Vera Iliatova

This course is an introduction to figure drawing of live male and female models, using a variety of drawing materials, techniques, and artistic approaches. The purpose of the course is to help students obtain the basic skill of drawing the human form, including: anatomy; observation of the human form; and fundamental exercises in gesture, contour, outline, and tonal modeling. In the shorter drawings, students will explore the fundamentals of drawing, such as measurement, mark-making, value structure, and composition. Observational drawing will be used as a point of departure to examine various strategies to construct a visual world. Students will proceed to develop technical and conceptual skills that are crucial to the drawing process. The work will fluctuate between specific in-class and homework assignments. In-class drawing assignments will be supplemented by keynote presentations, video screenings, selected readings, and group critiques.

This course is an opening foray into the possibilities of painterly printmaking and experimental processes that merge printmaking with painting and drawing. Students will investigate a wide range of possibilities offered by monoprint techniques and will experiment with inks and paints, stencils, multiple plates, and images altered in sequence. The course will also cover fundamentals such as basic drawing and color mixing. As a means to explore an individual idea, students will begin to develop a method to investigate meaning, or content, through the techniques of painterly printmaking. There will be an examination of various strategies that fluctuate between specific in-class assignments and individual studio work. In-class assignments will be supplemented with PowerPoint presentations, reading materials, film clips and video screenings, group critiques, homework projects, and visits to artist studios.

This course is designed to introduce students to a range of relief printing techniques while also assisting students in developing their own visual imagery through the language of printmaking. Students will work with linoleum and woodblock materials. Students will develop drawing skills through the printmaking medium and experiment with value structure, composition, mark making, and interaction of color. Students will explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using printing equipment, printing an edition, critically discussing one’s work, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented by technical demonstrations, critiques, field trips, and keynote presentations.

This interdisciplinary studio course is intended for advanced visual-arts students to transition their art making from an assignment-based approach to individual studio practice. The course will support students working in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, video, performance. and new-genres art forms. Students will maintain their own studio spaces and will be expected to work independently and creatively and to challenge themselves and their peers to explore new ways of thinking and making. In addition to weekly critiques, we will discuss how formal aspects and expressive strategies of art making in the 20th and 21st centuries are considered and evaluated in their social and political contexts. Relationships of past art to the development of contemporary art will be addressed. We will also examine how traditional mediiums of painting and drawing relates to more contemporary mediums such as film, photography, video, and performance. During the fall semester, students will be given open-ended prompts from which they will be asked to experiment with how they make work and will be encouraged to work across mediums.The class will feature image presentations, readings, group discussions, studio critiques and trips to artist’s studios, and participation with the Visual Arts Lecture Series. This will be an immersive studio course for disciplined art students interested in making art in an interdisciplinary environment.

This course is intended for advanced visual-arts students interested in pursuing their own art-making processes more fully. Students making work in painting, drawing, sculpture, video, mixed media, performance, etc. are supported. Students will maintain their own studio spaces and will be expected to work independently and creatively and to challenge themselves and their peers to explore new ways of thinking and making. In the fall semester, students will be given open-ended prompts from which they will be asked to experiment with how they make work and will be encouraged to work across mediums. The fall semester portion of the course will serve as a preparation for the spring semester, when students will focus exclusively on their own interests and will be expected to develop a sophisticated, cohesive body of independent work accompanied by an artist’s statement and exhibition. We will have regular critiques, readings, image discussions, and trips to artist studios and will participate integrally with the Visual Arts Lecture Series. This will be an immersive studio course for disciplined art students interested in making art in an interdisciplinary environment.

This course is designed for students to develop an individual body of work and studio practice through printmaking. Each semester, there will be an in-depth focus on two techniques, including both traditional and digital approaches. Students will use printmaking as a means to develop strategies and thought processes that expand approaches to making art in an individual studio practice. We will discuss the possibilities of the printmaking medium in the context of contemporary art. Technical demonstrations will be given throughout the semester in addition to group and individual critiques, slide lectures, discussions of reading materials, and museum visits.

