Syllabus Ceramics 1 ARTS 2346 Spring 2011 Instructor: Carol Schwartz Phone: 713.717.6600 Email: carol.schwartz@hccs.edu Office Hours: Before or after class, by appointment Class Time: Mondays, Wednesdays 6pm-9pm Course Description: All ceramics courses fulfill the fine arts requirement for the core curriculum. They also fulfill the following core intellectual competencies: reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, and computer literacy. Class time will include scheduled and impromptu field trips, slide lectures, demonstrations, time to work on projects, and critiques. Students will equally share the work of processing the clay pieces (including kiln loading and unloading) and daily maintenance of a clean safe studio. In addition, all students will take part in an end-of-the-semester studio clean up. Ceramics 1 students will be presented with information on ceramic/ art history, design aesthetics, and building/ decorating/ firing techniques—all of which will be described in lectures, slide presentations and demonstrations. Emphasis will be on form and surface experimentation, as well as development of personal expression. Student Learning Outcomes: Complete a minimum of 1000 words in writing assignments Demonstrate safe studio habits, materials handling, and equipment operation Build a clay form using the pinch technique Build a clay form using the coil technique Build a clay form using the slab technique Make forms on the potter’s wheel Participate in end of semester clean up Build a form using a combination of techniques Explore a variety of slip application techniques Explore a variety of glazes and application techniques Explore a variety of subject matter Explore a variety of styles (representational, abstract, non-representational) Demonstrate knowledge of the medium from art historical and cultural contexts Prepare one work for an exhibition and participate according to instructor or college. Grade Scale: 90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 0 - 59 A B C D F (complete project, excellent quality) (complete project, good quality) (complete project, fair quality) (complete project, but poor quality) (incomplete project) Late Work: All assignments must be complete by the beginning of class on the due date. Late assignments will be deducted one letter grade for each class period it is late. Attendance: HCC policy states that students who miss more than 12.5% of class time (more than 12 hours of this class) will be dropped. More than four absences will lower your final grade. Please speak to me as soon as possible if you have special circumstances that are affecting your attendance. Tardiness: Students arriving late, or leaving early, can miss important information and interfere with other students’ learning. For this reason, both late arrivals and early departures will be viewed as “tardies” and 3 tardies will be counted as 1 absence. Withdrawls: Be certain you understand HCCS policies about dropping a course. When considering withdrawal from a course, remember that: 1. No grade is given and your transcript reflects no record of the course if you withdraw before the Official Date of Record. 2. A “W” (indicating withdrawal) appears on your transcript if you drop a course after the Official date of record and before the final deadline. 3. The final deadline to drop a course is four weeks before fall or spring semester finals and one week before summer semester exams. 4. There are two ways to officially withdraw from a course: a. Complete an official withdrawal form available at any campus. b. Write a letter stating your request to withdraw to the Office of Student Records. 5. The effective date of your withdrawal is the postmarked date of your letter. Incompletes: An incomplete “I” will only be given in very special circumstances such as a major emergency at the end of the semester. Students with poor attendance will not be given an “I”. Failing Grades: Students with poor attendance and incomplete projects will probably receive an “F”. Students who are dependents on insurance plans, students with visas, or students receiving financial aid are expected to understand the consequences of receiving a “W”, “I”, or “F”. In some cases, such a grade could cause the loss of financial aid, insurance coverage, or change in student visa status. Please contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520, if you have any questions about your visa status and other transfer issues. Final Grade: potential 100 points 10 points/10% class participation Includes attendance, participating in critiques, student show participation, shared studio jobs, final clean-up, obeying texting and cell phone policy. An entire 3 hour class period will be dedicated to studio clean up at the end of the semester. Poor attendance , texting, talking on cell phones, leaving cell phones on will lower this grade. 