Some things just cry out for collaboration. Take art classes, for example. With only so much time in the day, it can be hard for budding artists to pick only one area of concentration: Photography or ceramics? Drawing or sculpture? Painting or film?

Now, thanks to an innovative class taught by three Fine and Performing Arts teachers, 12 students are using one class to explore a wide range of mediums. Over two trimesters, they will draw, paint, sculpt, take photographs, make films, and create ceramics. They will visit off-campus museums and studios and also learn from visiting guest artists and speakers.

This new Advanced Studio Arts class is made possible by a department collaboration; the class is being team taught by Ed Hing (photography and film), Natania Hume (ceramics, design, and drawing), and Susanna White (painting and sculpture).

“We each bring different areas of expertise and a variety of feedback for each student,” Ms. Hume said. “This way students benefit from multiple suggestions, demonstrations, and sources of guidance.”

In alternating weeks, students design their own independent projects around themes they choose and explore different techniques. Students also chart their progress and reflect on their work in a daily class journal.

“We have group critiques in which we all communicate with each other about the strengths and challenges in each person’s work and process,” Ms. Hume said. “This cultivates the class community and provides a vibrant artistic learning environment.”

The new format has been so successful that Ms. Hume has decided to explore collaborations with other departments. In the spring, she’ll work with History and Global Studies teacher Tom Johnson on a unit called “Ethics and Objects.”

“There is a movement in the design world toward ‘design for social impact’ which looks at how designers can help with social and environmental problems,” she explained. “Our students will collaborate on designing projects that address social or environmental ills and which are—hopefully—successful both ethically and in terms of design.”

Editor’s note: The following are some of the art works from the class that didn’t make it onto the page.