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3D & Extended Media

The 3D & Extended Media Division is grounded in a comprehensive interdisciplinary understanding of traditional and extended media, which includes sculpture, ceramics, performance, installation, and new generation digital art practices. In order to enhance your development as an artist, our program offers a curriculum that promotes conceptual investigation and a critical understanding of contemporary issues through the exploration of diverse media and expertise achieved in a range of technical processes.

The 3D & Extended Media faculty encourages the development of your ideas and passions by challenging you to hone the analytical and critical ability needed to effectively express your personal vision. Importantly, you will have the opportunity to become an active participant in the broader cultural and global discourse as well as gain the tools to succeed in graduate art studies and as an arts professional.

CERAMICS

The Ceramics Area offers you a distinctive opportunity to fully engage in an open, dynamic, rigorous and supportive studio environment to explore personal expression in clay within a broad, fine art context. Faculty has in-depth and varied expertise gained through a long history of art practice in and engagement with ceramic art at both national and international levels.

You will have every opportunity to immerse yourself in concepts and techniques related to your particular needs and personal vision while mastering beginning to advanced ceramic processes. To inspire your evolution in the field of art and art-making, faculty expose you to historic and contemporary ceramic art issues and practitioners while guiding you in undertaking your own research, peer presentations and work in clay. You are further encouraged to investigate and incorporate mixed media, installation, digital, performance, and interdisciplinary approaches in your work.

SCULPTURE

Students working in sculpture take courses designed to combine current art theory, an understanding of relevant cultural and historical issues, and the application of specialized technical skills to create works of art having clarity of intention.

The diverse philosophies of our faculty foster a range of traditional processes and contemporary practices for the effective exploration of ideas. You are expected to develop professionalism in terms of technical skills, conceptual formulation and critical thinking.

Initially, you are introduced to strategies to successfully integrate concepts, processes and materials. Modeling, casting, carving, construction and welding are explored in depth. Respect for and safe use of tools and machinery are emphasized. At the intermediate and advanced levels, you are encouraged to develop personal visions using traditional and experimental processes.

 

 

EXTENDED MEDIA

Extended Media emphasizes experimental contemporary studio practice that includes combined media installation, performance, environmental and site-specific art, 3D modeling, digital fabrication, video, audio and AR/VR installations, community based practice, and interactive and relational strategies. Students develop an integrated approach in the studio, where research combines conceptual development with the most appropriate media for the project at hand.

The 3D & Extended Media facilities are extensive and include:

  • separate undergraduate and graduate metal and wood fabrication shops
  • a metal casting foundry
  • a ceramics atelier
  • project development rooms
  • individual graduate studios
  • open spaces for large scale work and installations
  • computer labs and maker spaces for digital fabrication and production. 

Within each facility a complete array of specialized machinery, tools, and software are provided to develop both traditional and new media projects. Please see the links below for detailed descriptions of facilities and equipment for Undergraduate and Graduate Ceramics, Sculpture, and Extended Media.

CERAMICS FACILITY

The ceramics facility has a complete, properly ventilated, indoor clay-mixing space, three large gas kilns, four electric kilns in a roofed, out-door kiln area next to a well-stocked glaze area with a spray booth, and in the two classrooms are electric potters wheels, an extruder, and a slab-roller, along with several work tables and ample shelving.

SCULPTURE FACILITIES

The sculpture facilities include a woodshop, metal shop and foundry and are well equipped to accommodate both traditional and extended media processes.

Woodshop

  • 18″ planer
  • 8″ jointer
  • 16.5″ wood lathe
  • 10″ SawStop left tilt table saw
  • 12″ compound miter saw
  • Panel saw
  • 14″ and 16″ band saws
  • Scroll saw
  • Drill presses
  • Oscillating spindle sanders
  • 1″ band sanders
  • 6″ x 48″ belt saner with 12″ disc
  • 30″ disc sander
  • Wide variety of clamps, hand, air, and electric power tools

Metal Shop

  • Metal lathe
  • Milling machine
  • Drill press
  • 12″ and 24″ disc sander
  • 1″ band sander
  • 22 gauge hand roller
  • 16 gauge brake
  • Large band saw
  • 55 ton punch, 24″ plate and angle shear
  • 30 ton press
  • 3/4″ plate plasma cutter
  • Forge, Tig, Mig, Spot, and Oxy/Acetylene welding capabilities
  • Various hand, air, and electric power tools and large capacity air compressor system with enclosed cabinet sand blaster

Foundry

  • Ceramic shell room
  • Melt furnace
  • Dewaxing kiln

EXTENDED MEDIA RESOURCES

Digital resources include the robust computer labs across the campus, and School of Art equipment that may be checked out by students including cameras, audio recorders, video cams (DSLR and conventional), augmented and virtual reality display devices, digital video projectors, LCD monitors, media players, and lighting and microphone kits.

Visit the Resources and Facilities page to learn more.

GRADUATE STUDIOS 3D & Extended Media FACILITIES

The Visual Arts Graduate Research Laboratory has spacious and well-equipped project studio spaces for wood and metal fabrication, ample common space for developing large-scale pieces, and individual studios.

Joseph B. Heller Wood Fabrication Studio

  • 14″ band saw, scroll saw
  • 24″ band saw
  • 12″ compound miter saw
  • 10″ table saw with left tilting blade
  • 48″ wood lathe
  • 6″ jointer
  • 1″ band sander
  • 6″x48″ belt sander with 12″ disc
  • 24″ disc sander
  • Drill press
  • Various hand and power tools

Joseph B. Heller Metal Fabrication Studio

  • 14″ band saw
  • Horizontal band saw
  • Chop saw
  • Drill press
  • English wheel
  • 16 gauge x 50″ hand roller
  • Metal lathe
  • Hossfeld bender
  • 12 gauge sheet metal brake
  • 12″ disc sander
  • Bench grinder
  • ¬Ω” plasma cutter
  • Arc, Mig, Tig, and Oxy/Acetylene welding with portable fume exhaust vent hoods

For descriptions of the 3D & Extended Media Graduate Program, see the 3D & Extended Media Graduate Studies page.

Art Clayworks (Ceramics)
Contact a 3DXM faculty member to find out more

Visit our Degrees page to find out more about offerings in 3D and Extended Media, or contact an academic advisor and set up an advising appointment to learn more about School of Art programs and admissions.

Ready to join our community of dedicated artists, educators and scholars? Visit our Admissions page to start your application.

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