10 points/10% final exam The exam will cover information given in handouts, lectures, and demonstrations. There is no make-up exam. 5 points/5% getting supplies Students must have required supplies by Sept 1 10 points/10% writing component Complete a minimum of 1000 words. 65 points/65% 4 art projects (each valued at 16.25 points/16.25%). Each project’s grade is based on: 1) idea development (4.06 points/ sketches and journal entries that show planning of each project). Failure to keep a current sketchbook will lower your project grade. 2) ambitiousness (4.06 points) 3) a well-designed form & surface (4.06 points) 4) craftsmanship (4.06 points) 5) glazing technique (4.06 points) College Policies: Course Repeating: Students who repeat a course three or more times now face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor/ counselor about opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal, or if you are not receiving passing grades. In the spring, repeating students who have no desire for semester credits can sign up for this course under “continuing education,” at the same cost as first-time ceramics students. Academic Dishonesty: 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: a. Copying from another student’s test paper; using during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test b. Collaborating with another student during a test without authorization c. Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an unadministered test d. 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. This is especially true of work taken from sources via the internet. 3. Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing 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 probabion or dismissal from the college system. Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office (Room 102 SJAC, or call 713-718-6164) at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by that office. Medical Insurance: Information regarding low-cost health insurance for students is available in the Fine Arts office. Such insurance covers both injury and illness, both on and off campus. Under Texas state statute, HCCS is immune to liability in the event of accident or injury. Academic Advising: Academic advisement concerning specific Fine Arts courses and degree plans for Art is available students during the academic semesters. Please sign up in the Fine Arts office, FAC 101, to speak to a full time instructor in your area of interest. Tutoring: Students are encouraged to take advantage of tutoring services offered by the English Dept located on the 3rd floor of the Fine Arts Center next to the English Office. Torors will assist writing assignments and are especially helpful for students when English is a second language. In addition, online tutoring is available 24/7 at www.askonline.net. Submissions are returned within 24 hours or less. Studio Policies Health Policies: The following policies are dictated by safety or health. They are very important and must be followed: 1) students must follow all safety rules 2) students are responsible for prompt cleaning of all their work areas 3) no food or drink in the studio 4) no children in studio or courtyard 5) Due to the toxic nature of some ceramic materials, the following groups should consult with the instructor before taking ceramics: a) persons with a chronic disease of lung, liver, etc. b) pregnant women c) women trying to conceive d) nursing mothers Open Studio: Like all college courses, work outside class time will be necessary. You will have access to the ceramics studio. See open studio hours page. Room Keys: To enter a locked studio, you need to present your key card to the fine arts office secretary. Please return the key immediately after unlocking the room. However, if you want to pick up or drop off the room key, you must get to the fine arts office 1/2 hour before the above closing times. See attachment: Use of Art Studios. There will be a $65 fee for lost or stolen keys. Studio Limitations: A college ceramic studio is meant to handle the volume of work typically done by beginning and intermediate students. In this studio, there will be a limited number of kiln firings per semester. When kiln space is limited, preference will be given to students who have had fewer pieces fired. Kilns and ceramic studio are reserved for: 1) students currently