Professional Artists in the Classroom

Hallmarks of the CCV experience are small classes and practicing professional instructors who bring real-world applications to their teaching. This spring CCV offers 25 art courses at centers throughout the state and online. Students who enroll in the “introduction” classes explore a new area of study, and often also get to experience how working artists apply their craft in daily life.

CCV-Rutland students in Caren Helm’s Ceramics I class are introduced to the design and aesthetics of clay while practicing fundamental production techniques, wheel throwing, and glazing during in-class studio sessions. They create individual “potters kits,” with tools and clay storage materials for home and classroom use, and visit Helm’s studio during the semester.

Digital Photography I introduces the design, composition, and aesthetics of digital images. But photographer Bethany Bond divides her CCV-Newport classes into active photo shoots, class critiques, and computer lab sessions for Photoshop and photo archiving instruction—­all practical skills needed in the professional world.

In Brattleboro, fiber artist Emily Drury brings to her classes textile knowledge deepened through travel as well as a local studio practice. She is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen in weaving and knitting, and worked with textile artists in Oaxaca, Mexico while doing graduate work in cultural anthropology. Students in her Introduction to Fiber Arts class work with a variety of materials and practices, including knitting, spinning, weaving, felting and embroidery. At the end of the semester students create a portfolio of samples documenting design processes and techniques.