| Ceramics: Wheel Throwing Fundamentals |
1001 (001) |
Emily Schroeder Willis |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course will focus on developing beginning and continuing skills on the wheel. Students will be introduced to fundamental methods for using the wheel as a tool to create vessels with consideration of their meaning and consequence and stretch the boundaries of utility. In addition to the design and structure of functional objects, this course will familiarize students with the working properties of ceramic material, firing methods, and glazes.
We will look at artists working both in traditional and non-traditional methods. Artists will vary, but some we will look at include: Edmund de Waal, Alleghany Meadows, Gerrit Grimm, Mike Helke, Steve Lee, and more. Readings will include articles covering topics about the convergence of fine art and craft, how objects affect our daily life and rituals, the place of craft within contemporary society. Specific authors may be : Chris Staley, Glenn Adamson, Jenni Sorkin, Okakura Kakuzo and Edmund de Waal
Projects vary, but typically there are 5-6 assignments in the course with each assignment consisting of 3-20 pieces of finished work with additional research in glaze and firing processes. Students will also have readings and responsibilities with firing work.
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Class Number
1184
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Potting for Pleasure and Protest |
1005 (001) |
Javier Jasso |
Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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Description
This intro course will allow students to build upon and deconstruct our preconceived notions of what a 'pot' is. Can a pot be a subversive act of defiance? Can it express pleasure, grief or discomfort? We will explore what a pot can say and do beyond mere function. Investigating materiality, process, and conceptual frameworks the pot will serve as a form through which we?ll unpack issues ranging from the primordial to the celestial. Students will learn technical ceramic processes while examining the histories, practices, and conceptual potentialities of the vessel.
We will look at artists who employ the vessel in their practice in a critical, subversive, personal and humorous ways. Some of the artists include Rubi Neri, Betty Woodman, Kathy Butterly, Theaster Gates, Sahar Khouri, Bari Ziperstein and more. Readings will include excerpts from ?Documents of Contemporary Art: CRAFT? and authors such as Glen Adamson, Edmund de Waal and Tanya Harrod.
Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of assigned and self directed projects to be presented in a culminating midterm and final critique.
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Class Number
1185
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Area of Study
Community & Social Engagement, Art/Design and Politics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Focus on the Ceramic 3D printer |
1008 (001) |
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Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This class is an introduction to clay and technology unique to ceramics. This class is recommended for first year students. In this class we will begin to bring technology and clay together. This class will give you the fundamentals to continue your investigations into printing with clay. There is no required experience in 3d modeling to take this course. In this class objects will be created using Rhino from its commands such as Repeat, Rotation, Spin, Revolve, Round, Unroll, Unfold, Open, Line.. These pieces created virtually will be translated to reality via the Potterbot at SAIC in the Ceramics department. We will also look at rudimentary ways that we can be inventive and mimic the 3d printer at home with basic materials to create objects. We will look at artists working both in traditional and non-traditional methods. Discussion about the virtual and physical space will be a topic that will be discussed and how to negotiate that space as an artist. Artists will include but are not limited to: Tom Lauerman, Michael Eden, Stacy Jo Scott, Brian Boldon, Oliver Van Herpt, Slip Rabbit Studio, UNFOLD, Jonathan Keep. We will have weekly reading and articles covering topics related to ceramics and the digital, the history of the vessel and how the digital is seen in the contemporary art and design arena. Specific authors may be Jenni Sorkin, Okakura Kakuzo and Edmund de Waal.
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Class Number
1188
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Area of Study
Product Design
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Introduction to Ceramic Sculpture |
1014 (001) |
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Thurs
3:30 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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Description
This course is a concentrated examination of ceramic construction and firing processes, clay and glaze materials, and use of equipment to produce ceramic sculpture. This is essential as a fast track entry into competent and independent use of the department for students new to ceramics. Students broaden their skills and gain a more thorough understanding of material characteristics and processes, develop their firing skills, and participate in a dialogue about theory and content specific to ceramic sculpture. The course format includes weekly demonstrations and lectures while developing a body of personal work utilizing ceramic technology. It is required that this, or another Materials and Processes course is taken before or concurrently with any other ceramics course.
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Class Number
1189
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Throwing: Multilevel |
2005 (001) |
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Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This multilevel class is for students with or without experience in wheel throwing. Beginning students are introduced to ideas, materials and techniques for throwing vessels. They acquire the necessary skills to construct and analyze a wide range of vessel forms. Intermediate and advanced students continue their individual development of throwing, glazing and firing kilns. Course discussions focus on issues around the vessel to acquire critical understanding of containers and their functions, as well as using the wheel as a means for constructing sculptural forms.