enrolled in Central College ceramics classes 2) other Central College Art students when their teacher arranges studio time for class projects 3) current Central College Art faculty These items are NOT allowed in our Central College ceramic studio: 1) clay that is not on the approved list 2) pieces that have been bisque-fired elsewhere (they can not go in our kilns) 3) slips, glazes, or overglazes that contain lead or cadmium. (Please show all commercially bought slips & glazes to your instructor—so he/she can help you check for the Non-toxic label and the proper firing cone.) Studio Lockers: If you use a locker, please give me the combination or an extra key. Broken pieces: Because ceramics is a fragile medium it is expected that some pieces might break during drying, loading, or firing. Please save the broken parts to show me. Oftentimes, they can be glued together. If you break someone’s piece, leave an apologetic note with your name signed. Cell Phones: I consider it extremely rude and disruptive when students use cell phones, send or receive text messages, or even wear headsets during class. Please turn off your cell phones, beepers, or any other electronic communication devices upon entering classroom and put them away. This means don’t even have your phone on vibrate. Turn it off. Do not take or send calls or text-message during class time. Do not wear cell phone headsets in the classroom or in the courtyard. Even if your phone is turned off, you are not allowed to wear your phone headset during class. Do not make phone calls or send text messages during end of class clean up. You will get a 15 minute break each class. You may make phone calls and send and receive text messages during the break, outside the classroom and courtyard. I do not want any interruptions between 1pm and 5pm. Students who do not comply with this policy will be asked to leave for the day and their final grade will be lowered. This means that if your phone even rings during class, you will be asked to leave. For emergencies, have people call 713-718-6600 and the office staff will bring you the message. Guests: You are welcome to bring adult guests to see your work during open studio hours. Your guests may not use the ceramics facilities to make anything. Animals: Please do not bring pets to the studio. Service animals, however, are allowed. Approved Clays SPRING 2011 HCC/Central Art Department The Art Department at Central College/HCCS has approved the following clays for use in our classes. None of these clays is low-fire. Low-fire clays (cone 06) can end up in a high fire kiln and create melt-downs. These clays are Talc-free. Talc is sometimes contaminated with asbestos (which is highly toxic and difficult to remove from a studio). Some talc companies use inadequate asbestos-testing techniques, so their safety claims are not always valid. Clays that are NOT on this list MUST be approved through your instructor BEFORE using. Note: if a clay can be fired to cone 10, it will be talc-free and can be used in our studio. Clay bags MUST be marked with your name, the clay name, and the cone number. Unmarked clay will be removed from the studio. Approved clays/Ceramic Store: cone 5 stoneware: cone 10 stoneware: cone 10 porcelain: Cinco Rojo (NOT Cinco Blanco) Buffalo Wallow Red Calico reddish @ cone 04, plum @ 9-10 Armstone Balcones Dark Balcones Balcones White Gruene Butter Dillo White B-mix 10 (NOT B-mix 5) brownish @ cone 9-10 reduction, coarse, good for thick pieces dark brown @ cone 9-10 reduction light brown @cone 9-10 reduction lighter than Balcones reddish @ cone 04, grey @ 9-10, coarser than Cinco Rojo reddish @ cone 04, plum @ 9-10, darker than Buffalo Wallow blend of Balcones & Dillo White, smooth white and smooth white and smooth Porcelain Windsor porcelain Southern Ice Toshi Porcelain Slip eggshell white, fair on the wheel, crack/warp resistant white in oxidation, off-white in reduction, translucent when thin a very white and translucent porcelain from New Zealand. smooth casting slip; Fires white in oxidation/ eggshell in reduction (NOT Laguna Porcelain Sip—a cone 5 “porcelain” casting slip which has Talc) Approved clays/Texas Art Supply: on Montrose near Fairview cone 10 stoneware: No. 1 Stoneware Clay ($21 for 25 lbs) Stoneware Special II ($21 for 25 lbs) [We do NOT recommend these clays because they are twice the cost of the Ceramics store, and frequently too hard. But the store is close to campus.] Other Approved Clays: recycled cone 9-10 clay from our studio recycling buckets Any clay you dig up yourself (must be tested first, to determine firing cone.) Cost of Approved Clays