Susan Ziegler

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.

In this course, we will explore the powerful impact of color in the visual arts. Students will investigate color theory through a series of problems and experimental projects. We will consider questions of individual perception, cultural significance, symbolism, and emotional expression. The class will collectively analyze the use of color by visual artists working in a broad range of disciplines. Students will complete a series of individual and collaborative studio projects, using cut paper, collage, paint, and found materials. Related readings, short videos, and slideshows will be assigned throughout the semester.

This course will be 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 gallery visits.

This course will explore both hand-drawn and digital methods of silkscreen printmaking. Techniques studied will include stencil, photo-emulsion, monoprint, multistep reduction, and multicolor printing. Students will engage with the expansive artistic possibilities of variation, repetition, and printing editions on paper and textiles. Students will be encouraged to engage with the medium experimentally and combine techniques as they develop individual projects. In addition to class assignments and personal studio work, we will further consider the medium through slideshows, videos, and gallery visits.