Art Department
Overview
Our award-winning Art Department provides a safe and inspiring space for student artists to take creative risks and develop their craft across a variety of mediums.
This department offers diverse learning and participation opportunities, catering to both budding artists and those aspiring to attend art school, as many Hilltoppers have.
Explore our programmatic offerings below:
Advanced Art Diploma Designation
The Advanced Art Program is designed for TMLA Art Majors who wish to enhance their education through an Art internship or pre-approved experience, in addition to fulfilling their Art Major requirements.
Students who complete this program will receive a special diploma designation upon meeting all requirements by their senior year.
To pursue this diploma designation, please contact your guidance counselor at the end of your freshwoman year to declare this major.
Clubs and Events
Art Department Course Catalog
Browse through the course descriptions of the Art Department's course offerings below:
Studio Art
This foundation course focuses on those basic elements of design (space, light, color, form, line and texture), which are used to create an image. Examples of each element are treated in project form which requires the student’s experimentation with a variety of media.
During their Freshwoman year, students will be invited to apply to the Art Major program. Upon approval by faculty and chairperson, students will take a full four-year sequence of Art classes.
Drawing
Drawing is an introduction to the conceptual and technical skills of drawing and hand rendering, suitable for artists at every level of experience. Students will learn to use many different media, including graphite, colored pencils, ink, charcoal, and digital media to depict many different kinds of subjects. Projects will begin with a brief study of technique, and we will look at examples of the kinds of work we will create. All finished pieces should be considered as potential portfolio pieces for college admissions and competitions.
Painting
The painting course deals with the media of watercolor and acrylics. Using watercolor the student will experiment with the techniques of wash, wet-into-wet, drybrush and opaque watercolor. In acrylic painting, particular attention is given to the study of color and its properties as well as to a variety of painting techniques. This course may be taken for college credit through the College Advantage Program.
Digital Arts
This course is an introduction to the techniques, technology, and craft of digital art. This course will introduce the techniques, technology, and craft of creating many kinds of digital art. The student will begin with learning 3D modeling and 3D printing techniques, as well as the inner workings of a 3D printer and how to properly maintain one. Students will go on to explore the basics of 3D animation and virtual reality, as well as the applications of digital drawing and painting to apply to their digital creations. The student will incorporate aesthetic insight, conceptual skill, and professional techniques to produce a portfolio of finished works applicable to architecture and engineering, animation, video game design, and visual effects.
AP Art
This course provides an opportunity for the talented student to work intensively on a self-led visual inquiry culminating in a portfolio for submission to The College Board for college credit. The student will be guided in the preparation of an extensive amount of college level work. Enrollment in this course is especially helpful to the student who anticipates attending Art school or majoring in Art.
AP Art History
AP Art History is an introductory college-level art history course. Students cultivate their understanding of art history through analyzing works of art and placing them in historical context as they explore concepts like culture and cultural interactions, theories and interpretations of art, the impact of materials, processes, and techniques on art and art making, and understanding purpose and audience in art historical analysis.
Awards
Year after year, TMLA student artists are celebrated for their exceptional talent and creativity. Explore some of their remarkable achievements below:
'24 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Competition
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Competition is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the program aims to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and share their remarkable work with the world.
Through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, students gain opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. In 2023, more than 300,000 original works were submitted by students from the United States and Canada across 28 categories of art and writing.
Below are the latest awards received by TMLA students in the 2024 competition.
"The process of making food in a kitchen is very sentimental to me when I think about it being produced in my house. For all my 18 years of living, there has always been a specific pattern that always happens. My mom would be in the kitchen cooking up something delicious, and me and my sister would be sitting at the table in the same spots we had for years. I wanted to illustrate this process the best I could."
"A 3D rendering of a grocery store aisle filled with multicolored products in a nonsense language, and with some footprints/handprints scattered around the aisle. All the textures (materials) of the 3D models (objects) are hand-painted paintings that I have taken photos of. The product labels, handprints, and store tiles are all acrylic paintings that have been scanned digitally.
3D modeling, lighting, texturing, rendering, and compositing, as well as all the paintings, were all done by me from scratch."
"This piece is inspired by a real photo taken of me when I was younger with my sister and father sitting on a cliff of Geokaun Mountain, Co. Kerry, Ireland where my parents grew up and my family originated."
"My artwork is quite literally an abstract version of what you can see anywhere in the United States today: people walking around, eyes glued to the electronic device in their hands. The majority of generations find that they can’t go anywhere or do anything without their phone, iPad, or computer. Technology is distracting and addicting as it is reliable and efficient. The metaphoric phrase, “rabbit hole”, is a perfect representation of the global distraction which, whether or not we realize it, is causing us to spend more and more time looking at a screen."
"This piece is a gouache painting inspired by the vast and complex aspect of water. The process of this painting involved painting each scale of the fish one by one along with the efforts of keeping the water portrayed in the background to appear like water. A sinking and almost drowning feeling that stems directly from emotions one cannot truly feel, but are constantly surrounded by. The two koi fish resemble a cyclic impression of emotions, common ones that swim around and around in a motion of expression. The skeleton drifting in the water resembles the emotions and thoughts that tend to lurk lower than the surface. Feelings that are almost unexplainable, yet still continue to stay around and never truly go away."
"This piece is a representation of what it feels like to be used by somebody who hates you. I thought to use anchovies as a metaphor for this because of a common trope in the media where people hate anchovies, however many don’t realize how many uses they have and the countless popular dishes they’re in. Anchovies are hated, but still used and I thought that this is a really deep thing that I find people can relate to. I wanted to make this piece as an almost “I see you” to people who may be struggling with a similar situation to this as I have."
