Course Descriptions

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. This course provides an introduction to the elements and principals of visual arts and to the creative process. Students are encouraged to use a variety of media in drawing, painting and sculpture.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. Students examine historical and contemporary painting approaches and directions in their beginning experiences with acrylic and/or oil paint, including the study of basic concepts, techniques, formal issues, technology, imagery, color theory and pigment theory.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2, 6 and 8. This course is a survey of architecture, painting and sculpture and their historical and social contexts. Specific periods from prehistoric through the Middle Ages will be introduced.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2, 6 and 8. This introductory course gives students a deeper appreciation and knowledge of Western art and the cultures that created it. The course focuses on the fascinating changes that occurred in the Italian Renaissance and continues through to modern artists and influences of the 20th century.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2, 6 and 8. Students will explore the influences and philosophies that have impacted art in regions outside of the Western world. Topics vary but will include the origins and historic development of art in African, Asian, Islamic and Mesoamerican cultures.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. This course will develop the skills of ceramics, focusing on handbuilding. Using the methods of coil, pinching and slab building, the students will make a variety of forms, ranging from functional to sculptural. Students will create finished products, including the use of glaze and other finishes. The nature of handbuilding techniques provides a more immediate opportunity to express creativity.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. Students learn about pottery tools and their uses, construction methods such as coil and slabs, aspects of pottery form and design, formulation and application of glazes, and operation of a ceramic kiln. The course is designed for the novice.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. This course introduces methods for production of ceramic artworks. Students learn about pottery tools, media, construction techniques and firing.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. Students will explore screen printing processes, techniques and materials, including image-making, stencil production, editioning and mixing ink.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. This course is designed to allow students to work in close proximity to the instructor in areas of particular interest to each individual student. Students research and examine relevant historical and contemporary art movements, contexts and methods to inform their social, historical, philosophical, artistic, etc., choices regarding subject matter. Emphasis is on the development of artworks, artist statements and exhibitions.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 6 and 10. Students will explore works of land or earth art and architecture from historical, contemporary, and environmental contexts. Topics vary but will include the origins and development of land and earth art and architecture in the Americas and their interrelationships with and effects on ecosystems, landscapes, and cultures.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6F. This course introduces students to photographic equipment, materials, processes and philosophies while examining photography and its role in contemporary culture with focus on artistic content. Traditional photographic processes, digital photographic processes and alternative printing and presentation processes are explored, and artistic rationale and execution are examined.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6F. This course introduces students to digital photographic equipment, materials, programs, processes and philosophies while examining photography and its role in historic and contemporary cultures, with a focus on artistic content. Digital photographic and presentation processes are explored, and artistic rationale and execution are examined. Students will acquire, identify and demonstrate the use of terminology, technical abilities, basic visual elements and principles of design common to digital photographic artwork.

Meets MnTC Goal areas 2 and 6F. Multimedia art exploration is a problem-solving art studio experience involving the use of a variety of traditional and non-traditional art materials.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6F. This course is an introduction to digital tools and graphic imaging technology emphasizing digital art and concepts. It provides a study of the capabilities of a variety of digital software and hardware for artistic purposes. Students will acquire, identify and demonstrate the use of terminology, technical abilities, basic visual elements and principles of design common to digital artwork.