Educators ArtLab (EAL)

CERAMICS

Slab Building: Templates, Textures, and Design
Instructor: Elaine Buss, Visiting Assistant Professor in Foundation
$65 supply fee (students will be provided a list of additional personal supplies to bring)

In this handbuilding workshop, students will explore the use of foam sheets to create templates and textured slab mats. Foam is a versatile, accessible material that expands the possibilities of form by supporting clay slabs during construction, while templates make creating consistent, repeatable forms more approachable. Participants will create a range of functional objects, including mugs, trays, stacking plates, and bubble handles. Throughout the process, students will explore proportion, balance, and ergonomics to develop forms that are both visually compelling and comfortable to use. Layered foam and found materials will introduce a variety of textures and surface effects, further enhancing the aesthetic impact of the finished work. Participants will also use KCAI’s state-of-the-art Beals Studios fabrication space to design and laser cut foam designs for post-workshop use.

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FIBER

Improvisational Art Quilts: Rhythm, Repetition, Accumulation & Play
Instructor: Kim Eichler-Messmer, Associate Professor in Fiber
$50 supply fee (students will be provided a list of additional personal supplies to bring)

Quilts are both practical objects and a rich form of artistic expression. Built from pieces of cloth, quilts can explore color, pattern, rhythm, memory, and place while reflecting the materials and decisions of the maker. In this course, students will explore improvisational approaches to quiltmaking, using cutting, piecing, repetition, accumulation, fabric painting, and color removal to develop small art quilts without relying on traditional patterns. Each day students will investigate a different approach to altering cloth and improvisational composition, considering how constraints can encourage experimentation and creative problem-solving. Emphasis will be placed on learning the skills needed to construct a finished quilt, but there will also be plenty of time for play, experimentation, and individual exploration. Participants will leave the workshop with a completed art quilt and new ways of thinking about quilting as a contemporary art practice.

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ILLUSTRATION

The Importance of PLAY
Instructor: Maura Cluthe, Associate Professor & Charlie Sosland Chair of Illustration​​​​​​​
$45 supply fee (students will be provided a list of additional personal supplies to bring)

In this week-long workshop, participants will play with a range of materials and processes, focusing primarily on how play & experimentation and getting back to basics can lead to wonderful discoveries within your work and studio practice. Exercises will include experimenting with various forms of collage and sketchbook techniques, including playing with gelli plates, cut paper, unconventional mark-making tools, paint sticks and more, to create a variety of textures, patterns, and images. Each participant will receive a large (8.25x10 inch) Hand Book mixed media sketchbook for class use and to take home at the end of the week. All of the exercises that will be introduced can easily be integrated into the classroom. Be prepared to have fun and get messy!

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PAINTING

Plants, Time, and Magic
Instructor: Julie Farstad, Professor in Painting
$45 supply fee (students will be provided a list of additional personal supplies to bring)

How do our art practices and materials engage in a kind of cosmic awe? In this course, students will explore how the optical phenomena of different painting, drawing and collage materials can communicate a sense of natural wonder. Drawing inspiration from botany, geology, literature, and personal experience, students will explore drawing and painting as an open-ended and responsive practice. Students will experiment with a range of materials including matte and glossy acrylic mediums, glitter, flocking powder, rhinestones, other embellishments, as well as materials of their choosing. Luminosity, scintillation, fluorescence, and iridescence will form the core visual vocabulary of this class. Using plant forms and time as our inspiration, students will explore their experiences of nature in darkness, bright light, deep time, and memory.

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SCULPTURE

Metalsmithing
Instructor: Robyn Nichols, Lecturer in Product Design
$50 supply fee (students will be provided a list of additional personal supplies to bring)

Designed for novice metalsmiths, students will use copper to learn essential hand-tool skills to create wearables (jewelry) and/or small sculptural art objects. Participants will become proficient in sawing, piercing, filing, sanding, forming, forging and pattern-making. Additionally, students will learn to use a flex shaft, polish, create cold connections, and work with a torch for soldering. These skills will guide the design and creation of each unique piece - whether jewelry or ornamental art. While the course will focus on working with copper, students will gain knowledge about other metals as well. Participants will be provided with helpful information for integrating metalsmithing into the classroom environment.