Studio Arts classes
Students in our studio arts classes enjoy state-of-the-art facilities, experienced and talented instructors, and a strong foundation in their crafts. If you are interested in touring our facilities, please email Jessica Curran.
As an SPC visual arts student, you can express yourself in a variety of traditional and contemporary art forms, including ceramics, design, drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking. Our visual arts faculty are skilled educators and respected professional artists, who are active participants in the local and national arts community. Committed to educational excellence, faculty members strive to nurture students' advancement as self-reliant, creative individuals and prepare them for a future in visual arts. Extensive facilities for these programs are located on the Clearwater Campus.
Our Crossroads Gallery, located on the Clearwater Campus, provides the perfect venue to showcase your creations.
Studio Arts Degrees
Ceramics
Ceramics courses at SPC introduce hand building and wheel throwing techniques along with the history of ceramics. Experienced professors teach you how to design, build, glaze and fire objects made from clay. Our Ceramics studio on the Clearwater Campus is equipped with:
- 20 professional Pacifica Gt-800 pottery wheels
- Three electric Skutt 1227PK-KM kilns
- Two electric Skutt 818KM kilns
- Skutt Glazemaster test kiln
- 20 cubic-foot electric Bailey/Fredrickson computer-controlled, front-loading kiln
- Geil DLB-40S computer-controlled reduction kiln
- Geil DLB 28 computer-controlled reduction kiln
- 20 cubic-foot cross draft soda kiln
- Brent Sr-20 Slab Roller
- Soldner Studio clay mixer
- Peter Pugger VPM-60 pug/mixer
- Glaze formulation lab
- Separate drying, glazing and mixing rooms
- Outdoor work area equipped with two Raku kilns
- Large hand building tables
Design
SPC's Fine Arts department offers two- and three-dimensional design foundations classes. These classes are the foundations course for developing knowledge and perception of the principles of art and design. Our two- dimensional design studio is equipped with:
- Light tables
- Drafting tables
- Graphtec vinyl plotters
- Color laser printer.
Our three- dimensional design studio is equipped with:
- Stationary and handheld power tools
- Hand tools
- 3D printers
- Two Microsoft Surface Studio Pro computers
- Laser engraver
- Two CNC routers.
Drawing
SPC’s Drawing classes have been carefully designed by the faculty to provide you with the skills you need to turn abstract ideas into reality and prepare you for upper-division coursework. By training you to complete proficient representational drawings, you’ll be prepared for a variety of visual art media, including painting, printmaking, photography and graphic design. You’ll enjoy individual attention from our faculty, as they help you improve your basic techniques of mastery of line, shape, perspective and development of value for light, form and space.
Photography
Our photography classes let you explore the craft and expressive nature of photography. You can perfect the technical aspects of digital production methods through the digital photography certificate or AA transfer plan. Our photographic facilities include a professional shooting studio, analog darkrooms, 20-station digital studio, medium to large format industry-standard printers and private labs for students.
Printmaking
Printmaking is an exploration of figure/ground theory as related to two- dimensional visual design and image making. Printmaking at SPC introduces students to the basic nature of the medium, both in a historical and conceptual context. Multiple print mediums are explored in the semester, such as relief printing (linocut, woodcut), monoprints, intaglio and screen printing.
You will work on developing imagery and concepts and how they fit within a specific medium. You’ll learn about numerous printmakers and techniques, while working to develop concepts in your own work.
Our printmaking studio is equipped with:
- Conrad etching press 28” x 40” and a smaller press 20” x 36”
- Custom 36”x 60” etching press
- Drying rack 36” x 48”
- Vertical etching tanks
- Light exposure unit for photo silk screening
- Three one color Riley 150 T-Shirt silkscreen presses and a flash dryer
- Four Color Riley 250 T-Shirt Press
- Light table
- Clean paper room
- Flat files for students to store paper and prints
- Two Microsoft Surface Studio Pro Computers
- Graphtec vinyl plotter
- Blick proofing press
- Large work tables