Virtual Learning Studio

The Virtual Learning Studio, VLS, contains a growing series of brief videos introducing artmaking practices, processes, media, and concepts. The videos feature current and former CVAD faculty and staff in the college's facilities and artists' studios to give K-12 students a sense of the university environment, as well as other spaces where the production of art occurs.

Ceramics: Break-away Molds

Presenter: Assistant Professor Brooks Oliver, M.F.A., CVAD Studio Art: Ceramics
Brooks Oliver introduces artists to creating breakaway molds. Used since ancient times, making breakaway molds allows casting a more complex form than a single mold would. It is a compelling technique that enables the creation of multiple iterations of these forms without investing time to make a more traditional multi-part mold. This video provides a step-by-step overview tutorial from creating a prototype to firing and glazing a finished piece.

Conceptual Art

Presenter: Associate Professor Alicia Eggert, M.F.A., Studio Art: Sculpture
In this video, Alicia Eggert defines conceptual art by sharing her work and studio practice. Eggert primarily utilizes signage as her medium to explore themes of communication, time, and language. Eggert regards time and language as essential to our perception of the world; in harnessing conceptual art, she encourages viewers to generate their own meaning in each artwork by foregrounding the notion that inspiration is all around us.

Curation

Presenter: Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton, M.F.A., curator and director, CVAD Galleries
Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton talks about her work managing three art galleries. Approaching curation as a way of life, Dlugosz-Acton suggests storytelling is a responsibility within the curatorial process in an ever-changing world. Curators and curation practices can respond to these changes productively and artistically —interrogating the present moment and posing questions that address the broader conversation of our given situations.

CVAD Digital Fabrication Laboratory

Presenter: Former Lab Manager Abby Sherrill, M.F.A., CVAD IT Services
Abby Sherrill introduces students to the CVAD Digital Fabrication Laboratory. Allowing CVAD students to innovate artistically with equipment, the fab lab is a space for collaborative experimentation and innovation, mainly using digital technologies and equipment, enabling the generation of artwork or design ideas.

Immersive Art

Presenter: Associate Professor Liss LaFleur, M.F.A., Studio Art: New Media Art
Liss LaFleur clarifies the concept of New Media Art by exploring various materials and sharing insights from her personal studio practices. According to LaFleur, New Media Art fundamentally involves incorporating technology into the creative process. She highlights forms such as digital art, transmedia art, kinetic art, and interactive art as examples within this broad category. LaFleur explains that New Media Art offers limitless possibilities, enabling us to experience narratives in novel ways or to explore representations that don't yet exist. The video underscores the flexibility and accessibility of new media art, illustrating how artworks can evolve depending on their creation, installation, or interaction.

The Queer Birth Project reflects on the experiences of queer (LGBTQ+) childbirth and family formation in the United States. Based on original and archival research conducted collaboratively with sociologist Katherine Sobering, this work re-envisions artist Judy Chicago’s Birth Project (1980–85) and promotes a radically inclusive view of childbirth, reproductive justice, and family in a post-Roe era. This exhibition centers an expansive exploration of family, queer kinship models, and future forms of belonging. It is the second in a series of six thematically focused collections of multimedia works that will lead to a published book and interactive digital archive.

Lost Wax Casting

Presenter: Professor James Thurman, M.F.A., Studio Art: Metalsmithing and Jewelry
James Thurman introduces artists to the lost wax casting process. Despite the potential challenges involved in the complex lost wax casting process, it is intriguing to start with a wax original of an everyday object and end with a hard, durable, and enduring artifact. This video provides a step-by-step overview tutorial, from creating a wax mold to firing and finishing a finished piece.

Painting with Water

Presenter: Associate Professor Stephen Zhang, M.F.A., Design: Communication Design
Stephen Zhang illustrates the reactionary process of watercolor painting through historical narrative and active demonstration. Zhang describes watercolor painting as inherently unpredictable, highlighting a prioritization of process over product. In this video, artists are implored to relinquish control and embrace spontaneity through the practice of water-based painting.