Weedsport Jr.-Sr. High School junior Jamison Daly wants to eventually become an art teacher, and she feels the college art courses at the school are helping her on her way.

“This is a great experience. We get to do a lot of hands-on work and I’ve learned some fantastic new skills,” she said.

“And our teacher – Hannah Fancher – is great and helps us out a lot.”
Now in the second year, College art 103 and 104 focus on developing students’ creative thinking skills. The class has grown to 13 students this year, Fancher said.

College art 103 (the essentials of art) emphasizes basic design, color theory, elements of composition, and the application of various drawing and painting techniques. Students are encouraged to develop individualized forms of self-expression and creativity.

Additionally, college art 104 (painting studio) covers the fundamentals of watercolor and acrylic painting, color theory and color mixing, working from models, and more. The art of the past is discussed, assessed, and often utilized while encouraging new approaches to expression.

“These courses help elevate our program and give our students a new and meaningful challenge by developing their creative thinking skills,” Fancher said.

“I feel that these courses help prepare our students for college by connecting them with CCC (Cayuga County Community College) directly and by providing the fine arts credit many of them will be required to complete in their future programs.

“It is truly a capstone course to their art experience and the highest level of our scope and sequence here Weedsport.”