Syllabus, Spring 2010

Drawing III • Spring 2010

Applied Arts 303

ART 301-002

Tuesday/Thursday • 2:30 – 5:30 pm

Final Exam:
Friday, May 14, 4:00 - 5:50 pm

Amy Fichter

Associate Professor
Applied Arts 306B

Office hours:
Fridays, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
& by appointment­­­­­
ext. 5335
fichtera@uwstout.edu

PreRequisites
Students must have completed Drawing I (ART 100) and Drawing II (ART 200) before participating in Drawing III (ART 300).

Course Description

In this course we will examine the nature of the drawing process and the nature of mark-making, and the language used by artists and viewers to decode or read drawings.

Over the course of the semester you will be asked to examine the process of making drawings rather than focusing on the final form.

At the same time, you are to take more responsibility for decision making in your work. In this class you will respond to project guidelines and think about your drawing as an extension of ideas. Students should use knowledge gained and apply it to the works that follow.

Each student will be required to make 6 major works. Each student is also required to work AT LEAST 3 (and up to 6) ­hours per week outside of class time.

Course Objectives
Through participation in Drawing III, you will:

• Advance and refine your drawing skills

• Explore a variety of drawing materials and scale

·  Build your knowledge base of artists who use drawing as a primary medium

·  Create a body of work based on your conceptual and visual concerns

·  Participate in the class exhibit in Gallery 209

• Communicate effectively about your drawing process through group and individual critiques and via blogging

Evaluations & Expectations
I expect you:

• Be in class. Class time will be reserved for critiques (group/individual) and for drawing. Any research for drawing needs to be done outside of class. Being absent or not working on drawings during class will count against your final grade.
• Finish all assigned drawings and projects.
• Create a final body of work based on your conceptual and visual concerns.
• Participate in the end-of-semester class exhibition (including installation and take-down).
• Blog assignments/weekly reflections.

Attendance
It’s important that you are in class—the class happens because all of you are here working together.
Let me know via e-mail if you can’t make it to class.
Rely on your classmates to show you drawings and notes you may have missed.
After 3 absences, your grade may be lowered.
After 7 absences, you may fail the class.

Grading Policy
• Your grade will be based primarily on your final e-portfolio in which you showcase your learning over the semester and best examples from the class. This e-portfolio will include all relevant drawings (ideation as well as final pieces) and blog reflections. This portfolio will consist of a blog summary with a link to a flickr or photobucket account that includes a larger set of images from the semester.

• A mid-term e-portfolio will be graded to give you an idea of your standing in the class at that point, but may be overridden by the quality of your final portfolio. In other words, the two grades will not be “averaged” for your final grade.

• Your grade will also be affected by such “subjective” qualities as these:
1. Are you present?
2. In mind as well as body?
3. Open to suggestions?
4. Helpful in class discussions?
5. Awake during lecture time?

It is part of my job—my responsibility—to give you a grade that lets you and other art “authorities” (other professors, employers, grad schools, gallery owners, etc.) know how your final portfolio and overall attitude during class measure up to given standards.

One useful way to think about grades is to consider them guides as to how other art professionals (besides me) would view your portfolio. How would a design firm see your work? A graduate school acceptance committee? Other professors in the Art & Design department? Gallery owners?

If I imagine I am an employer of designers, an A would mean you could start right away, a B would mean you might get hired if you get some more experience and refine your portfolio, a C would mean you are not ready for the job.

Likewise, if you are considering graduate school, an A would mean your work is of the quality that would get you accepted into a grad program, a B would indicate that you might get accepted if you worked on your portfolio some more, a C would mean you are not ready to apply for graduate studies (in Drawing/Life Drawing, anyway).

Save and document all your drawings from the semester.

Materials
Materials will vary by individual. The following materials represent possible choices for drawing surfaces/substrates and drawing media.

Each student will need some kind of digital camera for gathering source images.

Traditional and Non-traditional Drawing Surfaces & Substrates

Drawing papers (sheets or rolls)

Watercolor papers

Printmaking papers

Commercially tinted papers

Illustration boards

Prepared paper surfaces (gesso, blackboard spray, etc.)

Photographs and photocopies

Frosted mylar and acetate sheets

Vellum

Canvas and other fabrics

Glass and Plexiglas

Acrylic medium sheets (handmade)

Metal

Raw and prepared wood

Wall surfaces and found surfaces

Traditional and Non-traditional Drawing Media

Graphite pencils

Graphite sticks

Graphite powder

Silverpoint

Charcoal pencils

Carbon pencils

Vine charcoal

Compressed charcoal

Powdered charcoal

Conte crayon

Colored pencil

Colored pencil sticks

Chalk pastels

Chalk pastel pencils

Oil pastels

Ink

Ink wash

Ink pens

Watercolor

China markers

Litho pencils

Litho crayons

Acrylics/acrylic washes

Gouache

Mixed Media

Oil paint washes

Wax

Coffee and tea washes

Dirt, mud, and clay

Smoke and/or soot

Photocopy toner

Rust

Body fluids

Additional Materials for Drawing and Related Processes

Erasers—Pink Pearl, kneaded, plastic, and tube erasers

Sandpaper

Steel wool

Odorless solvents

Mineral spirits

Colorless blender

Metal sppon

Bone folder

Burnishing tools

Cotton fabric

Cotton balls

Drafting/masking tape

Scissors/x-acto knife

Gloves/safety glasses

Digital inkjet glossy photo paper

Acrylic gloss medium

Text

Art Lessons: Meditations on the Creative Life by Deborah J. Haynes

Available at Instructional Resource Services

Art Education Artifacts
The course objectives of this course meet:
• Wisconsin Standard 1: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches.
• UW Stout School of Education Domain 1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy.
• Wisconsin Standard 9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner.
Portfolio Artifact: best work as determined by student and professor
• Art education students will be required to reflect in writing on this artifact.
• Art education students will be required to upload papers and digital images of their studio works into their e-portfolios.