Ceramic Art

This is the primary component of the first year of ceramic art graduate studies. The focus is on individually directed studio research in consultation with the faculty. Studio work is evaluated at the midterm and final reviews by the entire faculty. Students work individually with a different faculty advisor each semester.

This seminar is required for first year second semester graduate students in Ceramic Art. It is a faculty structured, student generated, research and discussion group course focusing on historical and conceptual ideas of contemporary ceramic art. It is intentionally founded on principles of artistic studio practice and scholarship. While it may introduce pedagogical content, the course immerses students in descriptive and critical writing and presentations in response to the readings, the work of other artists, and students' own creative practice.

This course covers the fundamentals of body and glaze development focusing on ceramic raw materials and their role in forming and firing for functional ware and sculpture bodies. Glaze formulations are also discussed, including glaze chemistry, texture, and causes of common defects.

This is an open forum discussion-based course that builds on ART 582-Ceramic Materials I and stresses the application of ideas and concepts to solve studio problems. Students are expected to participate in the discussion, to bring examples of problems, and share the results of experiments to rectify those problems.

The focus of this lab/lecture course is the operation, maintenance and design of ceramic art based kilns. Discourses include: kiln theory, combustion, fuels, refractory materials, basic electrical theory and construction. Students design their own kiln using blueprints, calculations for heat input and a material source list.

This course will introduce CAD software and related applications for design and fabrication in multiple materials. Fluidity between digital technologies and existing studio techniques will be stressed. This elective course can benefit students at all levels.

This course compliments ART 587-Intro to 3D modeling and Rapid Prototyping, allowing the student to acquire a practical application for 3D modeling through use of CAD (SolidWorks, Rhino), CAM (Delcam for SolidWorks, RhinoCam and Mastercam), and reverse engineering software (Rapidworks, Scanstudio). Students learn technical competency in contemporary technology for 3D fabrication. May be repeated one time for credit (up to a total of 4 credit hours).

This seminar is a peer-review forum for graduate candidates in Ceramic Art to further develop their writing practice and work towards a final draft of the written thesis with their semester advisor. The written thesis is a supporting paper submitted and reviewed as part of the MFA Thesis Exhibition defense and submission to Scholes archives.

The ceramic art thesis is a body of work that is presented in a gallery exhibition at the end of the fourth semester of study. Students work with individual faculty studio advisors, with midterm and final reviews by the entire ceramic faculty.