Design Degrees Online

The Printmaking Department offers a broad range of studio experiences in the four major printmaking disciplines: relief, intaglio, lithography, and screenprinting. The department’s approach to these disciplines is fine arts-based and allows each student to realize a personal vision. Printmaking courses are particularly suited for students who are interested in fusing imagery into their work that reflects concepts of their own cultural and personal identity. The department provides a wide exposure to traditional and contemporary techniques, offers courses in computer-assisted printmaking and book arts, and encourages other interdisciplinary combinations of printmaking with other media or installations. After a thorough exploration of the various print media through sophomore coursework, printmaking majors further develop personal content through independent experimentation with advanced printmaking processes and explore alternate media and disciplines through elective options. While two courses must be in photography, painting, or drawing, a generous number of printmaking electives and open studio electives permits adapting the major to fit individual interests and talents. Print media can be combined with other forms or follow interdisciplinary directions such as book concepts, photo or computer printmaking, collagraph, and monoprinting. The printmaking major’s curriculum culminates with a special, year-long, 6- to 12-credit senior thesis that allows students to develop a personal direction through both a written thesis statement and a sustained body of work.

Our outstanding print shop facilities include separate, spacious, and well-equipped studios for intaglio/relief, lithography, screenprinting, and letterpress/book arts. Printmaking facilities also include a screen exposure room and a plate exposure room. The inventory is complete with numerous etching and litho presses able to print large plates and stones, vacuum tables for screenprinting, a library of more than 90 litho stones, and supplies and solvents for all print media.

The Printmaking Department is the home of Dolphin Press & Print, a professional print shop, which in coursework and internships acquaints students with developing collaborative print projects with visiting writers and visual artists. Two students per semester can apply for internships to work on a program of annual projects, including residencies, broadsides of the work of visiting poets, and chapbooks of work by renowned writers. Dolphin Press & Print is structured as a professional collaborative shop that is tied to the printmaking curriculum. Classes in printmaking also interact with Dolphin Press. Students are encouraged to collaborate in the production and printing of small editions of original prints and all types of collaborative print, paper, and book projects.

Sculpture is contemporary art’s meta-medium, where artists cross boundaries, invent hybrid processes, and explore innovative content in the areas of object-making, installation, performance, site-work, time-based art, and digital forms. Students of interdisciplinary sculpture develop the conceptual content of their work concurrently with practical, hands-on knowledge of materials and fabrication techniques, enabling them to produce work relevant to their personal vision.

Classes offered within the department combine theory and practice and encourage students to develop transdisciplinary, multimedia approaches to their work and invent collaborations with new audiences and communities. Through this innovative curriculum, students are exposed to a broad range of creative possibilities within the material, spatial, and non-static arts and develop a range of conceptual skills and strategies that allow them to realize content in inventive ways. Students explore both experimental and established approaches to art making.

Courses within the department allow students to build a solid base of constructive and technical skills by working in such areas as wood, metal fabrication, mold-making, casting, assembling, laser cutting, 3D printing, rapid-prototyping, welding, carving, and construction. Students are encouraged to further explore content in video installation, performance, time-based art, photo-sculpture hybrids, 3D computing, and other newer genres, and are challenged to use these skills to make work that is relevant in our complex, diverse, and ever-changing global culture.

Our accomplished faculty provides the theoretical and historical framework to assist majors in developing a sophisticated critical/self-analytical awareness of their practice, and its place within the larger culture. Interdisciplinary sculpture students are encouraged to develop technical mastery, conceptual sophistication, and an understanding of newer and emerging genres; to explore contemporary issues, ideas, and technologies; and to create a practice that recognizes the past while envisioning the future.

The expansive studio facilities for sculpture at MICA are housed in the recently renovated Mount Royal Station, a converted B&O Railroad passenger station that also houses the College’s graduate sculpture program, the Rinehart School of Sculpture. New classrooms, a renovated metal shop with upgraded ventilation, and a new glass kiln add to the already well-equipped facilities, which include up-to-date computers and software and dedicated areas for work in plaster, wood, and a metal foundry.

