The Arts at Putney
|
The Putney School is a unique place that fosters the creative spirit. We don't use the word talent in the art department at Putney. We all have the ability to be creative. Students at The Putney School enjoy the facilities and course offerings in the arts, but the most important part is that we take the arts, and you, seriously. The facilities, the wide range of courses offered, and most importantly, our open, independent-minded character make Putney a great place for students and teachers alike to create art. All of our teachers are professional artists, and many work in the studios at school. The shared creative energy between students and teachers builds a genuine camaraderie and respect for each other. The art faculty includes over a dozen visual art and crafts people who share their expertise and artistic passion with their students. Each Spring, Joe Fichter takes a group of sculpture students up to a marble quarry and sculpture studio in central Vermont. They spend five days working alongside sculptors from all over the world who come to carve, share ideas, and participate in workshops and symposiums. Our painting and drawing teachers also take field trips with students in search of new landscapes and to the studios of established painters, many of them Putney alumni. In the recent past, classes have sketched at a United Nations meeting in New York, and throughout villages on Cape Cod. At The Putney School, we have a large, well-lit drawing, painting, and printmaking studio. There is also a large sculpture studio, with many hand and power tools for sculpting in stone, wood, clay, and wax. We have, as well, a metal sculpture and blacksmithing studio equipped with a variety of welding machines, anvils and forges; a ceramics studio; a weaving studio; a large photo lab; a jewelry studio; a woodworking shop; and a gallery for our frequent exhibitions. There are also individual studio spaces for some students and teachers. Our academic visual art courses include sculpture, drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, and weaving -all at several levels. Seniors may apply to take an independent art course for academic credit. Putney also offers extensive visual arts in our Evening Activities program, including: blacksmithing, cartoon art, ceramics, drawing and painting, figure drawing, jewelry, photography, printmaking, sculpture, spinning, stained glass, weaving, and woodworking. Evening Activities require no homework, and are designed to encourage exploration as well as advanced study. |
