - art teacher, Francis Wyman Elementary School
Joanne Vigneau - art teacher, Burlington High School
Donna York - art teacher, Memorial Elementary School
The Art & Design program helps students develop their visual literacy (an understanding and appreciation of guiding concepts such as the elements and principles of design), creative problem solving, design thinking (a focus on steps in the process of making), and technical skills (craftsmanship). Students develop their Studio Habits of Mind (which comes out of the framework of Studio Thinking designed by practitioners at Project Zero at Harvard’s School of Education.). They develop their craft, becoming more technically skillful in using a wide range of tools, materials, and artistic processes, and they learn to take care of those tools and their studio workspaces. They begin to see and embrace problems as opportunities, develop focus, and they learn to persist and persevere at tasks. Art students learn to envision and imagine, thinking creatively, developing their ability to come up with new and better ideas. They learn to plan well and work through the many, sometimes messy, stages of the creative process. They express themselves, making art that conveys ideas, feelings, or personal meanings. They observe, looking closely and carefully at things, attending to nuance, noticing the small things that the casual observer won’t. They become more and more sensitive to the natural environment as they work from observation, memory, and imagination. They reflect on what they and their fellow artists have done, learning how to look at and talk about art, to defend their work, to take in and process constructive criticism from their peers. They stretch and explore, reaching beyond what they thought they could do. They learn to embrace opportunities, discover through play, and learn from their mistakes. They work and interact with one another in the community that is the art class, and they share their work with their school, family, and community. They make connections, learning about culture and history, current practices and innovation, and interacting with others through their study of art and art-making. We believe that students’ art classes help balance their academic classes, and that art-making is an essential, enriching experience that helps to more fully develop a well-rounded person.
Student work was published or displayed in Collab, the high school’s literary magazine, the Scholastic Art Awards, the high school’s 46th annual Art Exhibition, seventh annual Fashion Show, and thirteenth annual Portfolio exhibition, the Regional High School Art Exhibition hosted by the Lexington Arts & Crafts Society, in other competitions and exhibitions, and in the high school’s Cambridge Street Gallery, which continues to provide exhibition space to BHS alumni artists, community members, students, and faculty. All the elementary art teachers held their annual school art exhibitions in May. Middle school teachers shared the work of their students during their Open House night.
Selected Burlington High School art students also participated in the Exhibit 15 at the Bedford Town Hall in the spring. This exhibit was born out of the desire to have a smaller, regional showcase of student work that was free for students, while also bringing neighboring communities together for a celebration of artistic excellence. The show recognized exceptional work, enlisting help from professional artists and educators to serve as jurors who determined award-winning pieces in each category. This was the first year of the show, which we hope will become an annual tradition.
Advanced photography students once again collaborated with students in the Winchester High School photo program in an exhibition entitled “Photosynthesis XIV” at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester.
For the 2019-20 school year, the high school offered more art & design choices for incoming freshmen, including 2D Design Foundation, 3D Foundation, Drawing Foundation, Painting Foundation, Photo Foundation, and Creative Art Foundation, as well as an entryway into our Portfolio program for the truly committed artist at any grade level (called “Art Fellows”). We also offered more semester courses and honors-level versions of many of our courses.