We know that students at every stage of development love to create artwork, so our art programs’ primary goal is for students to explore artistic self-expression using as many mediums as possible. To achieve this, all of our full-day students attend studio art classes every week for an hour or more, depending on grade level. 

Our art lessons are situated in the context of art history, for example, learning to create collages in the style of Henri Matisse or self-portraits in the style of Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, or Roy Lichtenstein. 

“Art Reflects Change,” says Karen Gorecki and Jaime Wszelaki, our veteran art teachers.  “When we talk to students about specific artworks, we also talk about the history that brought it forth: think Picasso’s Guernica, or Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With,” or even the rock art of early humans. We also connect artwork with literature, so when 8th-grade students read Moby Dick, they learn the art of scrimshaw using traditional tools and techniques, but on Tagua ivory nuts instead of ivory.”

Students learn to draw using pencil and charcoal and to paint with watercolors and acrylic. They learn copper tooling and enameling, printmaking, ceramic art using terracotta and porcelain clay, and how to use glaze for effect. They learn weaving and stitching, fiber coiling for basketry, paper quilling, silk screening, batik, photography, digital art, and sculpture using materials such as duct tape, paper mache, foil, wire armature, and sandstone.  

MMS students win a multitude of local, statewide, and national awards every year for their artwork. Our students also have permanent collections on display at the Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Courts in Milwaukee and Madison and have had featured exhibitions at the Milwaukee Art Museum and Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, among many other regional venues.