SYLLABUS

PAPR 621 C93

Drawing and Mixed Media 14576

Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies
Course blog: http://mixedmediastudiopractice.blogspot.com
Professor Amie Oliver

aoliver2_at_vcu.edu / http://amieoliver.net

Mixed Media and Drawing

This course emphasizes the role of drawing and experimentation in developing a body of artwork. Participants will begin their research with a warm up exercise which consists of a series of small mixed-media drawings that build a theme or motif relevant to their studio practice. Collage, assemblage, drawing on experimental grounds and painting on nontraditional surfaces often result from this process and can function as a springboard for work created during the course.

The curriculum will also consist of artist and media resources presented on-line, during field trips and interaction on the course blog Students should bring samples and/or digital images of their current work to the first class meeting, plan to be present at all scheduled critiques, be able to document their work digitially and have regular internet access to fully benefit from this course.

We will have 4 required class meetings and a field trip. Please visit www.amieoliver.net for more information regarding Oliver's artwork and teaching experience

COURSE OBJECTIVES

* Extend the possibilities of your expressing your art through focusing on mixed media in pursuit of form and subject matter.

* Maintain a visual journal / notebook that communicates your creative process, assignments, ideas and creative musings through drawing, collage, and water media experiments.

* Active participation in dialogue regarding your work and your peers’ work by participating in class critiques and discussion of course content, blog commentary, exploring blog links, field trips, etc.

* Creation of a series of completed works that expand upon the discoveries of the media exercises and demonstrate a stylistic consistency that evolves through your experimentation and focus on watermedia.

COURSE CALENDAR

Meeting 1: am/ Registration and full discussion of goals and expectations for the class. Review expectations, review curriculum links and initial warm up exercise which will be used as a catalyst for your larger body of work.

Meeting 2: Determine class calendar based on various demands of all institutions, course curriculum, etc. Bring your school meeting schedule!

Required Reading will consist of resources made available on blog and via email communications. It will be essential for you to respond to these resources in your notebook and on our blog. Each artist is required to attend and participate in the crits and blog commentary to fully benefit from this course. Please note: This course calendar is subject to change depending on weather conditions, unknown opportunities, availability of resources, etc!


REQUIRED FIELD TRIPS:
Gallery and Museum exhibitions will be noted on the course calendar posted on the blog. A few galleries of interest:

The Virginia Museum of Fine Art: Grove Ave
Main Art Gallery: Main and Lombardy Streets
Reynold's Gallery: near Main and Lombardy Streets
1708 Gallery: near Broad and Adams Streets
ADA Gallery: near Broad and Adams Streets
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond: Main and Allen Streets
Page Bond Gallery: near Main and Vine Streets

MEDIA EXERCISE
Each artist enrolled in the Drawing/ Mixed Media class is required complete the media exercise outlined below.

This warm up exercise outlined below is designed to be a spring board for your artistic goals, studio practice and classroom concepts. Experimentation and discovery are the primary to its success. I recommend that you start with materials that you know and focus on personal vision as it progresses.


ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Work submitted must be created expressly for this course. This includes artwork, responses to reading material, journal entries, etc. Please see the VCU honor code posted below.

Your final grade will be based on the following:

25% class participation (in crits, journal, blog, field trips, progress in the studio)
25% media series (small works created at beginning of course)
50% Final Portfolio / Body of Work
____________
100%

Please email me if you have any questions about the syllabus posted above or anytime you cannot be in class!

=====suggested supplies==========
charcoal, hard, soft, black, white, conte, vine
chalk pastels / oil sticks

sketchbook
spray bottle for water
water containers
sponge brushes (from Lowe's)
xacto knife/pencil sharpender
blades
tape
kneaded eraser
hard eraser
pencils (hard and soft)
india ink
brushes
gesso (small)
transparent medium (matt recommended)
water based paint such as acrylic or gouache
collage materials, lost and found stuff
old drawings to be ripped up of painted over
digital prints
water soluable colored pencils

glue stick

yes paste

NOT ALLOWED IN ANY GROUP / SHARED STUDIOS:

IMPORTANT NOTE: no studio we are working in professionally ventilated for the use of solvents or aerosols, fixatives or any type of toxic fumes.
NO RUBBER CEMENT
NO SPRAY FIXATIVES ALLOWED in CLASS or BEFORE CLASS!

