What AVI1O focuses on

AVI1O introduces students to visual arts through studio work, art appreciation, the creative process, the elements and principles of design, and critical analysis.

How students apply learning

Students communicate ideas, observations, feelings, and imagination through drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, collage, digital media, and other art forms while examining Canadian and global artistic traditions.

Creativity, inspiration, drawing, and sculpture

• Investigate personal creativity and the reasons people create art.
• Generate ideas through brainstorming, research, notes, and thumbnail sketches.
• Explore contour drawing, value drawing, and representational drawing.
• Create simple clay vessels and ceramic sculpture.
• Examine motifs, artifacts, artistic inspiration, distortion, and exaggeration.
• Study selected examples of prehistoric art and Greek vessels.
• Discuss artistic preferences and different ideas about beauty.
• Use peer and self-assessment to revise and improve artworks.
• Document ideas, experiments, and revisions in a portfolio or sketchbook.

Canadian identity, symbolism, and cultural expression

• Explore cultural diversity through drawing, collage, and relief printmaking.
• Create drawings of interior spaces using perspective and observation.
• Develop collaborative artwork such as a T-shirt design project.
• Investigate symbolism and point of view in visual art.
• Compare similarities and differences in artistic expression and style.
• Examine Canadian art and the ways it communicates identity.
• Sort, compare, and interpret artworks from different cultures and contexts.
• Explore the role of museums and curators in selecting and presenting art.
• Apply the critical analysis process to cultural and historical artworks.

Environmental art and social responsibility

• Explore environmental and ecological issues through visual art.
• Create a poster using graphic design principles.
• Develop a found-object sculpture or portable landscape.
• Create a two-dimensional or three-dimensional installation artwork.
• Produce landscape drawings, paintings, or sketches.
• Examine words and images as tools for environmental communication.
• Study landscape as a subject in historical and contemporary art.
• Investigate contemporary artists who address environmental issues.
• Examine the importance of preserving and valuing artworks.
• Apply safe and environmentally responsible studio practices.

Art, design, image manipulation, and modern technology

• Explore distortion through drawing and image-manipulation exercises.
• Apply tempera and acrylic painting techniques.
• Use traditional and emerging technologies to create artwork.
• Develop an information-design project.
• Examine the historical development of artistic styles.
• Investigate how technology has influenced art history and artistic production.
• Compare fine art, popular art, and ideas about masterpieces.
• Incorporate found objects, digital images, and mixed media into artworks.
• Prepare artwork for presentation using appropriate labels, mounting, matting, or framing.

Personal voice, reflection, and artistic communication

• Explore how artists communicate identity through visual art.
• Respond to the question: How do others speak to me through their artwork?
• Respond to the question: What does my art say about me?
• Respond to the question: Why is art important to me?
• Combine words and images through layout and graphic design.
• Create drawing, painting, collage, or bookmaking projects.
• Use digital technologies as creative and research tools.
• Maintain a record of notes, ideas, reflections, and research.
• Select artwork that demonstrates personal expression, growth, technical skill, and creativity.
• Organize selected works for a final portfolio and interview.

How grades are calculated

• 70% — Term work completed throughout the course.
• 40% — In-class projects, including 20% for process and 20% for final products.
• 10% — Resource journal and sketchbook assignments.
• 10% — Written and oral work, art criticism, participation, and responses to essential questions.
• 10% — Tests and quizzes.
• 30% — Final evaluation.
• 20% — Final examination.
• 10% — Portfolio interview featuring five selected artworks.
• Evidence of learning is gathered through products, observations, and conversations.
• Achievement Categories: Knowledge & Understanding (25%), Thinking (25%), Communication (25%), and Application (25%).

Main course resources

• Contemporary Canadian Art by David Burnett and Marilyn Schiff.
• Masterpieces of Canadian Art from the National Gallery of Canada.
• How to Visit a Museum by David Finn.
• Women Artists in History by Wendy Slatkin.
• Basic Printmaking Techniques by Bernard Toale.
• Finding One’s Way with Clay by Paulus Berensohn.
• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.
• The Annotated Mona Lisa by Carol Strickland.
• Teacher-prepared visual references, demonstrations, videos, and selected online art resources.
• Students may use drawing materials, paints, clay, collage materials, printmaking tools, and digital media.

Important supports

Program planning includes varied instructional approaches, studio safety, accommodations, technology integration, career education, English literacy development, critical thinking, and academic honesty.

Students learn through teacher demonstrations, direct instruction, class discussion, independent studio work, group projects, research, critiques, worksheets, sketchbook activities, and ongoing feedback.

Safe practices include careful handling of paints, solvents, clay, charcoal, pastels, sprays, tools, and digital equipment. Students must follow product labels, use protective equipment where needed, and maintain a clean and well-ventilated workspace.