Fine Arts

The Bible teaches that God is the source of all beauty, which, in turn, reflects God’s character. He has created this amazing world for His people to enjoy and, in response, to praise Him. At Veritas, we strongly believe that a vital part of true education is the appreciation of and participation in the arts.

One of the many great things about Classical Christian education is that it values and embraces the arts along with all subjects in the academic program. Veritas students in kindergarten through eighth grade participate in weekly visual arts studio classes, and at the secondary level Art History students have hands-on project labs in 9th through 11th grade.

We think highly of visual art in education for several reasons. According to research, the arts contribute greatly toward stronger literacy, cognition, and social development. There is also a direct correlation between visual art, and both history and our Christian faith. In our school we believe that God maintains high standards for goodness, truth and beauty, and that art is for His glory. Students are trained to strive for quality craftsmanship while creating aesthetically pleasing works of art. This is accomplished through a steady exposure to the works of master artists, students’ own handmade projects, and occasionally some field trips to museums, galleries and various historical sites.

Elementary Art

Kindergarten through 6th grade students learn basic art techniques, vocabulary, and color theory. They receive a simple introduction to numerous master artists and their works. With an emphasis on the elements of art and the principals of design, they learn to draw, paint, sculpt, and do printmaking using a variety of media. We add more complex techniques and uses of media each year. At the 3rd through 6th grade stage, students delve a little deeper in the study of artists as they copy master works, or create their own designs as they are inspired by viewing teacher demonstrations and master works.

Elementary Music

Students have music classes twice a week, where they learn various rhythmic elements, Sol-fa, major and minor scales, chords and more. All students perform with their class at our Christmas and Spring concerts. 3rd-5th grade students can also participate in our Treble Choir.

Secondary Art

During 7th – 8th grade, students are given advanced drawing lessons with pencil, pen and ink, soft pastels and oil pastels. They review and incorporate the foundational Elements of Art (Line, Shape, Form, Color, Texture, Space, and Value) that they learned in the grammar stage into their own projects with more complex techniques, so that by the end of their 8th grade course they are able to recognize the Elements in other examples of visual art. During this stage students are introduced to more advanced compositional arrangements through Balance, Rhythm, Depth, Point of View, and Emphasis including an in-depth study on balance with symmetry and asymmetry. Students view teacher demonstrations and a variety of master artist presentations prior to exploring their own possibilities with given media, techniques and content.

In high school, 9th – 11th grade students take Art History that is taught in a chronological sequence, staying abreast with the same period of history taught in their Humane Letters courses. Periodically through each semester, they participate in art labs where projects tied to their history lessons are given. Some examples of this are paper mosaic designs paired to ancient art history studied during 9th grade; actual stained glass crosses made while studying gothic architecture in 10th grade; and hands-on printmaking combined with bookbinding during 11th grade art history lessons covering the Northern Renaissance.