Amy Pryor

Sophomore and Above, Studio—Spring

ARTS 3208

This course will explore traditional intaglio printmaking techniques, as well as contemporary and advanced applications. Originating in the 15th century with the engravings of Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer, intaglio techniques continue to evolve today. Intaglio is a method of printing in which ink is forced into ink-holding recesses on a plate, the surface wiped clean and run through an etching press to transfer the image. Non-acid and acid techniques can be applied to create an image. Techniques explored in this course will include dry point, embossing, machine engraving, hard-ground, soft-ground, aquatint, sugar-lift, open bite, and masking. Students will practice plate preparation, ink mixing, wiping, paper preparation, damp-packing, registration, multi-plate printing, and chine collé to produce consistent multiples. Requirements will include creating a portfolio of editioned prints, participation in group critiques, readings, and a site visit to a museum or print publisher. Artist’s work examined in this course will include: Baeza, Barney, Bearden, Bourgeois, C. Brown, Cassatt, Cutler, Dix, Doig, Dunham, Dürer, Eisenman, Gallagher, Goya, Picasso, Schutz, K. Smith, and Van Rijn.

Faculty

Amy Pryor

Open, Studio—Fall

ARTS 3201

This course will explore the fundamentals of printmaking. Students will engage with both traditional print technologies from relief, intaglio, and lithography to newer techniques like silkscreen, stencil, and digital applications. Students will gain an appreciation for the history of printmaking and its relationship to mediation, translation, and reproduction. Concepts and practices such as accumulation, appropriation, cutting, layering, mapping, masking, repetition, registration, sequence, and seriality will be covered. Experimentation and collaboration will be encouraged throughout the semester. Students will be required to create a portfolio of work that demonstrates a basic understanding of techniques learned in the course, make a notebook for recording technical information, ideas and experiments, and engage in group critiques. While primarily a studio-based class, the course will incorporate lectures, readings, and an off-site visit to a print collection.

Faculty

Amy Pryor

Open, Concept—Spring

ARTS 3211

This course will explore the principles of color theory through the material and conceptual practice of quilt making. Through hands-on textile projects, foundational quilt making techniques, including fabric selection, cutting, piecing, hand and machine sewing, will be introduced alongside investigations into color interaction, perception, composition, and meaning. Drawing on writings and theories of Isaac Newton, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Itten, and Josef Albers, the course will examine color as both a physical phenomenon and a visual language. Readings and discussions will connect historical color theory to the work of textile artists and quiltmakers, including Anni Albers, the Gee's Bend Quilters, Nancy Crow, Rosie Lee Tompkins, Faith Ringgold, Bisa Butler, Yvonne Wells, and Sheila Hicks. Particular attention will be given to the ways color operates within textile traditions, contemporary fiber art, abstraction, improvisation, and visual storytelling. Studio exercises will focus on value, contrast, color harmony, color relativity, optical effects, and spatial relationships. Quilt making will serve as a framework for exploring how color functions across disciplines and cultures, while encouraging experimentation with pattern, structure, and materiality. Critiques, readings, and artist case studies will support the development of a deeper understanding of color as an expressive and communicative element in visual art. By the end of the semester, students will have a working knowledge of fundamental color theory and basic patchwork techniques, as well as a series of textile studies that integrate technical skill, visual inquiry, and creative experimentation.

Faculty

Amy Pryor