Introduction to Painting
PT1200 Section A
6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. (1/26/2009–5/11/2009) / Georgetown

Introduction to Painting
PT1200 Section B
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1/21/2009–5/13/2009) / Georgetown

Introduction to Painting
PT1200 Section C
9:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. (1/25/2009–5/10/2009) / Georgetown

Academic Painting
PT1210 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m. (1/24/2009–5/9/2009) / Georgetown

Intermediate Painting
PT2200 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m. (1/25/2009–5/10/2009) / Georgetown

Painting Towards Abstraction
PT2210 Section A
9:30 AM–12:30 p.m. (1/27/2009–5/12/2009) / Georgetown

Painting Towards Abstraction
PT2210 Section B
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/27/2009–5/12/2009) / Georgetown

Abstract Works on Paper
PT2240 Section A
9:30 AM–12:30 p.m. (1/21/2009–5/13/2009) / Georgetown

Techniques of Painting in Watercolor
PT2290 Section A
9:30 AM–12:30 p.m. (1/22/2009–5/7/2009) / Georgetown

Portrait Painting
PT2300 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/21/2009–5/13/2009) / Georgetown

Academic Portrait Painting
PT2310 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/26/2009–5/11/2009) / Georgetown

Pattern and Painting
PT2330 Section A
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1/27/2009–5/12/2009) / Georgetown

Painting with Personal Vision
PT2410 Section A
9:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. (1/21/2009–5/13/2009) / Georgetown

Painting Studio
PT3200 Section A
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (1/23/2009–5/8/2009) / Downtown

Portrait: Likeness and Essence
PT3210 Section A
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1/22/2009–5/7/2009) / Georgetown

Drawing and Painting from the Imagination
PT3260 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/27/2009–5/12/2009) / Georgetown

Painting in a Series
PT3310 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/26/2009–5/11/2009) / Georgetown

Painting in a Series
PT3310 Section B
6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. (1/26/2009–5/11/2009) / Georgetown

Figure & Content
PT3332 Section A
1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (1/22/2009–5/7/2009) / Georgetown

Plant Portraits in Oil
PT3400 Section A
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1/23/2009–5/8/2009) / Georgetown

Portrait: Likeness and Essence
PT6210 Section A
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (1/22/2009–5/7/2009) / Georgetown

The BFA program in Graphic Design approaches the profession as an interdisciplinary, cross-media field that is rooted in the fine arts. Students learn to give form and expression to the content of our culture and become creators and interpreters of the environment in which we live. They must be able to perceive and adapt to changing cultural demands and to the changing design field. As the design field continues to expand into new media and new environments, designers are confronted with exciting intellectual and technological challenges. Students must be prepared to meet these new challenges, possess the educational background to develop original ideas and solve a wide range of design problems. After completing the Graphic Design major, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the following areas: creative problem solving, use of technology and relevant traditional graphic design skills, understanding of history and contemporary issues in design, visual and critical research, writing and communication skills, and design practice. During the students’ capstone experience, Senior Research and Seminar, students will focus on advancing their personal vision through design research, writing, and innovative design projects. They will develop an original body of work that will culminate in a portfolio and portfolio review, a presentation of students’ portfolios to the public and the graphic design community.

The Painting area offers a diverse range of courses that explore a multiplicity of painting media and related skills, procedures, and techniques. Courses respect and encourage personal vision as the means of inquiry into such concepts as quality of artistic achievement, or considers the causes of uncertainty that may arise through this inquiry.

Core (formerly Foundations) courses introduce students of all levels to the vast possibilities of a career in the arts. In addition to teaching basic studio skills, courses in this area pay special attention to current developments in contemporary thought. They also equip you with the intellectual tools for self-discovery, personal vision, and self-motivation.

Courses range from practical introductions to advanced studio practice and include lectures, discussion groups, and seminars concerning visual, critical, and historical studies. There is an active visiting artist program, classes visit local galleries and museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, and, every year, the area produces a Foundations student exhibition.

Previous Course Offerings
Below are previous course offerings for the Core area. Students must visit mySMFA to see current offerings and register.

Students in the undergraduate, graduate, Studio, and Post-Baccalaureate certificate programs may also take Continuing Education courses for credit.

