Kaylee Rae Wyant

In this course students will focus interests and refine their skills to create strong, portfolio-quality work. This advanced course is intended for students with previous drawing and/or painting experience who are ready to experiment, take risks, and push their skills to the next level. The organization of ideas and development of self-directed work is emphasized with instructor guidance and peer support. Students explore contemporary artistic practices through interdisciplinary approaches that cultivate material exploration, image making strategies, and traditional and non-traditional drawing and painting techniques. Lead by their individual projects and goals, students may choose to work in a variety of media, such as water-based paint, oil paint, ink, pencil, charcoal, collage, or a combination of media. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, contemporary artist presentations, group critiques, daily writing exercises, and class discussions supplement the studio experience.

*NOTE* Painting and/or drawing experience and ability to work independent of specific assignments required. Students are encouraged to bring their own digital camera, tablet, and/or laptop for homework/research and after-studio hours projects. Note: Figure Drawing, Figure Painting, Painting, and Drawing courses may use nude models hired by the School. Other classes may use them to a lesser degree.

Focus your interests, refine your skills, and learn to create a compelling and personally meaningful body of work. In-class exercises and individual painting assignments will act as the catalyst for you to discover your point of view through painting. You¿ll learn to communicate your vision and receive feedback and support from your instructor and peers in one-on-one meetings, group critiques, and discussions. You may work in the painting media (acrylic, oils, tempera, watercolor) of your choosing. Prior painting is helpful but not necessary. Introductory painting skills will not be addressed in this course.

This class is designed for students with prior drawing experience interested in investigating new subjects and themes while developing technical and conceptual skills through experimentation with a variety of methods and materials. Creative exploration will include exercises addressing scale, mixed-media processes, drawing formats, and series. Individual and group critique and discussions will support each student's personal direction. Prerequisite(s): Introduction to Drawing or equivalent experience.

Painting Practice is an introductory painting course offering. The curriculum addresses basic skills as related to a painting studio practice. Topics and curricular goals include material, facility and technique, space and color, as well as concept. This course is a prerequisite for all Multi-level Painting, Figure Painting and Advanced Painting Studio classes.

This drawing studio serves as a broad introduction to historical and contemporary drawing practices. This course presents drawing as an organizer of thought, experience, and image.

Students will investigate a full range of drawing materials and supports. Lectures and exercises introduce various concepts of drawing, possibly including illusionistic form and space, gesture and expressive mark-making, or collage and found imagery, depending on the instructor?s emphasis.

Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students can explore various creative strategies through technical drawing exercises, material explorations, and individual projects. Structured classroom critiques will bring drawing concepts into personal student work.

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision.

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.