ART 141 - Earthen Forms: Beginning Ceramics

All ceramics are made from the earth, fused into durable wares, artworks and ritual objects through the heat of fire. This introductory studio course will examine the form, function, history, and ecology of handmade objects in our world, with an emphasis on the material of clay. Students will learn to hand-build, throw, cast and fabricate ceramic forms while also working through ideas in material studies and the environmental arts. Assignments will ask students to work through the histories and poetic language of a range of ceramic forms, and over the course of the quarter, we will build toward a collective “atlas of earthen forms.” Readings and class discussions will focus on exploring the formal, social, political and ecological dimensions of ceramic objects across diverse geographies, temporalities and contexts. Students will be required to attend technical workshops and to also do studio work outside of class times.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Instructional Method: Studio
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Notes: Enrollment limited to 15. Registration priority is given to intended / declared art majors.
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Analyze and interpret texts, whether literary or philosophical, in English or a non-English language, or works of the visual or performing arts.
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a non-English language, or works of the visual or performing arts).