"I illustrated a place I find peaceful and calming: my school library."
"The experience of facial dysphoria that many Black women experience in their lifetime."
"A comical zombie and nurse duo work together to save the world as a horrible zombie apocalypse hits!"
"The main character Chloe brags about how she has a perfect school life. She has all the latest fashion, she’s popular, and most importantly, she can bully any nerd and not get in trouble! Hopefully it’ll last."
"Essentially my work focuses on the environmental issues of plastic pollution. My art is showing how turtles think they're eating jellyfish, but they're actually consuming plastic. There are 327 billion bags found in the ocean each year and many sea creatures die because of it. To emphasize the concept, I made the piece entirely out of recycled materials."
"This piece represents all of the physical things that I love in life, each shown in an object making up the left figure. The headphones represent my love of music, the screws represent my love of engineering, the plants represent my love of nature, the book pages represent my love of reading, and the thread represents my love of life itself, by which all of my other loves are intertwined."
"I wanted to show the world what I always saw in the mirror every time I picked up my makeup brush. As someone who struggled to love their appearance, I used to think that I needed to be pretty for someone to like me. I would constantly compare myself to girls in my class and criticize myself in the mirror, calling myself "ugly" or "looking like a pig". However, over time, I learned to accept and love myself just the way I am."
"I drew a memorial piece, using oil pastels to depict the initial attack of 9/11. In the piece, the Statue of Liberty has retired to her podium and is crying at the active terrorism. I captured her in the image to show the shock of the nation and represent the loss of innocence, peace, and freedom that resulted due to immense violence among nations. She is a reminder of the events we, as a nation and people, have overcome and continue to overcome due to adversity today. Although one of the Twin Towers has fallen, the other continues to stand as a symbol of remembrance, resilience, and unity. On September 11, 2001, thousands of individuals performed what is known as the largest sea evacuation recorded in history as over 150 boats went to the pier to evacuate 500,000 survivors from Manhattan. The Coast Guard asked for as much help as they could get and were flooded with the arrival of personal watercraft, dining boats, tour boats, tugboats, ferries, party boats, and fishing boats. The illuminated oceanic path in a lighter blue, unlike the depicted gray, was implemented to represent the 800+ Marine time heroes who reacted and participated in the evacuation of Manhattan on the day."
"A one page comic with a deeper meaning. Includes metaphors such as the black goop and the knife. Different people can relate to it based on their different situations and experiences. Drawn digitally in a cartoony art style. Showing a girl with mysterious black goop on her hair. It was holding her back, so her only solution was to cut it off. There, she went with her life, leaving the black goop behind."
Annual Art Department Showcase
Browse through student artist highlights displayed during our annual art showcase below:
In my sustained instigation, I wanted to explore my friends' worst fears. I wanted to understand why my friends had their fears, and use their personal feelings and characteristics in my pieces. In order to do this, I interviewed my friends and asked why they had their phobia, and used that specific information when creating my sustained investigation.
Throughout my pieces, my goal was to properly express their fears and even incorporate the fear into a few pieces to emphasize how the phobia is real, valid, and frightening for many people.
Gabriella studies Industrial Design at the Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD).
In my sustained investigation, I explore the relationship between my Haitian heritage and my identity as a Haitian- American student; the daughter of immigrant parents. The relationship between my culture and my American identity addresses the incorrect representation of myself and other Haitian-Americans in Western media. Instead of standing powerless in the face of racial and cultural stereotypes, I will reclaim the negative imagery associated with my country of origin and turn it into a means of praise and recognition. Bringing light to the true hardships and power of the Haitian Island.
This piece represents the true magic of Haitian culture found in a domestic kitchen pantry.
Alina studies Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design.
My sustained investigation explores my relationship with grief, specifically drawing from experiences I lived through in the aftermath of my father dying from cancer in late 2016.I was only eleven at the time of my father’s passing so his death had a large impact on my emotional and social development. I was forced to learn and deal with issues most people won’t deal with until adulthood.
I found it hard to relate to anything my friends were dealing with and I wanted to explore how I could illustrate this isolating experience.
Julia studies Fine Art / Jewelry Design at MassArt (Massachusetts College of Art and Design).
In my sustained investigation, I explored the connection between architecture and nature, the difference in environments, and contrasting architectural designs. I expressed the impact that industrial structures have on our surroundings. I highlighted specific environmental elements in my pieces.
Through the transition in my investigation, I began to depict complex structures and mark techniques. Ultimately, I developed my own type of architectural style.
Stefanie studies Architecture at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture.
Growing up as a Chinese adoptee in America has impacted my relationships not only with others but also myself. Although more than 81,000 children from China are adopted in the United States, the topic remains enigmatic. I wanted to share the psychological impacts of adoption by reflecting on my personal experiences and exploring my simultaneous desires to conform and be original.
I analyzed occurrences in my life, both positive and negative, to create a psychological portrait of the invisible nature of this experience.
Fiona studies Psychology at Stony Brook University.
For my sustained investigation I chose to explore various types of anticipation. A portion of the situations came from personal experiences and some are imagined. At first, I wanted my illustrations to reflect intense and dynamic situations however as my progress evolved they became more diverse, incorporating various situations or emotions that follow the theme of anticipation.
This piece represents the complicated emotions surrounding anticipating the end of childhood.
Melody studies Fine Art at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, (FIT).