To look at a place closely, to spend time with it while drawing or painting it is, in a sense, to own it. In this course, students explore their own sense of place in the different locations around Sarah Lawrence College. Students will travel to various destinations to collect source materials, such as drawings, photographs, written notes, and painting sketches; they will work on larger and more complex drawings and paintings in the studio. Through quick studies and finished paintings, students will observe and create an intimate relationship with their chosen landscape motifs. Throughout the semester, students will work both large and small, both quickly and slowly. Some paintings will take a few minutes, and some will take several days. The course emphasizes fundamentals of drawing and painting, as well as the formal, cultural, and political connotations that a landscape genre can contain. The course is supplemented with keynote presentations, class critiques, and field trips.

The purpose of this course—an introduction to figure drawing from live male and female models, using a variety of drawing materials, techniques, and artistic approaches—is to help students obtain the basic skill of drawing the human form, including anatomy; observation of the human form; and fundamental exercises in gesture, contour, outline, and tonal modeling. In shorter drawings, students will explore the fundamentals of drawing, such as measurement, mark making, value structure, and composition. Students will be encouraged to investigate formal and psychological possibilities in the genre of figure drawing.

To look at a place closely—to spend time with it while painting it—is, in a sense, to own it. In this course, students explore their own sense of place in different locations. Students will travel to various destinations to collect source materials—such as drawings, photographs, written notes, and painted sketches—and will work on larger and more complex paintings in the studio. Through quick studies and finished paintings, students will observe and create an intimate relationship with their chosen motifs. Throughout the semester, students will work both large and small, both quickly and slowly. Some paintings will take a few minutes, and some will take several days. The course emphasizes fundamentals of painting, as well as the formal, cultural, and political connotations that a landscape genre may contain. The course is supplemented with keynote presentations, class critiques, and studio visits.

Taking inspiration from the history of art, literature, and cinema, students will be introduced to a variety of approaches on how to construct narratives in the language of contemporary painting. What is narrative, and can it be expressed abstractly as well as literally? How can color, value, and mark-making be used in painting to create a narrative progression and a passage of time? Students will explore various narrative themes, sourcing from autobiography, political events, literature, films, mediated images, and other personally relevant content. Observational painting will be used as a point of departure to examine various strategies to construct a visual world. Students will proceed to develop technical and conceptual skills that are crucial to the painting process. The work will fluctuate between in-class projects and homework assignments. The curriculum will be supplemented with PowerPoint presentations, film screenings, selected readings, field trips, and group critiques.

This course is designed to introduce students to a range of printmaking techniques while also assisting them in developing personal visual imagery through the language of printmaking. Throughout the semester, students will practice monotype, relief, and intaglio techniques. Students will explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using a print shop, printing an edition, participating in critical discussions about an artwork, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented with technical demonstrations, critiques, field trips, and slide lectures.

Taking inspiration from the history of art, literature, and cinema, students will be introduced to a variety of approaches on how to construct narratives in the language of contemporary painting. What is narrative, and can it be expressed abstractly as well as literally? How can color, value, and mark-making be used in painting to create a narrative progression and a passage of time? Students will explore various narrative themes, sourcing from autobiography, political events, literature, films, mediated images, and other personally relevant content. Observational painting will be used as a point of departure to examine various strategies to construct a visual world. Students will proceed to develop technical and conceptual skills that are crucial to the painting process. The work will fluctuate between in-class projects and homework assignments. The curriculum will be supplemented with Power Point® presentations, film screenings, selected readings, field trips, and group critiques.

This course is an opening foray into the possibilities of painterly printmaking and experimental processes that merge printmaking with painting and drawing. The course will also cover fundamentals such as basic drawing and color mixing. As a means to explore an individual idea, students will investigate a wide range of possibilities offered by monoprint techniques and will experiment with inks and paints, stencils, multiple plates, and images altered in sequence. Students will begin to develop a method to investigate meaning, or content, through the techniques of painterly printmaking. There will be an examination of various strategies that fluctuate between specific in-class assignments and individual studio work. In-class assignments will be supplemented with PowerPoint presentations, reading materials, film clips and video screenings, group critiques, homework projects, and visits to artist studios.

