Arts

Visual Arts

JPK - Grade 4

Art helps children to understand their world. It enables them to express their personal experiences and fantasies in ways that are concrete and compelling, even when they are unable to articulate the events in words. Our visual arts program is designed to instill in students a deep appreciation of the visual arts through exposure to various media, artists, and the art traditions of different cultures. Multicultural perspectives in art develop cultural awareness and respect for diversity in our global society.

Grades 5-9

Teaching art focuses primarily in terms of art materials. We teach long-term familiarity with these materials so that students can master them and use them to express their own unique life experiences. Through the exploration of various art materials, students really learn and build the foundations of the process of art versus the product. The "product" will come in time as they develop artistically. Young children learn by re-creating their own experiences.

Visual Arts Offerings
Clay                
Collage
Design              
Digital Art     
Drawing                
Painting
Photography         
Printmaking
Sculpture

The visual arts program is driven by the essential questions: In what ways do artists communicate uniquely, and what compels artists to be inventors and creators? We support the development of these questions by emphasizing the mastery of skills, fostering craftsmanship and personal expression, studying both historical and cultural art movements, and making interdisciplinary connections between art and humanities. 

In Grades 5-9, all students take classes in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Additionally, students in Grades 7-9 can take Allied Art electives in a variety of media including painting, ceramics, digital photography, comic book illustration, and silk painting.

Thinking independently is encouraged. There is an emphasis on experimentation where students can take a basic project and change it to create something unique, expressing their own ideas. Ninth graders have the opportunity to independently explore chosen art forms in depth with the support of the art faculty as part of their Ninth Grade Portfolio Project.
 
Visual Arts Offerings
Animation               Art History
Ceramics               
Collage
Color Theory Comic Books
Digital Art  Drawing
Illustration    Mosaic
Painting  Portfolio
Printmaking  Screen Printing
Sculpture    Silk Painting
Weaving  
   

Meet the Faculty

Sara Malekzadeh received a B.A. from the University of Rhode Island, and an M.A. in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Sara believes in the importance of meeting children where they are and providing them with the tools and skills they need to be successful. She strives to connect with each of her students, relating and talking to them about the latest trends, songs, movies, video games, sporting events, books, Lego sets, pets, play dates, superheroes, and of course, sneakers!
 
Sara loves helping students grow creatively and artistically. The tools they learn in the art studio translate to many other disciplines and aspects of their lives. Students are given opportunities to explore materials and discover new mediums with an emphasis on the process and not the product. They are encouraged to take risks, and make choices; they learn that the “oops“ are just as important as the “I did its“ in the art studio. Sara started teaching at RCS in 2013.

Jade Vincent holds a B.S. in Visual Art Education and a B.F.A. in Ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She also earned an M.A. in Art Education from the Maryland Institute College of Art. 

Her experience includes teaching advanced high school ceramics, operating her own studio, leading outreach ceramics programs for underprivileged communities, teaching art to elementary and middle school students in Kindergarten through eighth grade, as well as providing private art and pottery lessons. She began her career at RCS in 2012 and is the proud mother of one happy RippKid and one budding future RippKid. Jade maintains her own studio practice with the creation and sale of her functional and sculptural pottery.

Discover More

Rippowam Cisqua School
439 Cantitoe Street 
Bedford, NY 10506
phone: (914) 244-1250
Rippowam Cisqua School is a PreK-Grade 9 independent day school in Westchester County, New York. RCS offers challenging academics built on innovation, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, wellness, leadership, service learning, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.
Copyright 2023. Rippowam Cisqua School. All rights reserved. We respect your privacy. Read our privacy policy here.