Our Mission:
The Contemporary Clay Minor provides students the opportunity to explore several aspects of working in clay from the handmade to the mass produced, including utilitarian objects, unique sculptures, and installations utilizing the multiple. Students learn a combination of hand-building, potter’s wheel throwing, slip-casting, glazing, and firing techniques as well as emerging digital technologies. Environmental and financial sustainability is also emphasized.
Participating Departments:
Animation
Animation: Motion Design
Fashion
Fine Arts: Painting
Fine Arts: Photography
Fine Arts: Sculpture/New Genres
Game and Entertainment Design
Graphic Design
Illustration
Product Design
Toy Design
Program Learning Outcomes
Otis College Interdisciplinary Studies: Contemporary Clay Minor Program Learning Outcomes are action words describing our approach to learning, and what we commit to our students.
Contemporary Clay Minor Students Will:
Contemporary Clay Minor student work will demonstrate:
- Disciplinary knowledge and skills • Proficiency in industry-standard skills, technologies, and processes
Proficiency in ceramics techniques including hand-building, wheel throwing, slip casting, glazing, kiln stacking and firing, and an introduction to current digital technologies.
- Cross-disciplinary awareness and practice • Audience-focused research, historical context, and field-specific discourse
Developed practice grounded in two or more disciplines, understanding the place of ceramics within historical and contemporary art, design, industry, and global cultures.
Contemporary Clay Minor student work will demonstrate:
- Innovation • Experimentation and play • Challenge to the status quo • Bravery in their work and their interactions with others
Capacity to push the boundaries of what clay as a material can do in various contexts and for a variety of purposes (artistic, functional, industrial, etc.), and what ceramic artists/designers can do in combination with or in relation to their majors.
Contemporary Clay Minor student work will demonstrate:
- Capacity to communicate (orally, written, and/or visually) about their practice
Ability to clearly articulate the relationship between their work in clay and their majors, and how these studies will help them achieve personal and professional goals.
- Analysis of both ethical and aesthetic impacts of art and design
Analysis of the ethical and aesthetic impacts their work has on their fields of study as well as society, culture and the environment.
Contemporary Clay Minor student work will demonstrate:
- Ability to work well, collaborate, and build relationships across differences in identity,
perspective, aesthetics and disciplines
in a communal ceramics studio, and among local artists, designers and curators in the contemporary ceramics community.
- Integration of skills and concepts:
Successfully integrate skills, information and concepts between their majors and Contemporary Clay minor, while understanding and articulating their positionality in their chosen fields.
Contemporary Clay Minor student work will demonstrate:
- Ability to define aspirations, future goals and their role within the creative economy.
Defined aspirations, future goals and one’s role as an interdisciplinary creative within the creative economy. - Compelling presentation and exhibition skills, through Annual Exhibition, Capstone,
and portfolios.
Successful completion and presentation of original work in clay with or without other materials, that resonates with intended audiences. - Proficiency in budgeting, time and project management.
Functional knowledge of basic business practices, including budgeting, time and project management.
Course Title
Course Number
Credits
Electives
The five required courses to complete the Contemporary Clar minor replace studio electives or in some cases up to one LAS elective.