Proctor’s Visual Arts Department offers opportunities in studio art, ceramics, photography, metal sculpture, woodworking, metal engineering, industrial and creative design, textile arts. Students paint with oil and acrylic, draw, develop photographs using both film and digital practices, produce designs of personalized everyday items, craft beautiful ceramic art, and work with fiber in sewing construction, embroidery, knitting, and quilting collage.They create metal sculptures in the forge, learn to work with state-of-the-art lathes, planers, saws, presses, and a variety of electric and hand tools to design and build high-quality guitars, a variety of boat types, and fine furniture of all kinds. Students use both local and exotic woods, some cut from Proctor’s own timber stand. Students learn to weld and shape metal to create intricate and functional projects ranging from center punches, pepper grinders, bicycles, and utility trailers. 

The Visual Arts at Proctor affords students an opportunity within their academic day to work with their hands and tap into their creative side. Regardless of prior experience or ability level, students can immerse themselves in the creative process, all while learning techniques, safety practices, and lifelong skills that they carry with them well beyond their time at Proctor. 
 

Visual Arts Facilities

The visual arts facilities include Slocumb Hall (a renovated livery stable from the early 1800s, once Proctor’s original basketball court) where Studio Art, Ceramics, and Photography are taught, and the Alan Shepard Boat Shop where Industrial & Creative Design, Jewelry Making, and Fiber Arts are taught. 

Studios are available for students to work in the evenings and outside of class for developing all aspects of their abilities in these various disciplines and in preparation for annual art shows where their work is often displayed in collaboration with the Industrial Arts programs and the Performing Arts productions. Students are also invited to participate in annual juried art exhibitions at area universities throughout the year.