1. Welcome to IB ART
The Two Most Creative Years of Your Life
What is IB Art
IB Art is a two-year intensive course in visual art.It is designed so that you can explore your
interests in visual art and develop a course of study that has personal meaning to you. Each student must
explore cultural connections within their work, develop techniques based on research, and understand the
intellectual and emotional relationships in visual arts.
The work created in this course should be superior in quantity, maturity, and quality while
showcasing your original concepts. IB Art is a course where growth is expected to be evident, so don’t
be discouraged if you make mistakes; in fact, I encourage mistakes because it will provide great learning
opportunities that you can apply immediately to your next work of art.
Materials
Required - A hardbound sketchbook or a hard-covered spiral sketchbook – this will be your investigative
workbook (IWB)
Recommended – USB Flash Drive (at least 2GB)
Recommended – Drawing Pencils –ranging from 4H to 4B
Recommended – Erasers: Kneadable, Art Gum, Plastic, and/or Pink
IB Art is broken down into two parts
PART A:Studio Work (60% of your overall course grade)
The actual works of art you will create for this course
You will create 18 – 20 works of art over the next two years
All works will be of high quality and craftsmanship
Each piece will integrate original ideas based on your research and discovery of art history,
multicultural art, and world history
PART B:Investigative Workbooks (40% of your course grade)
This section of your grade with incorporate your research, idea development, experiments, reflective
writing, and relevant preparation you do to help support and improve your artwork
You will develop over 250 pages in your IWB through your exploration
Keep these three things in mind whenever you
create a work of art in this class
1. The work should serve a purpose; it needs to have meaning to the artist
2. Research is essential to the success of each student
3. The work created should be quality; the process is equally as important as the product
Course Objectives:
Over the next two years you will
Demonstrate growth and commitment through the study of art
Develop a relationship between research and art production
Create works of art that are personally, socioculturally, and aesthetically meaningful
Focus on imagination and creativity as you work towards an original body of work (portfolio)
Diligently maintain a Workbook with an emphasis on art history (and local artwork), cultural
studies, personal reflections, and aesthetics

2. Critically analyze the meaning and aesthetic qualities of art forms using an informed vocabulary
Demonstrate with your studio work how research has led to an understanding of the topics or
concepts being investigated through the IWBs
Visit local museums, libraries, and art galleries in search for first hand sources of inspiration
How You’ll Be Graded:
PART A:Studio Work
Your studio work will focus on how you incorporate the work and investigation from your IWBs
into your finished works of art. You will be encouraged and required to explore working in a variety of
2D and 3D media. Successful work will demonstrate original ideas, technical skill, and creative solutions
to the problems you create. If drawing is a weakness that’s ok…try creating works that focus on design
or 3D art forms. Regardless of your strengths/ weaknesses each marking period you must create a
MINIMUM of 3 works of art. The following are the rubric criteria for each project:
1. Relationship to research
2. Originality/ Creativity of Solution
3. Technical Proficiency
4. Workmanship
PART B:Investigative Workbooks (IWBs)
THIS IS NOT A SKETCHBOOK or SCRAPBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!
The IWB should contain both visual and written information, including sketches and diagrams while
generating ideas for projects. The work should reflect your personal interests and your investigation into
many artistic fields. Be sure to balance between analytical, fact based research and simple, open-ended
inquiry, illustrating and allowing your creative process to flow. In this IWB, feel free to explore themes
in your work. This will be graded on a revolving scale tri-weekly, resulting in three grades per marking
period. I will be looking for 20 – 30 pages of quality research and media exploration. In these IWBs you
and I will develop a dialogue that will include strategies for further research, constructive criticism, and
questions that need to be answered by you in your next entry.
The purpose of the IWB is to develop personal research and discovery that will function interactively
with your studio work. I will look for the following criteria in your IWBs:
1. Analytical Research
2. Legibility
3. Discovery
4. Interpretation
5. Media Experiments
6. You must show evidence of research into the socio-cultural and historical contexts of more
than ONE culture OFTEN.
7. Sources must always be acknowledged and cited (provenance)
8. Personal Reports of Visits to Galleries Etc…
Don’t Be Intimidated!
By taking this course you will have an opportunity to explore art and design based on your personal
interests, style, and enthusiasm for subject matter. Attack each problem you create in order to develop
meaning in your work. You will walk away from this course having experienced what it is like to be a
working artist. You will learn a lot about art history and culture through personal inquiry. This course is
different than most you have taken, where you actually have a chance to develop coursework that means
something to you…so take advantage of this opportunity! I will be here to guide you and supply you with
the resources and advice along the way…so lets get started!