Printmaking Courses

Intro Printmaking: Line + Sequence

Course No. PRI 200  Credits: 3.0

Printmaking grows out of an experimental approach to image construction closely aligned to both the kinetic practice of drawing and the mechanical possibilities inherent in the crafting of a matrix for reproduction. Students participating in this course will interrogate what defines a “print,” using line and sequence as the visual language allowing introspection and clarification of ideological concepts. Course exploration includes intaglio and relief processes, an introduction to the history of the field, printing of a matrix supporting discoveries of the limited edition and narrative aspects of multiple impressions. The body of work students produce in this course will be informed by the history of printmaking, the critical dialogue surrounding contemporary art and print media in particular, and should reveal student’s development of skill and sensitivity to the printed impression quality, visually articulating the individual’s aesthetic voice. Open to all students as an introductory level course. Encouraged for sophomores and juniors with a drawing emphasis as an elective studio. Required for sophomore Printmaking majors. Offered fall.

Intro Printmaking: Color + Form

Course No. PRI 201  Credits: 3.0
Faculty Maggie Denk-Leigh | Stevie Tanner

Drawing connects art and design; it is the oldest of all arts. This course will provide students a thorough introduction to the printmaking processes of lithography, silkscreen, and monoprint techniques. Students will be required to investigate color and form to generate multiple and unique impressions. Layering, color relationships, and principles of design serves as a starting point for image construction leading students to discoveries of complex solutions. While addressing conceptual and technical challenges related to printmaking, students will develop a body of work relative to the covered topics. Matrices will be built through drawing, painting, stencil making and toner transfers. These various methods will be investigated as both singular process prints as well as elements in multi-layered works. Required for all sophomore Print majors. Open elective for all students above the freshman level. Offered spring.

Artist's Book Now: Artist's Book as Image

Course No. PRI 231-331-431  Credits: 3.0
Faculty Kyle Holland

This studio course focuses on boundaries of book form, emphasis on image and concept, and selection of appropriate form (output) to content. Students will be encouraged to view the book as a conceptual space. Deeper development of sequencing and narrative in traditional and nontraditional formats. Forms covered on individual project basis as dictated by idea/concept for appropriate output/manifestation. Considerations include sculptural, installation, digital output, etc. Examples and contemporary developments regarding the evolution of the artist book are examined through texts, through the use of our library's artist book collection, in discussion, and during critiques. Notes: This course is open to all, and fulfills an introductory, intermediate and advanced level elective course.

Artist's Book: Narrative + Form

Course No. PRI 232-332-432  Credits: 3.0
Faculty Kyle Holland

This course is for students interested in producing sequentially developed imagery via linear book structures. Historical examples and contemporary developments regarding the evolution of the artist book are examined through texts, through the use of our library’s artist book collection, in discussion, and during critiques. Due to technological advancements over the last century artists now have a variety of media with which to explore output of book projects. The class will expose students to the nature and potential of different book structures as well as a variety of materials. The course will heighten the student’s ability to utilize the interaction of sequenced content—the act of turning pages—to express the continuity of an idea flowing through a continuum. Students realize the potential of narrative, sequence, and pacing, together with the importance of combining word and image. Open elective. One semester required for Printmaking majors for graduation.

Propaganda: Media, Dissemination, Technique

Course No. PRI 240-340-440  Credits: 3.0

From punk bands to political rallies, different techniques have been used to create attention- grabbing graphics. Through a variety of projects in this course, students will explore a range of techniques including approaches to screen-printing from simple stencil making methods; direct drawing on the screens; to a variety of ways to use photo emulsion, including the integration of digital imaging software. The emphasis of this class is the development of rich personal imagery and the relationship of form working with content to effectively communicate ideas. This course is for students from all levels and majors. Notes: open elective. Encouraged for juniors and seniors as an elective Studio. Required for senior Printmaking majors. Fulfills Engaged Practice requirement.

Screenprinting

Course No. PRI 270-370-470  Credits: 3.0

Students will investigate surface, mark, and materiality from both a technical and conceptual point of view. The silkscreen can accept a wide variety of printing substances (pigments, inks, dyes, mud, talc, honey, etcetera...), and can be applied to an equally diverse range of surfaces. Lectures, readings, and critiques will help students understand the historical role of screenprint and how it relates to their own work. Open elective for all students above the freshman level.

Expanded Print: New Imaging

Course No. PRI 276-376-476  Credits: 3.0

This intermediate/advanced studio course offers an exploration in printmaking, considering the digital matrix for computer aided and hand pulled prints through processes redefined in the digital age, scrutinizing decisions for information in and information out, and the relationship to those decisions. Students will be challenged to work in the territory of digital media in relationship to and combination with traditional print medium. Students have the opportunity to create files for output which are hand drawn, digitally generated, of a photographic nature, or a combination of all three. Topics include; transfer methods, digital production of plates, color management for a wide-format digital printer, photolithography and exploration of media choices to project ideas. Technical and critical discussion in this course will be informed by the presentation of processes that have been developed over the past few decades, and how these developments relate and affect print culture today. Open elective. Encouraged for juniors and seniors as an elective studio. Required for junior Printmaking majors.

The Liberated Print: Investigation of Alternative Methods

Course No. PRI 277-377-477  Credits: 3.0

This course creates a context for students to negotiate the challenging and complex issues embedded in the making of contemporary printed images. Projects and techniques complement and extend methods of traditional processes, allowing students room to invent, arrange, analyze and create connections through more immediate printmaking methods to their major fields of study. This class will concentrate on the intuitive, spontaneous and fluid approaches in printmaking such as; monoprint, collagraph, transfer drawing, Xerox litho, and wood intaglio, instigating the dialog between the limited edition vs. singular print, and the original vs. a copy. We will consider formats that bridge other disciplines working with color, installation and three-dimensional/sculptural constructions with considerations to work on paper. The course will offer experiences that provide the tools to understand print media within a contemporary framework. Open elective. Encouraged for juniors and seniors with a painting and drawing emphasis as an elective studio. Required for junior Printmaking Majors. Fulfills Engaged Practice requirement.