Steeped in a rich history and energized by contemporary movements, this popular major focuses on strong craftsmanship using both traditional and contemporary techniques. The Painting studios provide a challenging and creative atmosphere where students develop independent skills and technical expertise in a strong community environment. Faculty members with a diverse range of styles further encourage the development of each student’s personal vision and independent voice.

Emerging professionals
In addition to drawing and painting, students delve into essentials for emerging professional artists, including:
Portfolio development
Gallery contacts
Resume development
Legal and tax matters

Facilities
The PNCA campus consists of three academic buildings: the Edith Goodman Building; the 3-D Studios; and the Cornelia and William T. C. Stevens Painting Studio. All are located within 2 city blocks of each other in the midst of Portland’s Pearl District. The Pearl is the heart of the city’s exciting art scene with most of the major galleries just a few blocks from the College. PNCA facilities occupy 95,000 square feet. Two dedicated gallery spaces- the Philip Feldman Gallery and the Manuel Izquiredo Sculpture Gallery — are also housed on campus.

Students have access to PNCA’s Computer Arts Center, the Charles Voorhies Fine Arts Library, as well as the Northwest Film Center and Portland Art Museum resources. All fourth year thesis students and third year painting students are provided with dedicated studio space. The configuration of space varies from year to year, dependent upon the number of thesis students and space requirements.

Painting
“Painting is the dynamic synthesis of simple materials with a driving personal vision. The transformative qualities of paint continue to astonish and challenge the imagination.”
—Kim Krause, faculty

The contemporary practice of painting encompasses a diverse set of possibilities, ranging from the traditional to the abstract and non-objective. The painting faculty supports a community of learners who experience painting as an exciting expressive medium and who pursue technical and conceptual mastery in the discipline. We nurture your individual voice.

Students majoring in painting are taught by professional artists who maintain an active studio practice, significant depth of engagement, and a passion for the visual arts. Upon graduation, successful students are prepared to begin their careers as exhibiting artists or continue their education in graduate school.

MA Design for Textile Futures

The 21st century marks the beginning of a new textile revolution, and we believe it is smart, invisible, sustainable, ethical and poetic. Smart? The emergence of intelligent technologies such as conductive textiles, sensory fabrics, wearable computing, biomaterials, nanotechnology demand greater collaboration between science and design to transform textile design processes and products. Invisible? New fibers and finishings create textiles with invisible built-innovative functionality such as vitamin-enhanced fabrics, anti-stress fibre, solar-reactive yarns and composite materials. Sustainable? Increasing demands to consider sustainability necessitate more responsible approaches to textile design. Issues of production, waste and post-consumption drastically change potential design processes and outputs. Ethical? Demographics, globalisation, changing consumption patterns that impact on markets can be challenged by design. Poetic? Human need for inspiring aesthetics and comforting material persists. The aesthetic and emotional qualities of cloth and craft become even more relevant in a high-tech, high speed consumer culture.

The world of textiles needs dynamic designers who can propose and realise intelligent, responsible innovations with strategic thought, leadership and personal vision. We provide a think-tank in which to cultivate ideas, reflect on individual practice, and challenge boundaries of textile design. Students investigate issues affecting the textile design discipline in the short, medium and long-term future. Practice-led, the course initiates and encourages design innovation. Joint lecture programmes and projects with other Masters courses such as Industrial Design, Creative Practice for the Narrative Environment and Design: Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery (by Project) foster a creative and challenging multidisciplinary environment, nourishing experimental and innovative hybrid design practices. We support textile designers with the potential to shift existing design boundaries, re-shape how we live and create the textiles of tomorrow.

Painting continues to assert a strong presence within contemporary art. Studies in painting at Winthrop deal in depth with conceptual interests along with the development of technical skills to enable personal vision to be realized. Traditional still life and figurative painting are part of a structured program of study which examines all levels of 20th century trends and styles. Varied instruction and instructional procedures assures each student variety and diversity of faculty and student feedback.

Students enrolled in the painting program have earned many awards, some at national level. Recognition for several has come from National Liquitex Paint supplies grants and purchases. Others have been successful in regional competitions. After graduation many continue studies at the graduate level, preparing for careers in teaching or as full-time practicing artists. Painting graduates are currently teaching at colleges and universities within the region. Careers in galleries and museums are also an option for those with a background in painting.