This graduate level wintersession studio course will be comprised of two external faculty that are professional artist working in the field. Activities will include studio visits, lectures by each visiting critic, group-critique, potential field trips, all in direct engagement with graduate student practice. It will culminate a final critique at the end of the five week session. 

This course is open to second-year Painting Graduate students.

Elective

This course will focus on the cultural and artistic activities which came into being as a result of contacts between the civilizations of Europe and Asia (China in particular). Among the topics explored will be: the ancient world, the Silk Route and Buddhism, the nomads of Eurasia as agents of cultural exchange, early European travelers to China (Marco Polo), the Jesuits at the court of the Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and finally the Western colonial experience.

Elective

This course will provide a comprehensive study of specific disabilities and inclusive curriculum scenarios and strategies for learners in K-12 environments. The course will focus throughout the Wintersession on an extensive foundation in response to intervention (RTI), special education law and regulations as it relates to students with disabilities and at-risk students in the art classroom. Students will investigate classroom-tested instructional strategies that will address the characteristics and challenges faced by students with special needs. Through the session, assignments will allow students to investigate and learn through the process of reinforcing, motivating, scaffolding and planning for instruction that targets learners of all ability levels. Discussion-based teaching, group and individual presentations, assigned readings, field observations, and reflective journal entries will provide students with the knowledge of possible causes, the impact of poverty on learning, characteristics and strengths, classroom implications and specific inclusion strategies. These strategies will include behavior management techniques that will allow teachers to improve classroom behavior and social skills, engage students though motivating and relevant lessons, improve attention and memory, and provide essential modifications and accommodations of lessons appropriate to the developmental and learning level of each learner. Students will explore the various stages of building equity in their classroom by addressing issues of physical integration, social-emotional engagement, opportunities to learn, instructional excellence and engaged and inspired learners. A final demonstration of this knowledge and its implications to their teaching practice will be through a mixed-media project by each student.

Enrollment in this course is limited to Teaching + Learning in Art + Design Students.

Major Requirement | MA, MAT Teaching + Learning in Art + Design

In a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss and ecological change, this studio course will challenge students to rethink traditional human-centered design approaches and imagine a world where designers can actively contribute to the protection and survival of the flora and fauna around us. As a result of human activity, it is estimated that one in four species are at risk of extinction – but is it possible that we can halt these losses through creative design solutions?

Together, we will envision a more symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. We will investigate already existing interventions for threatened species and better understand how designers are tackling these challenging issues. We will study critical topics such as habitat loss, decline of bird and pollinator populations, and shed light on often-overlooked animals that play significant roles in our ecosystems. Through observation, research, and insights from guest speakers and field trips, students will begin to develop and prototype their own design projects that may include the creation of analogous habitats in urban environments, pollinator-friendly support systems, or protective interventions that allow for coexistence between humans and animals. Completed projects will reimagine what design can do in a more-than-human world!
 

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design

The class aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the art of mural painting. The course will explore the historical significance of murals, examine different mural styles and techniques, and encourag­e students to express their own ideas through the creation of murals. Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, students will develop the neces­sary skills and knowledge to conceptualize, plan, and execute murals of various scales. The course will culminate in a real world mural installation for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and School including three walls designed and painted by students. 

Elective

This studio course will continue to advance students' metalsmithing techniques. Chasing and repousse, along with lost wax casting, will be introduced and developed throughout the semester. Skills and material knowledge learned in the sophomore year will also be used to fulfill assignments. Overlap between all skills is encouraged in most assignments. Inquiry into the finer points of fabricating and inventing innovative findings for jewelry will be an ongoing consideration. Research, drawing, and sample making are expected to precede each class assignment to facilitate students design process.

