Tower Fine Arts
The Department of Art is located in the Tower Fine Arts Building, which also houses the Department of Theatre and Music Studies. Studios and labs in the Department of Art include:
- Mac labs used for Graphic Design courses, Photography courses, and other art areas
- Foundations studios
- Drawing studios
- Sculpture studio and workspaces
- Ceramics studio and workspaces
- Painting studios
- Printmaking lab
- Photography spaces, including a large darkroom and dedicated mac lab with large-scale Epson inkjet printer.
Our two galleries, the Tower Fine Arts Gallery and Rainbow Gallery, complement the Studio Art and Art History curriculum, where a variety of exhibitions are held.
Foundations Studios and Labs
The Foundations core intends to provide students with the necessary intellectual and practical skills to identify their own talent and make informed choices concerning their major. This integrated Foundations core includes a sequence of Two-Dimensional Design, Three-Dimensional Design, Drawing I, World Art History I and II. The Foundations and Drawing facilities include large worktables, a Mac Lab with 25 iMacs, Epsons scanners, Canon laser color printer, and large HD visual display, as well as ample wall space for critiques, storage areas for student work, and well-lit workspaces.
Graphic Design
The Graphic Design area includes access to three Mac labs with color laser printers, Espson scanners, a large flatbed scanner, HD digital displays, and critique spaces.
Ceramics Studio
Our Ceramics facilities enable students to explore a range of methods of working with clay, from large-scale ceramic sculpture to functional pottery. The facilities include 15 electric potter’s wheels, 2 kick wheels, and a substantial work area for hand building. Students have access to three clay mixers, a pug mill, a slab roller, a ball mill and a large glaze spray booth. The indoor kiln room houses two electric kilns, one with a digital controller, a 40 cu. ft. gas updraft kiln and a 16 cu. ft. gas downdraft kiln; a raku kiln is located outside. The kiln room, a well-stocked glaze room and a storage room all connect to the 5000 square foot main studio area. The main ceramics room houses ample table space for handbuilding and an area for wheelthrowing. Advanced ceramic students have access to workspaces within the main studio as well as in an additional ceramics studio workspace.
Sculpture Studio
The Sculpture studio is a versatile, multi-purpose space allowing for sculptural processes ranging from cast paper to cast bronze. Our small foundry for casting metal affords undergraduates the opportunity to use this ancient technique for the creation of contemporary sculpture. The metal fabrication facilities includes tools for welding, a gas forge, and a plasma cutter. A wood working area includes tools and space for an array of wood processes (table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, a variety of sanders and handheld tools, both electric and pneumatic). Adjacent to the main studio is a critique room that is often used for installations and special projects. Advanced Sculpture students have access to workspaces within the main studio as well as in an additional Sculpture studio workspace.
Painting Studio
The Painting facilities include two large well-lit studios. Each area has large windows with northern light exposure. One studio is primarily used as classroom space, while the other is reserved for advanced students to allow them the opportunity to maintain their own workspace. Students have access to woodworking tools (in order to build custom stretchers, panels, and frames), camera and lighting equipment for incorporating photography into painting processes, as well as state-of-the-art Mac labs for incorporating digital processes.
Printmaking Studio
Our Printmaking Studio provides students the ability to work in traditional and non-traditional printmaking processes. The facilities include two intaglio presses, papermaking equipment, an exposure unit for solar plates and photo processes, a variety of rollers and brayers, drying racks, individual flat files for storage, and additional equipment to support a variety of techniques. Advanced level students are encouraged to be more experimental with techniques such as gum prints, Xerox transfers, altered books, installations, sculptural printmaking and a variety of mixed- media applications within the parameters of printmaking.
Photography Studio and Labs
Photography facilities include a spacious darkroom for black-and-white wet photography and alternative photographic processes, three film loading rooms, a lighting studio equipped with a range of professional lights and tools, a separate photo classroom for critiques and presentations, and a dedicated Mac lab with a large-scale Espson inkjet printer.