from the Ceramic Store for HCC/Central students SPRING 2011 Below are the approved clays from the Ceramic Store. Different clays can be combined into 1 order. It is always cheaper to buy in larger quantities. If 2 or more students buy clay together, using only 1 invoice, you can get this better rate. To pay, you can pool your cash, OR 1 person can write a check or use a credit card (with others reimbursing that person). _____ STONEWARE, CONE 5 25lb 50lb 100lb CINCO ROJO 12.50 (.50) BUFFALO WALLOW “ RED CALICO (WC881) ………. “ 22.50 (.45) “ “ 37.00 (.37) “ 40.00 (.40) STONEWARE, CONE 10 25lb 50lb 100lb BALCONES WHITE ………….. BALCONES BALCONES DARK ARMSTONE GRUENE BUTTER DILLO WHITE B—MIX 10 .......……….. 12.50 (.50) “ “ “ “ “ 12.75 (.51) 22.50 (.45) “ “ “ “ “ 23.00 (.46) PORCELAIN, CONE 10 25lb PORCELAIN …………………… 12.50 (.50) WINDSOR PORCELAIN ….….. 18.25 (.73) SOUTHERN ICE 22lb = 38.50 (1.75) TOSHI PORCELAIN SLIP 1 GAL= $10.98 50lb 37.00 (.37) “ “ “ “ “ 43.00 (.43) 100lb 22.50 (.45) 37.00 (.37) 35.50 (.71) 68.00 (.68) 88LB = 146.08 (1.66) 1002 West 11th St. Houston TX 77008 713.864.6442 outside the Houston area 800.290.8990 Email: ceramicstoreinc@sbcglobal.net Store hours are: Monday – Thursday 8:30 to 5:30 QuickTime™ and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture. Friday -- Saturday 9:30 to 4:00 Warehouse closes 1/2 hour before store closes. Required Materials Due January 24, beginning of class. Other materials may be required later in the semester Pottery tool packet, ceramics store 3 large trash bags Bucket with handle Plastic container with a lid Large sponge, ceramics store 2 small towels Rubber gloves Fettling knife, ceramics store Fork Modeling tool with a rounded edge, ceramics store Paint brushes (small and large), ceramics store 25 lb bags of cone 10 clay. Only purchase your clay from the Ceramic Store Inc. Monday – Thursday 8:30 to 5:30 Friday -- Saturday 9:30 to 4:00 713 864-6442 1-800 290-8990 Optional materials: Rasp, hair dryer, spray bottle, red rubber rib, mini rolling pin, wooden paddle Most materials are available at the ceramic store inc. (1002 West 11th St.) located at W. 11th St, east of Shepherd or Texas Art Supply on Montrose between West Gray and Fairview. CERAMICS CALENDAR Spring 2011 Sun Mon Week 1 Tues Wed 17 18 24 sketches for project 1 due 31 work day, textures 25 HOLIDAY 23 Week 2 30 Week 3 6 FEB 1 19 intros, pinch pots, project 1 assigned 26 work day, potter’s wheel 2 project 1 due end of class 9 work day, wax inlay 16 project 2 due end of class 23 sketches project 3 due, glazing 2 work day 20 21 22 27 28 29 3 4 5 10 11 12 17 18 19 24 25 26 3 4 5 14 2nd Start Begins 15 21 22 28 MAR 1 6 7 8 9 project 3 due 10 11 12 13 14 SPRING BREAK 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 sketches for project 4 due 28 work day, raku 22 23 24 25 26 30 31 APR 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 13 14 SHOW WORK DUE 4:30 LAST DROP DAY 21 15 13 20 Week 6 HOLIDAY 27 Week 7 work day Week 8 Week 9 27 Week 10 3 WEEK 11 10 29 work day glazing 11 LAST BISQUE FIRED 12 18 low fire glazing 19 LAST 04 Glazing 6-8 OPENING 24 25 raku 26 MAY 1 2 final clean up 3 17 Week 13 Week 14 raku, work day LAST WET WORK Week 12 Sat 8 sketches for project 2 due Week 5 Fri 7 Week 4 Week 15 Thurs glazing 20 raku 16 LAST 9-10 GLAZING 22 HOLIDAY 23 HOLIDAY 27 potluck/studio tour 28 29 4 5 6 final quiz, crit Last Wet Work = last day for wet clay, trimming, carving, slip decorating, etc. Deadline applies in our studio AND at home. On this day, remove all plastic and move pieces from greenware room to drying carts. It is the student’s responsibility to make pieces thin enough that they will be bone-dry for the Last Bisque firing. Generally, each 1/4” of clay thickness needs 1 week to dry. Some events on this calendar are tentative and subject to change. Please listen for announcements. Gray indicates a closed studio. 30 OPEN STUDIO HOURS SPRING 2011 We have 5 ceramics classes this semester. (One of those is second start and begins Sept 27.) Class time is reserved for that class only. Open Studio hours are for all HCC/Central ceramics students. During open studio time, students MUST clean up and exit the room by the closing hour. Failure to do so is disrespectful to an incoming class, or to staff who are waiting to go home. Mon/ Wed Tues/ Thurs 8 – 9 am open studio Friday 8 – 9 am open studio Saturday 9–3 class 8 am – 3:30 pm open studio 8 am – 1 pm open studio 9 – 12 class 12 – 1 open studio 1–5 Second Start class begins SEPT 27 1–4 class 3 – 3:30 open . 5 – 6 pm open studio 6 – 9 pm class 9 – 9:30 open 4 – 9:30 pm open studio Building closed