Major Requirement | BFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

Glass IIB is the second half of a two-semester intermediate studio course in which students will continue their ongoing investigation of material processes. Emphasis is on developing personal concepts, imagery, and visual research skills through investigations of regularly assigned topics. Students develop a substantial idea sketchbook, participate in scheduled class activities, and group critique.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Major Requirement | BFA Glass

Building on a collection of texts at the intersection of language, identity, and societal conditioning, this course examines the extent to which typography can engage in world building and the production and dissemination of proposals for alternative systems. Through a series of parallel assignments including reading, writing, and making, we will individually and collectively explore different strategies and mediums through which we can activate a multitude of voices and approaches that comprise our complex world of many worlds.

Elective

Provides an opportunity for independent research related to the discussions, topics, readings and other activities from GAC-700G. Students will begin to develop areas of focus in order to identify future electives and research topics leading toward the Master's Thesis.

Enrollment is limited to Global Arts and Cultures Students.

This is a co-requisite course. Students must register for GAC-700G and GAC-701G.

Major Requirement | MA Global Arts and Cultures

This 3 credit advanced seminar offers students the opportunity to focus on drawing topics pertaining to architecture. Drawing is treated as a space for architectural research and/or as an autonomous work of architecture. The notion that drawing serves architecture merely as representation is questioned and critiqued. The theoretical and technical focus on the process of drawing will cultivate and address issues that have for hundreds of years served as the core of the architecture discipline. Simultaneously, the research may allow for the generation or assimilation of ideas, cultures and knowledge from other fields into architecture.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $20.00 - $100.00

Elective

This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).

Estimated Cost of Materials: $30.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).

Estimated Cost of Materials: $30.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).

Estimated Cost of Materials: $30.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).

Estimated Cost of Materials: $30.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

This course introduces students to the creative possibilities of Virtual Reality (VR) and related design strategies as they apply modeling, drawing and animation. Emphasis will be placed on VR-based professional tools such as Tiltbrush, Quill and Gravity Sketch currently used in the fields of illustration, animation, interactive arts and game design. Students will learn the professional game engine Unity 3D and will be introduced to the fundamentals of designing assets, multimedia components and interactive strategies. Oculus and HTC Vive platforms will be accessible to students through the semester. Although not mandatory, knowledge of modeling and basic coding is strongly recommended.

Elective

This seminar addresses advanced problems in landscape construction, materials, and site engineering. In this class, students will be asked to apply their knowledge of landscape technologies and materials gained from earlier classes into an abbreviated technical drawing set. Through the drawing set, students will gain an understanding of the different stages of design including; concept development, schematic design, design development, and construction documentation. This project will become the basis for understanding the how details and materials develop and change throughout the pre-construction process.

Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students only.

Major Requirement | MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This seminar will bridge the foundations of landscape theory, research, and design methods in order to frame a process for students to examine contemporary issues in landscape architecture and define research questions that would contribute to creating new knowledge in the field. The course will include guest lectures from practitioners creating a body of research in the field. This seminar initiates the thesis process by asking students to formulate their own proposals for research through design.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

This seminar will bridge the foundations of landscape theory, research, and design methods in order to frame a process for students to examine contemporary issues in landscape architecture and define research questions that would contribute to creating new knowledge in the field. The course will include guest lectures from practitioners creating a body of research in the field. This seminar initiates the thesis process by asking students to formulate their own proposals for research through design.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture

As a stimulus to the imagination, method of investigation, or as a basic means of communication, drawing is a fundamental process of human thought. This class will examine various kinds of drawings from the history of art and visual culture moving chronologically from the medieval to the post-modern. Our studies will have a hands-on approach, meeting behind the scenes in the collections of the RISD Museum. Working from objects directly will be supplemented by readings and writing assignments as well as active classroom discussion. This seminar is recommended for THAD concentrators and students especially interested in drawing.

Elective

As a stimulus to the imagination, method of investigation, or as a basic means of communication, drawing is a fundamental process of human thought. This class will examine various kinds of drawings from the history of art and visual culture moving chronologically from the medieval to the post-modern. Our studies will have a hands-on approach, meeting behind the scenes in the collections of the RISD Museum. Working from objects directly will be supplemented by readings and writing assignments as well as active classroom discussion. This seminar is recommended for THAD concentrators and students especially interested in drawing.

Elective