Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

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

1) Create glass casts that incorporate a wide variety of technical skills with anexperienced awareness of the inherent characteristics of different castingprocesses.2) Explore advanced 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) Practice safe studio habits 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) Assess and self-critique personal work to strategize creative solutions.7) Develop a body of personal work with a thorough awareness of historicaland contemporary artists working in glass casting/sculpture.

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.Understand the vocabulary and concepts necessary to engage within a studioenvironment.Demonstrate ability to meet deadlines with proper time management andcraftsmanship.Prepare portfolios for professional presentation.Find resources for materials and tools used in glass casting.Conduct research to develop ideas, perspectives, and influences from a varietyof sources.Employ a variety of strategies to solve problems encountered in the process of realizing an idea for a glass form. Students will be able to make models,sketches, maquettes, material tests, etc.Use a variety of conceptual strategies to make molds and create glasscastings.Use the proper safety/health equipment and procedures in working in thestudio.Make interesting, challenging, appropriately crafted work.Analyze and enjoy the formal and perceptual concerns of glass.

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 artHistorical and Cultural Contexts• Concepts, theories, and issues addressed by various cultures and historicalperiods.• 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.• The roles of art and artists in different cultures• 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.)• The relationship between material and form and their visual/ physical impact (i.e.a hollow clear form imparts light and breath and movement as the viewers eyesmove across the surface where as heavily saturated glass regardless of its formsuggests imperviosity and stasis. Heavy texture on glass bounces the light aroundwhile a smooth surface draws the light into the form.)Materials and Techniques• Comprehensive understanding of plaster and its application to process.• Comprehensive understanding of the components and characteristics of investment materials.• 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.Critical AnalysisVocabulary relevant to ideas, materials, and techniques pertaining to glass castingand mold making.Application, interpretation, and redefinition of glass casting ideas, connection ofhistorical and cultural contexts, personal expression and creative freedom.