Seth Papac

Assistant Professor

Seth Papac’s trifurcated practice involves teaching and mentoring students, researching and producing conceptual one-of-a-kind jewelry and owning and operating a limited-production jewelry company. Before joining the Jewelry + Metalsmithing faculty at RISD, they served as department head of metal at The Oregon College of Art and Craft. As a visiting artist and critic, Seth has had the opportunity to engage with an international spectrum of students, notably in Finland and in Colombia as part of En Construcción: Simposio de Joyería Contemporánea.

Seth received their BFA from the University of Washington and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Their work is exhibited and published internationally and they are the recipient of several awards and grants including the Louise Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship. Their work is part of numerous permanent collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Cranbrook Art Museum and the Rotasa Foundation. Seth currently serves as Co-President and Board Member of The Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

JM 441G-01 - GRADUATE STUDIO 1
Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 441G-01

GRADUATE STUDIO 1

Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Seth Papac Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 211 Enrolled / Capacity: 6 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to challenge first year graduates to rethink their previous assumptions about their work, prior training, working methodologies and approaches to their practice. Through a series of rigorous and innovative start-up exercises, graduates are encouraged to expand their subjects, abandon their comforts zones, fail, edit, and (re) direct their work. Equal emphasis is placed on critical thinking and critical making. Faculty, meet weekly, individually with each student to provide constructive feedback and necessary structure. In small group discussions and in-class reviews, first years are required to actively participate in discourse and take responsibility for the collective dialogue. The resulting insight and shared knowledge between students, along with their own personal gain, sets the tone and direction for their work at RISD over the next two years.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

JM 4436-01 - PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES
Level Undergraduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 4436-01

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES

Level Undergraduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PM Instructor(s): Seth Papac Location(s): Washington Place, Room 021B Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course is an interactive lecture class. A series of distinctly varied individuals active in the field of jewelry will be invited to make presentation about their professional development. These diverging presentations are intended to offer a catalyst to stimulate questions, and encourage group discussion. Among the subjects to be presented are: individual studio practice, designing for industry, gallery connections, non-profit opportunities, partnerships, global opportunities, curatorial and journalistic prospects, wide world of the web, post graduation educational options, support systems for RISD alumni, residency prospects, and technology as resource for design and production. Students will be asked to keep an active journal of weekly observations and fulfill 3 class assignments connected with their ambitions and career interests.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Senior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

JM 443G-01 - GRADUATE STUDIO 3
Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 443G-01

GRADUATE STUDIO 3

Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Seth Papac Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 211 Enrolled / Capacity: 6 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Following the completion of the first year, second-year graduates identify their personal areas of interest essential to the development of their thesis research and practice. Students are required to outline and pursue independent work with a self-determined structure, timeline, and intentions. Regardless of outcome, students are expected to evidence their progress weekly during individual meetings with faculty. Central to the second year, graduates are required to demonstrate a high level of self-motivation, vision, and initiative reflected through their concentrated inquiry and the rigorous exploration of their ideas. In conclusion of the term, second year graduates are required to complete a thesis presentation, to a J+M faculty review committee, in approval of their preliminary objectives and strategies in preparation for Graduate J+M Thesis.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department; registration is not available in Workday. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

Spring 2024 Courses

JM 442G-01 - GRADUATE STUDIO 2
Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 442G-01

GRADUATE STUDIO 2

Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: T | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Seth Papac Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 201 Enrolled / Capacity: 6 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In the second sequence of Graduate Studio, first-year graduates continue to take risks and think independently; identify and gain insight into their creative influences; and successfully direct and shape their ideas. Class exercises are given with clear, open-ended themes. Course content focuses on clarity of intention, artistic authorship, the presentation and framing of ones work, and an awareness of the contemporary context. Faculty and students consider individual approaches for the execution of work, from the initial concept to the finished piece. In an effort to arrive at original, personally authentic work, it is essential that students are open to discussion and willing to investigate (and question) the motivating forces of their work.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

JM 444G-01 - GRADUATE J+M THESIS
Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 9
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 444G-01

GRADUATE J+M THESIS

Level Graduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 9
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: TTH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Seth Papac, Tracy Steepy Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 201 Enrolled / Capacity: 6 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Graduate J+M Thesis is a 9-credit course that meets twice a week with two different instructors. Each instructor evaluates students focusing on both studio thesis work and the theoretical concerns of the Graduate Jewelry 2 seminar. Graduate students select two advisors, for their thesis committee with J+M faculty to provide additional insight and support into their thesis work, as well as to foster other professional contacts. The final thesis requirements are a written thesis document, curriculum vitae, artist statement, artist book and professional portfolio. The resulting body of thesis work is featured in the Graduate Thesis Exhibition at the Convention Center in May. It is expected the Graduate J+M Thesis investigates unexplored territory, reveals personal idiosyncrasies and demonstrates a high level of artistic authorship and sophistication.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

JM 4498-01 - SENIOR J+M DEGREE PROJECT
Level Undergraduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

JM 4498-01

SENIOR J+M DEGREE PROJECT

Level Undergraduate
Unit Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Subject Jewelry + Metalsmithing
Period Spring 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Noam Elyashiv, Seth Papac Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 211 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In the Senior J+M Degree Project students focus on a clearly defined, individually chosen, subject of inquiry for 12 weeks. Seniors are required to take full responsibility for the evolution and articulation of their creative practice. Two faculty serve as DP advisors, meeting weekly with students, to discuss and facilitate the progress of their work. Although seniors are required to be self-reflective in identifying the individual impulses and motivations in their work, emphasis in review and discussion begins to shift from the voice of the personal to that of the greater collective, context, and role of the audience. The DP culminates in an exhibition at Woods-Gerry Gallery on the RISD campus. Graduation requirements include: CV, professionally documented digital portfolio, artist postcard, and artist/degree project statement.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Senior Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing