Course Title: Art 150 Sculpture I
Term: Fall and Spring

Course Description (Catalog) 

Major, Minor, Elective credit. Prerequisites: ART 112 or permission of instructor. An introduction to the discipline of sculpture. Study and experimentation with traditional and contemporary concepts of form. Lectures, demonstrations, and assigned studio problems familiarize the student with the properties of structure and the nature of materials and forming processes. Priority will be given to majors. Lab fee. 

 

Course Objectives

1. Students will be introduced to basic mold making, and metal / wood fabrication.

2. Students will be introduced to material’s ability to support their concepts.

3. Students will be introduced to the terminology of basic fabrication in sculpture.

4. Students will be introduced to historical & contemporary sculptors 

 

Course Outcomes

 1. Students will have the aptitude to integrate sculptural processes into 3 projects.

 2. Students will critique / journal about the craft and concept of each project.

 3. Students will acquire a sculptural vocabulary enhancing technical communication. 

 4. Students will be able to reference historical and contemporary sculptors as it 

 relates to their sculpture projects.

 

Final Digital Portfolio

All art and design students are required to establish and maintain a Digital Portfolio in which all artwork created during your time at Converse is documented. Documentation techniques will be covered in the class and students are expected to document all projects created in the course. The work and portfolio will be reviewed and graded for accuracy and quality.

 

Skill Building Exercises

• Exercise 1: Students will explore the studios, safety in the studios, then experiment with 16-gauge aluminum wire, tape and wood blocks to create a small human figure on a stand. Wire form video shown.

• Exercise 2: Students will sketch ideas then resize them and draw them on craft paper. Afterward, they will tape over their lines with string which is used to measure the length of the steel rod.

• Exercise 3: Demonstration of how to bend the rods (using leverage and rod length to their advantage (so they don’t have to bend super-short pieces). Demonstration regarding creating 3-D forms and how to add volume for “skinning” their work later. Students will start with 5’ rod and cut the rods with bolt cutters according to the various lengths of the components of their drawing replacing the string with pieces of steel rod, basically creating a line drawing with rods.

• Exercise 4: Students will be present for individual instruction that teach them to weld, particular emphasis on welding safety, helmets and clothing, and how to assemble projects by oneself or using a partner to help. Students will create a base for their project if needed.

• Exercise 5: PowerPoint of Dolls/Andromorphic beings. Students will discuss their individual ideas, then gather their materials (some students may create a metal rod armature, some may create a cloth rag-doll, many will use air-dry clay, etc.). Demonstrate creation of and investing materials in plaster and silicone molds. Students will learn about joining techniques. Students will practice sewing including threading and use of the sewing machine and be introduced to small crafting skills such as hand stitching. Many students use air-dry clay for the body parts and depending upon their project, they are also encouraged to think about how the doll will be displayed (for instance, doll-stands, houses, frames, etc.), which introduces the concept of bases.

• Exercise 6: Students will be shown a PowerPoint with examples of multiples which include everything from miniatures to extensive installations. Students will sketch out ideas and gather materials as per content. Mold-making is encouraged. Students are introduced installations and forms of mold-making so they will have experience with the creation of both large work and small intense work, and work that combines both. With Multiples, the student can use any medium as long as it is repeated several times. We have had students create everything from hundreds of origami pieces to ambitious six-foot metal sculptures. 

• Exercise 7: Students will go on a field trip to a local soapstone cropping and gather soapstone.

• Exercise 8. Students will be shown a PowerPoint with examples of ancient and present-day carvings and then guest artist, Matthew McPhail shows examples and instructs students how to begin the bowls with basic chisel and hammer, later he progresses to air-powered tools to remove the material from the soapstone. The final stage is polishing with sandpaper, rags and paste wax. A heat gun opens the pores of the soapstone so it will more readily absorb the wax.

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Course Projects

Project 1: Metal Rod Project

Objective: Students will create a metal rod sculpture roughly 3’ in diameter (depending upon the idea) and create a base if needed. Students will learn to transfer their idea onto paper, measure and cut rods, use welding tools including mig welder, plasma cutter, grinders, bending tools, and bolt cutters. Students will learn sculpture room safety as it applies to welding techniques. 

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Materials: craft paper, string, tape, 5’steel rods, bending tools, vise, mig welder (and all safety equipment that is employed when welding, such as helmets, jackets, proper clothing, etc.), grinders, plasma cutter, and then materials as it applies to personal content (scrap metal pieces, decorative materials found and created).

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Procedure: PowerPoint of simple welded forms. Welding YouTube videos (2) that explore and explain basic welding techniques. Welding Basics for Beginners - Bing video  and Mig Welding with Barbie the Welder.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC9CdYJj4-Y

Demo transferring ideas onto paper, measuring rod with string, etc. Students will sketch ideas then transfer them to craft paper. Demonstration of how to bend the rods (using leverage and rod length to their advantage (so they don’t have to bend super-short pieces). Demonstration regarding creating 3-D forms and how to add volume for “skinning” their work. Individual instruction that teach students to weld, particularly welding safety, helmets and clothing, and how to assemble projects by oneself or using a partner to help. Demonstration and practice using the metal chop saw, plasma cutter for texturing and cutting. Demonstration and practice cutting metal and smoothing using torch, plasma cutter, cutting wheel and various wheels on grinder.