SMCC Catalog 2013 - 2014 - Southern Maine Community College

Studio Art Courses (ARTS)
ARTS 110 Drawing I 3 cr.
This class will teach the fundamentals of observational
drawing, beginning with the basic elements: line,
shape, gesture, value and composition, and advancing
to the use of non-traditional materials and the
origination of creative ideas through class projects,
journal-keeping, and looking at art. Field trips to local
museums and galleries will enhance the students'
ability to put their own studio work in the context of
the greater art world. The role of visual art as a tool for
communication and expression will be explored.
Prerequisite(s): none
Corequisite(s): none
ARTS 120 Ceramics I 3 cr.
This course is an introduction to ceramics class that
will give students the basic skills to create work in clay.
The students will learn hand building, wheel-throwing
and glazing techniques, in addition to learning about
the history of clay and the different methods of firing
that have evolved over time. This course will be held at
Portland Pottery, located at 118 Washington Ave in
downtown Portland. Students will be responsible for
purchasing a required supply kit consisting of tools and
clay. The supplies will be pre-packaged and sold
directly to students at Portland Pottery on the first day
of class.
Prerequisite(s): none
Corequisite(s): none
ARTS 129 Drawing on Nature 3 cr.
Explore the oceanfront grounds of the SMCC campus
during its most radiant time of year and take on the
artistic challenges that working from nature presents:
changing light, weather and tides, capturing
movement and change, working quickly from life,
completing outdoor works inside, etc. Students will be
encouraged to develop a personal means of artmaking,
such as strict observational realism,
expressionism, abstraction or conceptual. A variety of
media and working methods will be explored including
pencil, ink, watercolor, gouache, mixed media and
more. Open to students with some drawing or painting
background who are interested in building their
confidence and abilities in working from nature.
Prerequisite(s): none
Corequisite(s): none
ARTS 130 2D Design 3 cr.
This foundation level course introduces students to
the principles of 2D design and how the role of past
and present media communications is influenced by
core design concepts. Students will develop, discuss,
and defend visual communication strategies within the
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context of past and present design successes and
failures. Through detailed study of design concepts we
will create artwork that is unified and effective in
concept, form and purpose, and through studio
projects, in-class exercises, group critique, and
presentations we will practice how design principles
are essential for success in a chosen field of visual
expression.
Prerequisite(s): none
Corequisite(s): none
ARTS 140 3D Design I: Sculpture Studio 3 cr.
This course introduces the fundamentals of threedimensional
design and will ask students to construct
and question visual relationships. Emphasis will be on
developing an understanding of the basic elements of
design: line, plane, volume, mass, movement, shape,
form, space, value, texture and color. We will look
closely at design organizational principles such as
proportion, repetition, rhythm, emphasis, balance,
symmetry and hierarchy. A range of materials (paper,
cardboard, clay, plaster, wire and found object) and
processes (constructing, modeling, carving, casting and
fabricating) will be utilized to introduce a variety of
approaches to 3D problem solving. Students will also
be introduced to three-dimensional critical vocabulary
where focus will be on communicating ideas and
forming distinctions and connections through verbal
and written formats. This class is open to all levels and
from all departments within the college community.
Prerequisite(s): none
Corequisite(s): none
ARTS 147 Papermaking: Surface and Structure 3 cr.
In this introductory studio class, students will learn
traditional techniques of basic sheet forming,
laminating, watermarking, embedding sheets with
both organic and found/industrial patterns, and image
making with pulp painting. Students will collect local
plant samples as well as prepare and use dried Asian
fibers from Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Nepal to
create translucent yet strong sheets of handmade
papers for a variety of uses such as drawing surface,
printmaking, book arts, collage, and light structures.
Students will also be introduced to fibers such as
cotton, flax, sisal, and abaca, as well as learn how to
transform recycled paper into a vocabulary of
handmade sheets and forms. During this course,
students will explore several sculptural approaches of
working with handmade paper forms that focus on
mass and volume without weight. Construction of
dimensional sculptural forms will be achieved through
the following techniques: paper pulp spraying onto
fabric, screening, wire forms, and assembled found
object; paper casting into plaster mono molds and
ready-made molds to produce multiples and editions,