Courses

Color in Theory and Practice
In this studio course, we will explore the role of color in art through exercises in a range of media: from paint to digital graphics software. We will discuss principles of color interaction, the composition of different artistic media, and the ways that color functions perceptually and expressively in works of art. We will also investigate the historical relationship between color theories in art and developments in physics, optics, and philosophy; the symbolic dimension of color in different art traditions; and the ways that digital technology has transformed contemporary understandings of color. Students will develop skills and sensitivities around color that can be applied in a variety of artistic practices. No prior artmaking experience is required.

Visual Storytelling Through the Lens
This photo-based studio course examines the ways images work together in succession to build narratives. Students will study contemporary and historical approaches to the photo essay in addition to authoring their own stories with images they have taken or sourced by other means. While we will discuss the basics of image making, the class is focused on the sequencing of images. Students may use any type of camera for this class including cell phone cameras and no prior photographic knowledge is required. The class will culminate in a web-based slideshow and printed book projects for each individual student. 6 hrs. lect/dsc.

Notes from the Woodshed: Sculpture, Abstraction, and Improvisation
This class takes its title from a book of writing by the black American visual artist Jack Whitten (1939-2018). Whitten’s title itself borrows from a tradition in jazz music, ‘the woodshed’ was a metaphorical place to practice, experiment and develop new ideas before taking them public. We engage the classroom as our own ‘woodshed’, creating sculptural form through close looking, response, and improvisation. Students will develop the basic skills and visual language for creating sculpture using wood, foam, Magic-Sculpt, and found materials. We will read Whitten’s book ‘Notes from the Woodshed’, and other texts that contextualize the rich histories of abstract sculpture made by black Americans in the 20th century. No former experience with art is necessary to take this class.

Art, Aesthetics, and Climate Change
What is the role of aesthetics in understanding the climate crisis? How do questions of beauty inform our decisions about land use, justice, and technology? What is the relationship between art-making and climate action advocacy? In this combined seminar and studio course, we will examine points of intersection between the artistic and the environmental: from climate activism to data visualization to aesthetic debates about landscape and energy. We will explore these themes through readings in art history and philosophy, and by examining works of climate-oriented contemporary art. Students will complete creative projects designed to illuminate the role of visual communication in shaping individual and societal responses to climate change.

Advanced Drawing: Making Your Mark
In this course students will refine their drawing skills, emphasizing personal growth and a deeper exploration of drawing techniques. An understanding of formal pictorial language and how to effectively communicate through visual means will be stressed. Students will draw from observation employing imagination, abstraction, and unconventional approaches. Exposure to the importance and relevance of both contemporary and historical art will occur through image lectures with an emphasis on critical thinking. Exploration of materials will also be discussed. (ART 0155, 0156, 0157, ART 0159, ART 0185, ART 0200 or by approval) ) 6 hrs. lect.

Silkscreen Printmaking
In this course students will explore the silkscreen medium with guided studio instruction. This will include paper stencil method, film stencil method, photographic stencil method, and multicolor printing. Concentration will be on drawing. Towards the end of the semester, students will learn to use basic computer-aided imagery. Students will explore the roll of silkscreen printing in contemporary art as well as its use in popular culture. Depending on resources, students may have the opportunity to be part of an intensive collaborative print project to produce an edition of prints with a professional artist. (ART 0157, ART 0158, ART 0159 or by approval) 6 hrs. lect./lab

Watercolor Painting
In this studio course we will explore the techniques and principles of watercolor painting through guided exercises and individual projects. Students will work from observation and invention to develop a familiarity with this versatile medium, paying special attention to color mixing and color theory. We will also examine historical and contemporary examples of watercolor painting from around the world. (Any 100-level Studio Art course).

Photography Now
In this color digital photography course students will sharpen their points of view within the framework of a contemporary photographic practice. Students will learn how to shoot digitally, scan, develop lighting strategies, make large format prints and edit their images into a cohesive body of work. Readings and class discussions will be based on how the photographic image functions in our current culture. Students must have access to 15MP (or bigger) digital SLR camera with manual controls of focus, aperture, and shutter. 3 hrs. lect.

Senior Independent Study in Studio
Three terms of supervised independent work. Culmination of independent work will be an exhibition. All senior studio art independents will meet for regular group critiques with the studio art faculty and other senior studio independents. (Admission by portfolio review and recommendation of resident faculty member is required.) 3 hrs. lect.

The Art of Science: Drawing Nature's Forms
In this studio course we will draw from life. Before the advent of photography, natural history art, in addition to celebrating nature’s beauty, served as an important translator of scientific knowledge. The College’s rich natural history collections (mounted specimens, preserved specimens, eggs, study skins, skeletons, herbaria, live specimens in the greenhouse, etc.) will become both our laboratory and studio where we will investigate, inspect, and record nature, and gain inspiration from it. We will acquire knowledge of natural forms through sustained direct observation and drawing. Artistic media will include graphite, charcoal, gouache, watercolor, ink, and tempera. We will examine examples of natural history art from cultures around the world, from its beginnings to today’s digital scientific illustration. No prerequisites.

Kate Gridley is an award-winning artist whose works are in museums and private collections in the U.S. and abroad. Her work includes portraiture, landscapes, still-lives and botanical illustration in an array of media, including oil paint, graphite, pastel, watercolor, gouache, and egg tempera. Website: kategridley.com

Painting in Oil
A comprehensive beginning oil painting class exploring multiple subjects beginning with a refresh of applied color theory and principles of design. Over four weeks we will work in class from the live model with outside assignments of self-portraiture, interior spaces, and still life subjects. Studio work will be accompanied by weekly image lectures on historical movements from 20th-century modernism to contemporary painting. One previous studio course.

Brian Cirmo is an internationally exhibiting artist and a 2023 recipient of the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant for American painters from the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Solo exhibitions include Where Teardrops Fall, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, New York, NY and Projektraum FN, All the Feels, Friedrichshafen, Germany. Artist residencies include the Saltonstall Foundation, the Lake Constance Cultural Department, Salem, Germany, The Vermont Studio Center, and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency./

Touching the Surface: Drawing in Latin America
This course is designed to get students acquainted with foundational drawing techniques while also exploring different artists and artistic movements in Latin America who have redefined the medium through their own contexts and approaches to experimentation. We will study artists such as Lygia Clark, Belkis Ayón, Carmen Herrera, Beatriz González, Marisol, María Izquierdo, Felipe Baez, and Teresita Fernandez and unpack artistic movements that shape Latin American art as we know it today which span from around the 14th century to art being made today. Throughout the course, we will question what is considered Latin American and expand our geographical delineations that include Latinx American artists who bring their ancestral histories with them beyond borders and tongues. Dry and wet media will be used as well as some basic sculptural techniques to get a better understanding on the volumetric qualities of depicting space and figures. Students will learn foundational drawing skills such as composition, scale, negative/positive space, contour lines, tonal values, line quality, and personal style. There will be regular class critiques.

Estefania Puerta Grisales is a recent recipient of the 2024 Rome Prize in Visual Arts and has exhibited internationally. She graduated from Yale School of Art in 2018 and currently lives and works in Burlington, Vermont./