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Class Number
1193
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Vessel Construction |
2010 (001) |
Jonathan Kusnerek |
Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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Description
This course investigates both on and off-wheel construction techniques. It will explore wheel throwing and various hand building techniques such as: extruding, coil, slab, pinch, slump, and press molding-to produce interpretations of the vessel in contemporary society. The vessel as an enclosure of space is the departure point for discussions that include historical references in a contemporary context, the personal metaphor, and the generation of conceptual and aesthetic development beyond the utilitarian format.
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Class Number
1190
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Top: Feminist and Queer Clay Strategies |
2035 (001) |
Stevie Hanley |
Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This class engages with feminist and queer theory to explore non-traditional methods of engaging with clay. Students will cultivate strategies for producing artwork in dialogue with conversations on the body as a medium, gender, and sexuality. Throughout the course, students will draw from assigned text, research, and art historical references as a source for contextualizing their own practice. Projects will explore the use of form, formlessness, and performance as processes for manipulating ceramic material.
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Class Number
1180
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Topics in Contemporary Ceramics |
2035 (002) |
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Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
Each semester this course addresses a specific aesthetic concern pertinent to contemporary ceramic art. Rotating through the faculty, each professor chooses a theme for his/her course. Topics may include Politics, Community, Audience; Gender; The Diminutive Object; The Raw and the Wet: Clay Material Meaning and Experimentation; Time and Place; etc. Please see topic description for specific term information.
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Class Number
1186
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Ceramic Sculpture |
2051 (001) |
Sonya Bogdanova |
Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course introduces students to sculptural ideas executed in various ceramic hand construction techniques including slab, coil, press mold, etc. Students will explore how the unique physical characteristics of clay can contribute to the content of the work. Construction strategies will be examined in a conceptual context, investigating issues of space, technology, and architectural implication to build a dimensional perspective of personal and societal relevance. Emphasis will be on process, exploration, and discussion.
We will examine artists who've instrumentalized clay in inventive and boundary-pushing ways. Some of the artists we'll look at are Arlene Schechet, Annabeth Rosen, Ron Nagel, Huma Bhabha, Genesis Belanger and more. Readings and screenings will vary but typically include interviews with contemporary artists and critical essays by Eva Respini, Clare Lilley, Rosalind Krauss and more.
Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of assigned and self directed projects to be presented in a culminating midterm and final critique.
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Class Number
1194
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Ceramics for Designed Objects |
3020 (001) |
Mie Kongo |
Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course takes students on a journey through the changing landscape of ceramic art, design, and production. Recent advances in rapid prototyping technologies provide designers and artists with more direct means for transforming concepts into physical form. In this course, students explore various ways to apply advanced technologies to ceramic design and production. Students will acquire basic skills in clay modeling methods, plaster mold making, slip casting, 3D Scanning, digital modeling, and digital output methods including 3D Printing and Laser Cutting. Basic knowledge for Rhino and/or other 3D modeling software is required. The technologies and methods for ceramic production have been developing over the course of thousands of years, often linked to specific material/cultural histories. Digital tools afford makers the ability to create, manipulate, distort, and ideate without the constraints of the ceramic process. Through slide lecture, readings, group discussions, demonstrations, and self directed projects, we will consider ceramic production methods of the past and how they influence contemporary art and design practices. In this course we will ask the questions: What are the benefits and the challenges of using ceramic materials? How can we use digital tools to assist in the ideation, prototyping, and the production of ceramic objects? How can we use ceramic materials to assist in the ideation, prototyping, and production of digital objects? What is the interplay between the digital object and the ceramic object?
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Class Number
2290
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Area of Study
Product Design, Digital Imaging, Sustainable Design
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| 20,000 Years of Clay |
3024 (001) |
Emily Schroeder Willis |
Wed
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course surveys the history and production of clay and ceramics, from one of the earliest ceramic objects known, dating back some 20,000 years, to the present use of clay in contemporary art, design and craft. The course will take us through every continent and be looking at the use of ceramic in different cultures at different times though history. Attention will be given to the role clay and ceramic plays in our human development both as ritualistic, artistic and functional handmade and mass-produced objects. From ceramic in an ancient caves to NASA and the use of ceramic in space and everything in between.
Readings may include extracts from, 'Ten Thousand Years of Pottery' by Emannuel Cooper, 'Art, history, and gender: women and clay in West Africa' by Marla C. Berns , '20th Century Ceramics (World of Art)' by Edmund de Waal, 'Arita / Table of Contents: Studies in Japanese Porcelain' by Anniina Koivu and 'Vitamin C: Clay and Ceramic in Contemporary Art' by Clare Lilley and various essays by Nigel Wood, Tanja Harrod, Glenn Adamson and Namita Gupta Wiggers. Paired with exhibitions like the 2019 `The Journey of Things' by Magdalene Odundo The Hepworth Wakefield, The 2004 'A Secret History of Clay: From Gauguin to Gormley' at TATE Liverpool and the permanent ceramic collection at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Assignments include: working together to shape a research project proposal for a presentation on a specific part of the ceramic history, object-based written based on a piece of ceramics
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Class Number
1187
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm 120
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| Top: Musical Clay |
3035 (001) |
Liz McCarthy |
Tues
3:30 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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Description
Each semester this course addresses a specific aesthetic concern pertinent to contemporary ceramic art. Rotating through the faculty, each professor chooses a theme for his/her course. Topics may include Politics, Community, Audience; Gender; The Diminutive Object; The Raw and the Wet: Clay Material Meaning and Experimentation; Time and Place; etc. Please see topic description for specific term information.