This course is an opening foray into the possibilities of monotype and relief printmaking and the experimental processes that merge printmaking with painting and drawing. Students will develop a method to investigate meaning, or content, through the techniques of printmaking. The focus this semester will be on monotype and relief printmaking but will also cover fundamentals of design, such as mark-making, value structure, composition, and interaction of color. As means to explore their individual idea, students will investigate a wide range of possibilities offered by monotype techniques and will experiment with inks and paints, stencils, multiple plates, and images altered in sequence. For the relief portion of the course, students will work with linoleum and woodblock materials to create editions of relief prints. Once familiar with both techniques, students will be encouraged to combine them to create unique painterly prints. Students will also explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using printing equipment, printing an edition, critically discussing one’s work, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented by technical demonstrations, critiques, visiting artists, and slide lectures.

To look at a place closely—to spend time with it while drawing or painting it—is, in a sense, to own it. In this course, students explore their own sense of place in different locations that include both interiors and landscapes. Students will travel to various destinations to collect source materials—such as drawings, photographs, written notes, and painting sketches—and then work on larger and more complex drawings and paintings in the studio. Through quick studies and finished paintings, students will observe and create an intimate relationship with their chosen landscape motifs. Throughout the semester, students will work both large and small, both quickly and slowly. Some paintings will take a few minutes, and some will take several days. The course emphasizes fundamentals of drawing and painting, as well as the formal, cultural, and political connotations that a landscape genre can contain. The course is supplemented with keynote presentations, class critiques, and field trips

Taking inspiration from art history, literature, and cinema, students will be introduced to a variety of approaches on how to construct narratives in the language of contemporary painting. What is narrative, and can it be expressed abstractly as well as literally? How can color, value, and mark-making be used in painting to create a narrative progression and a passage of time? Students will explore various narrative themes, sourcing from autobiography, political events, literature, films, mediated images, and other personally relevant content. Observational painting will be used as a point of departure to examine various strategies in order to construct a visual world. Students will proceed to develop technical and conceptual skills that are crucial to the painting process. The work will fluctuate between in-class projects and homework assignments. The curriculum will be supplemented with PowerPoint presentations, film screenings, selected readings, field trips, and group critiques.

This course is designed to introduce students to a range of intaglio techniques while also assisting students in developing their own visual imagery through the language of printmaking. Throughout the semester, students will practice dry point, etching, aquatint, soft-ground, and sugar-lift techniques. Students will explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using a print shop, printing an edition, talking critically about one’s work, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented with technical demonstrations, critiques, field trips, and keynote presentations.

This course is designed to introduce students to a range of intaglio techniques while assisting them in developing their own visual imagery through the language of printmaking. Throughout the semester, students will practice dry point, etching, aquatint, soft ground, and sugar lift techniques. Students will explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using a print shop, printing an edition, talking critically about one’s work, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented with technical demonstrations, critiques, field trips, and slide lectures.

This course is an opening foray into the possibilities of painterly printmaking and experimental processes that merge printmaking with painting and drawing. The course will also cover fundamentals such as basic drawing and color mixing. As a means to explore their individual ideas, students will investigate a wide range of possibilities offered by monoprint techniques and will experiment with inks and paints, stencils, multiple plates, and images altered in sequence. Students will begin to develop a method to investigate meaning, or content, through the techniques of painterly printmaking. There will be an examination of various strategies that fluctuate between specific in-class assignments and individual studio work.

This course is designed to introduce students to a range of relief printing techniques while assisting students in developing their own visual imagery through the language of printmaking. Students will work with linoleum and woodblock materials. Students will develop drawing skills through the printmaking medium and experiment with value structure, composition, mark making, and interaction of color. Students will explore the history of printmaking media, the evolution of subject matter and technique, and the relationship of graphic arts to the methods of mechanical reproduction. Course objectives will include becoming familiar with using printing equipment, printing an edition, critically discussing one’s work, and developing a process of visual storytelling. The course will be supplemented with technical demonstrations, critiques, field trips, and slide lectures.