Joycelyn Dressing
Artist | Art Educator
High School
Waterloo Central School District
Studio Art
Observational Drawing
Big Idea: Identity
Essential Question: How can objects and observation communicate identity?
Focus Artists: Audrey Flack, Joseph Cornell, Wayne Thiebaud
Unit Overview: Through choice of personally meaningful objects, students applied observational drawing techniques to develop detailed compositions that communicate aspects of their identity.
Studio Art
Printmaking
Big Idea: Change / Community
Focus Artists: William Estrada, Tuyo
Unit Overview: Students engaged in printmaking through guided practice and self-designed imagery, exploring themes such as change or community while developing skills in positive and negative space, experimentation, and producing clean, well-labeled prints.
Studio Art
Paper Sculptures
Big Idea: Place
Focus Artists: Cheong-Ah Hwang, Anna-Wili Highfield, Allen and Patty Eckman, Kyle Bean, Julianna Szabo, Jeff Nishinaka, Juho Könkkölä, Noriko Ambe, Mia Pearlman, Maëlle Doliveux, Helen Musselwhite
Unit Overview: Students explored the concept of place through paper sculpture, experimenting with a variety of construction techniques to create three-dimensional forms that reflect environments, spaces, or personal connections.
Studio Art
Acrylic Painting
Big Idea: Memories
Focus Artists: Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keeffe, James McNeill Whistler, Bhavna Misra, Mary Whyte, Jacob Lawrence
Unit Overview: Students used acrylic painting to represent personal memories, applying color theory and a range of techniques to intentionally communicate mood, atmosphere, and meaning.
Digital Photography
Alternative Processes
Big Idea: Transformation
Essential Question: How can alternative processes transform a photographic image?
Focus Artists: David Hockney, Aliza Razell, Gemma Schiebe, Vasilisa Forbes, Amy Friend
Unit Overview: Through hands-on experimentation with multiple alternative photographic processes, students explored how technique transforms imagery, ultimately selecting and refining their preferred methods to create a series of intentional final works.