You will receive a student discount when shopping locally in many Richmond and DC art supply shops such as the ones mentioned below. There are also a number of good mail order suppliers we can discuss in class.

I highly recommend Main Art Supply at Lombardy and Main
or Plaza Art.

NOTE: ACCESS TO COURSE CONTENT CAN BE CHALLENGING

Please note - some of you are listed with your school teaching address and YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE to access some of the content of the blog and/or blog links due to the filtering protocols used by most public school systems today. I recommend that you send me another email address - if you don't have another then please plan on setting up your vcu email ASAP which is required to receive your final grade, transcripts and access to blackboard. I recommend setting up an account with gmail since it is free and you won't have to worry about losing access to your content if you are not a continuous student. Please send me your preferred email address or new email IMMEDIATELY if you can't access the blog or its content!

	MEDIA EXERCISE Each artist enrolled in the Drawing / Mixed Media class is required complete the following exercise: Select a simple motif or theme to explore in a series of 24 media experiments. A simple motif such as leaves, hands, stones, fruit, tools, etc will free you from the decisions that content requires so you can focus exclusively on formal possibilities. You theme can be something small and specific (such as a shell or a pod) or broad and interpretive such as memory or history or classicism but you will be expected to explore this theme in 24 different media/combinations. Choose a consistent size to work in for the series: it can be as small as a postcard or as large as your folio or sketchbook will allow. You are required to vary your ground or support in 1/4 of this series if not more. Different supports might include: wood paper recycled newspaper upholstery cloth, plexiglass, etc. I recommend that you start with materials that you know and reference drawings and photographs that relate to the theme you have chosen. You might combine your theme with a conventional approach at first, examining how your motif (an apple, for instance) changes as it is interpreted in B/W media, color media, on a board with a red ground, on card board, etc... Select your theme before the second class meeting. Begin this process by bringing in your ideas, sketches, photographs, your motif and media! BEGIN...DIVE IN and remember to record the media you are using on the back of each experiment and number them chronologically. Please refer to the external links on the blog and on blackboard. You will find links to many artists' websites that may inspire you. This exercise is designed to be a spring board for your creative goals and studio work. Experimentation and discovery are the primary to its success. Feel free to combine conventional media with collage and experiment with resist, relief etc during the early stage of the media exercise until you determine which approach best suits your personal aesthetic and creative goals. Please refer to the external links to the right of the blog as you will find links to many artists' websites that may inspire you.

VCU POLICIES

INCLEMENT WEATHER

Off-Campus classes will not be held on the days when the school system you are working in has been closed all day or has been closed early because of inclement weather. You can check VCU's inclement weather policy at http://www.vcu.edu

Look for the inclement weather link at the bottom of the page.
You can check out the link below to see if the school system you are enrolled visiting for studio class is open or closed:
http://www.wric.com

HONOR ROLL POLICIES

• "Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Virginia Commonwealth University to provide an 'academic adjustment' and/or a 'reasonable accommodation' to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an academic adjustment or an accommodation, please arrange a meeting with me at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if your course work requires you to work in a lab environment, you should advise the instructor or department chairperson of any concerns you may have regarding safety issues related to your limitation(s).
• "All VCU students are presumed upon enrollment to have acquainted themselves with and have an understanding of the Honor System. Therefore, it is a student's responsibility to ask course instructors to clarify expectations for each assignment in order to be in compliance with the Honor System. The 2007 - 8 VCU Honor System policy statement and purpose is located at http://www.provost.vcu.edu/pdfs/Honor_system_policy.pdf "

VCU GRADES AND TRANSCRIPTS
VCU no longer mails grades to students. Students may access grades on the VCU website at www.vcu.edu and should:
*select Academics
*select Student Record Access
*follow the instructions for grades

Your student number is your social security number. A printout of your grades is the same as a grade report.

For a form to request an official transcript,
*select Academics
*select Enrollment Services Forms (bottom of page)
*select transcript