ARTS 2346 - Ceramics I

This studio course is an introduction to art using the clay medium.  Sculptural approaches to clay (slab, pinch, coil, wheel) as well as surface treatment will be investigated. Glaze making and kiln technology will be introduced.  Core Curriculum Course.  3 credit (2 lecture, 4 lab).

None. Recommended, but not required, are Design I or II.

Course Purpose 

This course provides an introduction to the tools, techniques, and vocabulary of clay as an art medium.  The emphasis is on problem solving in clay as investigated through traditional and non-traditional techniques.  This course will examine the interdependence of medium and image.

Core Competencies

This course fulfills the following core intellectual competencies:  reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking and computer literacy.  A variety of teaching and testing methods are used to assess these competencies.

Please contact the Fine Arts office at the HCCS campus near you.

Central Campus		713-718-6600		(Gladys Bel, Michael Golden, Serge Kovalchuk)
Northeast, Northline Center		713-718-8089		(Darryl Lauster)
Northwest, Town & Country		713-718-5674		(Stan Kaminski, David Swaim)
Southeast, Eastside		713-718-7203		(Michael Cherry, June Woest)
Southwest, Stafford		713-718-7700		(Cynthia Millis, Pat Porcynaluk)

Requried: None
Optional: Nelson, Ceramics and Berensohn, Hands in Clay

This course meets for 6 hours each week in a 2 hour lecture and 4 hour lab format.
Students can expect to incure the cost of their own art supplies, approximating $100.00.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate Disability Support Service Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office.

The HCCS policy on scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion:

1.  Cheating on a test includes:

• Copying from another student's test paper; using during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test;
• Collaborating with another student during a test without authority;
• Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an unadministered test;
• Bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be administered.

2.  Plagiarism means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work offered for credit.

3.  Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit.

Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may include a grade of 0 or F on the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System.

Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Students are responsible for course content covered during their absences, and it is the student's responsibility to consult with instructors for make-up assignments.  A student may be dropped from a course for excessive absences after the student has accumulated absences in excess of 12.5% of the hours of instruction (including lecture and laboratory time).

While each faculty member may weight the exams, assignments, and projects independently, the Fine Arts faculty, in general, adhere to the overall HCCS grade policy:

The grade of "I" (incomplete) is conditional. A student receiving an "I" must arrange with the instructor to complete the course work within six months of the end of the incomplete term.  After the deadline, the "I" becomes an "F."  All "I"s must be changed to grades prior to graduation.

Drop or Withdrawal Policies

A student may drop a course or withdraw from the college by following the procedure outlined by the Campust Director.  Should circumstances prevent a student from appearing in person to withdraw, withdrawal may be complete by writing to the Registrar's Office.  A drop or withdrawal request will not be accepted by telephone.  A student who ceases to attend a class without officially dropping or without withdrawing, will be given a grade of "F" for non-attendance.  A semester-hour student who fails to attend classes by the twelfth class day of a regular term will be administratively withdrawn from the class roll.  Students who officially withdraw from a course during the first twelve days of a regular semester will not received a grade and the course will not appear in their permanent records.  Students withdrawing from a course after this period and prior to the deadline designated in the college calendar will receive a "W".  A student may not withdraw from a course during the last two weeks prior to the final examination period.

ARTS 2346- Ceramics I

Objectives and Requirements

By the end of the semester, the student who passes with a final grade of "C" or above will have demonstrated the ability to:

• Complete and comprehend the objectives of all graded assignments 
• Attend class regularly, missing no more than 12.5% of instruction (12 hours)
• Arrive at class promptly and with the required supplies for that dayÕs session
• Participate in the shared responsibilities for studio clean-up
• Exhibit safe studio habits 
• Be prepared for and participate in class critiques
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate orally in clear, coherent, and persuasive language
• Demonstrate the ability to use computer-based technology in communicating, solving problems, and acquiring information 
• Complete a minimum of 1000 words in a combination of writing assignments and/or projects
• Demonstrate the ability to present works of exhibition quality 
• Build a clay form using the pinch technique
• Build a clay form using the coil technique
• Build a clay form using the slab technique
• Build a clay form using the wheel-throwing technique
• Build a clay form using a combination of wheel-throwing and hand-building technique
• Explore a variety of slip application techniques
• Explore a variety of glazes and application 
• Explore a variety of surfaces: low-fired, raku-fired, smoked, and painted 
• Assist in loading and unloading a kiln

The student will meet the expectations of each faculty member's independent policy on late work and make-up exams.

ARTS 2346- Ceramics I

Description of Course Content

Ceramics I is a course which uses clay to introduce art-making to beginning students.  Students will learn the basics of various clay building techniques:  coil,  wheel, slab, pinch, extrusion, etc.  They will experiment with various surfaces that might include glaze, slip, paint, smoke, etc.  The communication of individual and original ideas will be emphasized.  Class time may include lecture, demonstration, slide presentation, field trips, and assigned project studio time.  Students will learn many important aspects of working with clay: glaze mixing, kiln loading, and safe use of ceramic materials.  This work of processing the clay pieces will be shared equally by students.

Sample Weekly Calendar

Week &  Material to be covered

1. Orientation, materials list, grading policies, syllabus; introduce project 1

2. Studio work

3. Studio work

4. Critique project 1; introduce project 2

5. Studio work

6. Studio work

7. Critique project 3; introduce project #4

8. Studio work

9. Studio work

10. Critique project 3; introduce project 4

11. Studio work

12. Studio work

13. Critique project 4; introduction project 5

14. Student show preparation; studio work

15. Studio work

16. Final critique and comprehensive clean up

Student exhibits, faculty exhibits, visiting artists, visiting scholars, student scholarships, and student organizations are part of all HCCS Fine Arts departments.  Please contact the Fine Arts office at the HCCS campus near you for more information.

Central Campus		713-718-6600		(Gladys Bel, Michael Golden, Serge Kovalchuk)
Northeast, Northline Center		713-718-8089		(Darryl Lauster)
Northwest, Town & Country		713-718-5674		(Stan Kaminski, David Swaim)
Southeast, Eastside		713-718-7203		(Michael Cherry, June Woest)
Southwest, Stafford		713-718-7700		(Cynthia Millis, Pat Porcynaluk)