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Class Number
1183
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Top: Ceramic Surfaces & Skins |
3035 (003) |
Nancy Fleischman |
Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
The question of what happens if... is always asked. This class takes on this question and allows for those experimental answers to be developed into distinctive surfaces on ceramic. The unique possibilities of materials used traditionally and experimentally with clay to develop unique skins. Decoration, pattern, design, print and painting incorporating techniques including glaze, slip, decals, etching and many others will be demonstrated. The normal function of glaze is treated technically in this class however we also examine the conceptual ideas of glaze. Ideas of skin, cover, shell, membrane, crust, coating, rind, peel, film, coat, casing, tissue, layer and other ideas of these conceptual themes are explored in this class. We will look at many artists including historical and contemporary artists. Some artists include Jim Melchert¿s Changes Performance, Phobe Cummings, Roberto Lugo, Ken Price, Ron Nagle, Brian Rochefort, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Tyler Lotz, Erin Furimsky, Takuro Kuwata, Peter Pincus, Sergei Isupov, Jun Kaneko, Betty Woodman, Merek Cecula, Linda Swanson, Grayson Perry, Paul Scott, HAAS Brothers, Caroine Slotte and Magdalene Odundo, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess to name some of the artists that are explored conceptually and technically within this course. Students are expected to give one presentation on an artist of choice dealing with surface and provide one reading on that artist a group discussion will follow each presentation.
This course will allow students to create two self-directed projects along with this there is the production of weekly explorations on glaze and surface that are discussed as a group allowing for the exchange of knowledge.
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Class Number
1192
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| Top: The Earth is Alive |
3035 (004) |
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Thurs
3:30 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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Description
In this studio and theory based class, we will explore the possibilities of low-fire ceramics and will consider how a ceramic studio is positioned within a local, regional, national, and global material culture. We will seek to understand and build relationships with common ceramics materials with the intention to gain an intuitive understanding how to best use them to create clay bodies and dynamic surfaces at a low-fire range. Students will work together to create and organize a communal database of materials and their properties, with the information gathered culminating into a research book published at the end of the course. We will consider firings in both oxidation and reduction, as well as alternative firing methods such as saggar and pit-firing.
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Class Number
1195
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M153
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| CER: Professional Practice |
3913 (001) |
Mark N. Stafford |
Thurs
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
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Description
In this Professional Practice class, students will engage in a wide variety of practical activities to help prepare for life after SAIC. These include the development of essential professional materials (statement, CV, bio, work documentation), creating or refining a website, delivering an artist talk, and writing a grant or project proposal. Beyond these tangible pursuits, we will discuss the pragmatic realities of life as a practicing artist, explore possible professions and transferable skills, and consider how self-evaluation, prioritization, and strategic planning can help us achieve the often difficult balance between artistic production and professional development activities (while hopefully still having time for a fulfilling personal life). Readings will include excerpts from Vicki Krohn Amorose¿s Art-Write, Jackie Battenfield¿s The Artist's Guide, Heather Darcy Bhandari & Jonathan Melber¿s Art/Work, Peter Cobb¿s The Profitable Artist, Gigi Rosenberg¿s The Artist's Guide to Grant Writing, Sharon Louden¿s The Artist as Culture Producer, DonThompson¿s The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, and Peter Nesbett, Sarah Andress, & Shelly Bancroft¿s Letters to a Young Artist.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: Sophomore seminar course
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Class Number
1626
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm 120
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| Multiples |
4040 (001) |
Nancy Fleischman |
Sat
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
In Person
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Description
In their work students will consider the possibilities of 'multiples' as duplicate, copy, replica, counterfeit, translation, group, growth, repetition, representation, pattern making, modular system, edition, progression, mutation, doppelganger, imitation, clone, reproduction, sequence, symbolism, mass production, additions over time and more. What does it mean to create in Multiples? Why make so many at this point in time when we live in a world where we already have so many objects? These are just some of the questions that the class will take on. All techniques in conjunction with clay will be used in this class. However, there will be demonstrations on making multiple part molds and slip casting, jiggering, glaze and surface manipulation.
