Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

1. Make intermediate level molds and glass casts.2. Implement creative problem solving.3. Ask meaningful questions, identify ideas and issues, and develop anintermediate level vocabulary, so as to be able to actively participate in a criticaldialogue about mold making and glass craft with others.4. Evaluate and appreciate sculptural works from different cultures as they apply toglass casting, initiating an awareness of the diversity of perspectives on thehuman experience.5. Develop, through the experience of making and studying glass casting, aheightened awareness of the physical world and of the ecological impact of artmaterials on the environment.6. Employ self-critiquing skills to develop autonomous expression in glass casting,while recognizing the standards and definitions already established by bothcontemporary and historical works of art from different cultures.

1) Create glass casts that incorporate a variety of technical skills with anawareness of the inherent characteristics of different casting processes.2) Begin to generate ideas/concepts with an awareness of the intendedcontent of the produced work.3) Build upon current skill sets with the intent of working towards technicalproficiency.4) Develop safe studio practices in regards to the handling of tools, chemicalsand machinery within a communal studio space.5) Further expand and utilize the necessary vocabulary specific to glasscasting when participating in class critiques and discussions.6) Begin to assess and self-critique personal work to strategize creativesolutions.7) Begin to develop personal work with an awareness of historical andcontemporary artists working in glass casting.

Competencies and SkillsThe successful student should be able to do the following:Communicate with others on a variety of levels (i.e. formal, conceptual etc.) onthe subject of glass.Assess the ways in which art objects are affected by personal perspectives andexperiences.Make historical and cultural connections in determining meaning andunderstanding of art.Complete and present individual work within a professional studio critique.Demonstrate appropriate techniques in intermediate level glass casting andstudio habits beyond the classroom studio.Demonstrate ability to meet deadlines with proper time management andcraftsmanship.

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)Concepts• Create visual ideas through experiencing and playing with materials, imagining, dreaming, visualizing, symbolizing, writing, reading, researching, studyinghistorical and cultural examples, drawing, collaborating, scrutinizing, discussing)• Develop these ideas in glass through sketches, plans, maquettes, test pieces,models and finally casting glass objects• The relationship between Perception and Art• The relationship between Form and Content• Methodologies for interpreting art - Historical and Cultural Contexts• Concepts, theories, and issues addressed by contemporary glass makers fromdifferent cultures.• Relationships between form and content in works of art from different culturesand historical periods.• Intercultural and "interhistorical" influences (e.g. the influence of historicallyimportant glass centers abroad on contemporary American glass art today.)Ceramic Forms and Perceptual Impact• Visual/physical elements used to create glass form: point, line, plane, shape,form, marks, texture, shadow, light, value, color, space, weight, volume, mass,text, etc.• Relationships of characteristics within visual/physical elements (e.g. proportion,length, thickness, position, orientation, scale, weight, interrelationship of shapes,relative value and color, movement and stillness, quality of texture, etc.)• Strategies for manipulating visual/physical elements as a means of formalcomposition and expression (e.g. arrange, juxtapose, relate, contrast, group,balance, unify, repeat, edit, elaborate, classify, divide, increase, decrease,maximize, minimize, dissect, separate, align, vary, diversify, alternate, reduce,connect, etc.)Materials and Techniques• Comprehensive understanding of plaster and its application to process.• Safety and hygiene in the studio.• Firing schedules, understanding ramps and soaks and the operations of the kilnsand controllers.• Working comfortably both with clay and wax forming techniques.• Making flexible molds, mother molds in preparations for lost wax casting.