Visual Arts

The visual arts program at Norton High School is continuing to grow and thrive. The state of the art materials and equipment in our newly built studio space have only helped to boost the creative output from our students. At Norton High School we are proud to offer a variety of coursework to our student body ranging from introductory level to Advanced Placement Studio Art (AP). Students have the opportunity after an initial exploratory semester course to expand their experience and knowledge in the following semester courses: Crafts, Ceramics, and Drawing/Painting. Advanced courses are offered for those students wishing to continue their artistic path or prepare for a career in the visual arts.

The visual arts program has recently gained recognition and awards at the county, state, and national level. Over 25 of our Norton High School students were honored for their artistic achievements at the Summit County Art Expo; several of those students won “First Place” for their grade level and one student was awarded “Best of Show” for all 12th graders. The visual art department at NHS was honored to announce that one of our ceramic students had a sculpture that placed in the Top 300 at the Governor’s Art Show, one of the most prestigious contests in the state garnering over 11,000 submissions from every county. Lastly, another one of our student’s had their mixed media assemblage selected to be on display in Congressman Renacci’s Washington D.C. office for the next year. This piece was chosen because it won 1st place at the Congressional Art Show in April 2017.

The creativity and impact of the visual art program at Norton doesn’t stop at the end of the school day; many of our students are involved in National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and Art Club which meet weekly after school. Our students have used art to serve a variety of groups including fellow students, children that are battling childhood cancer, our elderly community, and local families in need. Our involvement with the Liv Thru Art program has increased dramatically throughout the last year and will continue in 2017-2018; this group brings families and children that are fighting childhood cancer together to make artwork for therapeutic purposes. Many of these events have been hosted at Norton High School and monitored by our student volunteers. Our students have also traveled to local nursing home facilities to do art activities with the clientele. This fall our NAHS and Art Club students will host an “Empty Bowl Project” to raise funds for Norton United’s Million Meals Project that helps fight hunger issues within our community. This event entails our students creating and glazing ceramic bowls and serving a soup meal where people can donate money to purchase their bowl of choice and food. Our students regularly volunteer their time, creativity, and hearts to improve our school, community, and world.