Some artist that we will study in this course include Paul Cummins, Rachel Kneebone, Caroline Slotte, Susan York, Richard Shaw, Wendy Walgate, Alexandra Englelfriet, Edmund de Waal, Walter McConnell, Bonnie Kemske, Hella Jongerius, Belinda Blignaut, Janet Deboos, Gabriel Orozco, Alissa Volchkova, Dylan Beck. Readings will come from a variety of sourse some of which might include Thinking Through Craft by Glen Adamson, Vitamin C: Clay and Ceramic in Contemporary Art by Clare Lilley and CRAFT edited by Tanya Harrod, The White Road by Edmund De Waal.
This course will allow students to create two self-directed projects. Students should to be able to produce a one and two part mold on their own upon the completion of this class.
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Class Number
1181
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Area of Study
Product Design
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Advanced Ceramics |
4050 (001) |
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Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course offers advanced students a forum for critiques and discussion of contemporary ceramic directions. Emphasis is placed on individual development through complex integration of technology and information. Field trips and artists' studio tours provide a format for extensive dialogue. Students with a studio in the department are highly encouraged to enroll in this class.
Prerequisites
Must be a junior, and have completed any 2000+ Ceramics Class
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Class Number
1182
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| CER: Ceramics Senior Critique Studio |
4905 (001) |
Emily Schroeder Willis |
Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
This course is a forum for in-depth critiques, technical, conceptual, and professional practice discussions based on the student¿s practice and research. The goal of this class is to provide students information and guidance on how they can continue with their art practice after school. Each student enrolled in the course will be assigned a studio space within the department. The course is open to Seniors only who have previously taken 9 credit hours of Ceramics classes, 2000-level and above. Students signing up for this class must also be enrolled in any 3 credit hour Ceramics class, 2000-level and above. Seniors may enroll in this course for two consecutive semesters only. Some of the books we will use as a reference for this class may be Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 by Sharon Louden and ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career. Additionally, students will present to the class about an artist/thinker and/or participate in a skill sharing workshop. The format for this course is primary individual and group meetings, readings, presentations, field trips, exhibitions, and group critiques. Additionally, we will have a discussion with guest artists speaking about their work and the technicalities of how to continue with their art practice. Students will learn how to document, install, and promote their work. It is expected of the students to self-direct their own project culminating with a final exhibition project as part of their BFA or Gallery 1922. This course requires instructor consent. Fill out the form found at this link, https://tinyurl.com/35b26s78, to submit your portfolio and list of ceramics classes taken in the ceramics department.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: Professional practice course
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Class Number
1163
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm 109
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| Direct Access |
5002 (001) |
Mark N. Stafford |
Wed
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
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Description
This interdisciplinary studio seminar based in the ceramics department is designed for grad students interested in exploring the endless possibilities that clay offers as a material adapted into individual studio and research practices. The first portion of this class will be technically based to learn different modes of construction, mold making, as well as different glazing and firing techniques in ceramics. The second portion will be focused on independent projects, advising and critical discussions.
Readings will be a combination of history of ceramics, contemporary artist, and technical information. Some of the contemporary artists using clay within contemporary art practice we will study in this course include Cannupa Hanska Luger, Elizabeth Jaeger, Woody De Othello, and more. There will be discussions on the history of ceramics and how contemporary artists use clay in performance, sculpture, design, architecture, and print media.
Students should expect to produce a consistent body of work to be presented in a culminating course critique at the end of the session. Junior and Senior-level undergraduate students are welcome to enroll in this course and should email the instructor to seek authorization to register.
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Class Number
1995
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Area of Study
Class, Race, Ethnicity, Art/Design and Politics, Gender and Sexuality
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Ceramics Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar |
5032 (001) |
William John O'Brien |
Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM
In Person
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Description
This interdisciplinary seminar and studio introduces graduate students from any department to key historical and contemporary issues in the overlapping fields of Contemporary Ceramics. MFA students in this course will learn to navigate both the school community and its resources, as well as the Chicago art scene. Through readings, critical discussions, evaluations, field trips, and presentations, students will expand and deepen their understanding of studio professional practice. Coursework includes engagement with critical theory and the development of methods for analyzing and creatively responding to these theories. Students will also have access to the Ceramics Department for work on clay-focused projects. They should expect to produce a consistent body of work, which will be presented in a culminating critique at the end of the semester.
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Class Number
2204
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Credits
3
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Department
Ceramics
Location
280 Building Rm M152
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| Grad Projects:Ceramics |
6009 (001) |
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TBD - TBD
In Person
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Description
Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.
Prerequisites
Open to MFA, MFAW and MAVCS students only
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Class Number
2304
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Credits
3 - 6
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Department
Ceramics
Location
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| Grad Projects:Ceramics |
6009 (002) |
William John O'Brien |
TBD - TBD
In Person
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Description
Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.
Prerequisites
Open to MFA, MFAW and MAVCS students only
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Class Number
2305
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Credits
3 - 6
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Department
Ceramics
Location
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