Visual Arts

Fay's visual arts curriculum builds foundational art skills, sparks personal expression, and inspires creativity. Our program is hands-on and multisensory: our art teachers integrate the students' classroom studies while also incorporating art history and making connections across cultures and continents.
 
Art is a regularly scheduled course for every student, in every grade. As students work with a range of two- and three-dimensional media that includes paints, pen and ink, ceramics, textiles, and sculpture, they develop basic art skills along with an understanding of the principles of good design.

In the Upper School, eighth and ninth graders may also choose art electives that allow them to focus on specific areas of interest. Click here to read about our Upper School art courses.

Christopher Kimball has been an Upper and Lower School art teacher at Fay since 2006 and has been the Arts Department Chair since 2020. Working in the Picardi Art Center, Christopher teaches a wide range of studio classes, including introductory courses, ceramics, printmaking, painting, and sculpture. One of Christopher's favorite parts of teaching at Fay is the ability to work alongside such enthusiastic and dedicated young artists and help his students explore their connections to the art-making world. Christopher believes in the value of spending time each day creating something original, an attitude he tries to instill in his students. As an art teacher, Christopher finds great joy in continuing his work as a practicing artist. Curious by nature, Christopher is fascinated by the process of creating something both beautiful and functional, and can trace a line of his own art-making through multi-step media, such as ceramics, printmaking, and woodworking. The problem-solving required to transform raw materials into something aesthetically pleasing is what gives him excitement and enthusiasm, which he shares with his students. Christopher draws his inspiration from many sources, including the work of Shepard Fairey, Eric Avery, Edward Hopper, Joseph Twichell, as well as Pop Culture and the ever-changing visual world. When not teaching, Christopher can usually be found in his woodshop or wandering local trails with his wife and son.

Catherine Gruetzke-Blais joined the Fay faculty in 2017 with 18 years of art teaching experience. She teaches students in the Primary and Upper School and the Early Learning Center. She believes that every person has an innate drive to create, and it is important to foster this drive in young children so that they may discover their potential. Art offers learning techniques in each media and a design vocabulary, but beyond that, creative interpretation and solutions with varied responses are important. Catherine strives to tap into the unique voice of each child. Catherine has experience as a scenic artist for theater, an illustrator of games, and a fine artist. She has an art studio in Framingham, where she mostly paints with bright colors and interesting textures. She is inspired by nature. Her work has appeared in many shows and galleries. Additionally, in 2012, her design was chosen for the Dedham Public Art Project, which she painted onto a large rabbit sculpture, and in 2017, her mural concept was chosen for the Natick Public Art Project, which she painted onto a large electrical box. All of this experience helps her in her art teaching and nurturing of the creative process with children.

Suzanne joined the Fay community from Belmont Hill School, where she taught since 2012. During her time there, Suzanne had multiple roles, including ceramics instructor, lead art teacher, drawing and painting instructor, Landau Gallery Director and Set Constructor, and props master on all theater productions. She was also the lead instructor and organizer for the School's art club. Suzanne holds a B.A from Salve Regina University and a M.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Crafts.

Prior to joining Fay in 2025, Rebecca spent two years as a teaching fellow at Phillips Exeter Academy, where she taught printmaking, ceramics, 3-D design, and advanced independent art courses. While completing her master’s degree, she was a teaching assistant in the Art Department at UNC Chapel Hill as well as a Graduate Teaching Fellow. Rebecca holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Davidson College and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.