The creative process is the pillar of our visual arts program at W. Ross Macdonald. Students use the elements and principles of design to create personal and meaningful artwork and are encouraged to experiment with drawing and painting using pencil, pastel crayons, acrylics, watercolour and oil paints, and explore ‘arts and crafts’ with projects such as paper mâché, print making, crayon melts and fabric paints. Students in our visual arts classes learn through collaborative group projects, and proudly display their creations in many places throughout the school and lodgings, in the Artists’ Café, and the local Glenhyrst Art Gallery. Our visual arts classes foster students’ creative skills, imagination and self-awareness but also develops confidence, flexibility, appreciation of diverse perspectives and positive attitudes.

The pottery room is a hub of creativity giving the students hands-on experiences with a valuable, fun, and age-old art form! From a lump of wet clay, students learn the basics of wedging, pinching, and rolling. The tactile nature of molding clay is a perfect artform for any student! They learn how to add texture or make impressions in the clay. We learn patience as we follow the clay through the various stages of drying, firing in the kiln, painting the clay with various types of glazes, and finally seeing the finished product after a second kiln firing. We are lucky enough to have all the necessary tools, glazes, clays, and kiln right in our own classroom! In the more advanced classes, we use the slab roller to make sets of dishes, and the electric pottery wheel. Whether students are interested in making a pinch pot toothbrush holder, a wind chime for the garden or a fun animal shape to decorate their room, the projects reflect their personal choice, style, and ability so that every student has several beautiful creative pieces of pottery to take home by the end of the semester!