Each trimester, students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades have the opportunity to study an area of visual arts under the guidance of an expert. Read about our instructors on this page, and see the students’ work showcased below.

The course will engage students in the art of cartooning and humorous illustration, touching on editorial and sports cartooning, comic strips, magazine cartooning, and greeting card art and writing. (and other silly stuff) . The hope is that students will have fun expressing themselves artistically in the class, no matter what their drawing style is.  We will study other cartoonists and draw facial expressions, comic action, caricatures, whimsical creatures, and each other. We will also learn a little about cartoon writing and the business of being creative.Mike Ricigliano is a freelance newspaper, magazine and greeting card cartoonist who has drawn funny images for a living since 1975. His sports cartoons appear weekly in the Baltimore Sun. He also does a Daily Cartoon Trivia Feature (“Ricig’s Toon Trivia” ) online on GoComics.com. Ricig and his family have lived across the park from St. Francis since 1985. His cartoon work has appeared in many publications including USA Today, Cracked Magazine and the NY Times  (AND, most importantly,  many St. Francis activity flyers!) 

Art has acted throughout the ages as a visual representation of history and culture.  We will have an opportunity to look at a few time periods in the history of art in our time together, focusing on the essential concept of how technology has changed the way humans encounter and represent their world.  Students will encounter and discuss notable artworks, and will also create their own art in response to the traditions they are studying.Nicole Selhorst is an educator with 15 years of diverse teaching experience. In addition to a passion for
educating children, Nicole also brings a strong entrepreneurial spirit to SFA. Guided by her experience in opening Red Canoe Bookstore Café, Nicole is embracing a vision of arts and humanities at SFA while aligning with the principles of an IB candidacy. In addition to teaching Art History, Nicole can be found encouraging visitors to SFA for Open Houses and visiting days.

 Skills addressed in class and through online homework practice: Fretboard Knowledge, Music Reading, Tab Reading, Chord/Scale Shapes, Ensemble Playing, Solo Pieces, Composing Music/Improvising

Check out all that St. Francis has to offer at the Tuesday Talk with the Pr1ncipal on December 10th.