The Department of Art and Design occupies several buildings on campus. Its main facility is Calcia Hall which houses all the Visual Arts studios, a 122-seat auditorium, mediated lecture rooms, as well as the main administrative and faculty offices. The BFA in Product Design program occupies the second floor of Finley Hall which includes a dedicated fabrication studio and lecture/workroom. Specialized computer labs for Animation, Digital Photography, Visual Communication Design and Product Design are located on the lower level of Sprague Library. Facilities for the Fashion Design and Merchandising program are located on the lower level of Life Hall. Many of the department’s facilities have been renovated or newly built to meet the high-quality standards of our studio programs.
Animation/Illustration and Product Design Lab
This is a specialized computer lab equipped with 19 High-performance PC workstations with 27″ Wacom Cintiqs on Ergo stands and current, industry-standard modeling and animation software, such as Maya, LightWave, Cinema 4D, Mirage and Solidworks.
Product Design Studio
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The main hub of the Product Design program is located in Finley Hall. The complex includes a model-making studio, design laboratory, seminar room and 3-D printing facility. Students take all of their design studio courses and work on their independent project assignments in this space. The facility is equipped with wireless internet access, a presentation area, and audio-visual equipment.
Ceramics Studio
The Ceramics Studio contains three large Alpine kilns, several raku kilns, four large and three smaller electric kilns, eighteen pottery wheels, a clay mixer, slab rollers and an extruder. This equipment supports the exploration of sculptural and vessel forms in porcelain, stoneware, terracotta, earthenware, raku and primitive firings.
Drawing Studio
The Drawing Studio is equipped with easels, tables, a model platform, dimmable spot-lighting and flat file storage. Used for both Drawing and Life Drawing classes, it accommodates up to eighteen students at a time.
Fashion Studio
The Fashion Design and Merchandising Facility is a newly renovated state-of-the-art suite that includes a fashion design studio, fashion classroom and computer laboratory. Fashion Design and Merchandising students have access to industrial and institutional sewing machines as well as space for the creation of individual, original designs using flat pattern and draping methods. In the fashion classroom, students use light boxes for the examination of textile fabrics and for illustration of fashion designs. The computer laboratory is available for students using computer-aided design as well as for analysis of research findings.
The facility also houses the program’s Historic Costume collection, displayed in a special temperature/humidity controlled room, equipped with examination tables that allow students to study collection items personally. Large display cases are available for exhibition of both the historic collection and student designs.
Visual Communication Design Studio
The Visual Communication Design Studio is located on the lower level of the Sprague Library and is equipped with 30 iMac desktop computers with 27-inch displays. The facility has two high-resolution scanners that can scan up to 11 x 17 inches. Color and B&W printing are available for students for class projects during classes and open lab time. The facility is open and overseen by student assistants for up to 40 hours per week outside of class time, including weekends.
The Visual Communication Design area also has a small print shop with a Heidelberg letterpress, together with binding facilities for short-run printing.
2D Output Studio (2DOS)
2DOS is a comprehensive print studio available to all Art and Design students during open lab hours. The studio has a Canon color copier with Fiery RIP, a laminator, and several inkjet printers, the largest capable of printing up to 40 inches by 15 feet.
Calcia Workshop & Mixed Use Workspace
This workshop comprises a variety of tools and equipment, and the space to use them–table saw, lathe, chop saws, sanders, a collection of power tools, and even a large-scale Shopbot CNC mill. Additionally, there is ample workspace available for prototyping and assembly of projects.
Painting Studio
The Painting Studio includes a large and airy work area with expansive wall and window space and natural light. The room also includes a model stand and storage racks for both large and small paintings and easels for up to nineteen students.
Photography Studio
The Photography Studio includes several work spaces, including a group darkroom with ten workstations, eight individual darkrooms, and spaces for film processing, drying, mural projection, matting and print storage.
The main Photography classroom has gallery lighting for group critiques and exhibitions. Digital Photography courses are taught in the lower level of Sprague Library in a newly renovated computer lab.
Equipment available to students ranges from Nikon and Canon (digital and analog) 35 mm to Mamiya 6 x 7, 4 x 5, and 8 x 10 cameras, tripods, hot lights, portable professional flashes, printers, and scanner, etc.