Syllabus

ART 103:01 INTRO TO CALLIGRAPHY

3.0 CREDITS

WINTER 2020

BLOG: https://2020calligraphy.blogspot.com/

            INSTRUCTOR: AMY DAVIS

OFFICE LOCATION:  WSW Building 4179

OFFICE HOURS: By appointment only, please email to schedule

COURSE MEETING DAYS/TIMES:   M/W 2:30-5:15 P.M.                               

 MEETING LOCATION: WSW Building 4133

PRE-REQUISITES: NONE

PHONE: 517-303-5344 (email is preferred)

EMAIL: davisamy@umich.edu

ANTICIPATED RESPONSE TIME: Please allow 24 hours to respond to questions. 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: From the illumination of the Book of Kells to the announcement of a marriage, calligraphy is the artist’s way of illuminating the written word. The use of design and creation of an artistic letter by pen or brush makes this art form a creative and historical endeavor. 

 Available at: https://www.coursicle.com/umflint/#search=calligr

Textbook: 

The Encyclopedia of Calligraphy Techniques, by Diana Hardy Wilson. 978-1-84448-810-0

GENERAL EDUCATION ATTRIBUTES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The purpose of the calligraphy class is to give students an opportunity to learn basic Western Calligraphy and lettering techniques. Students will learn how to hold writing implements and create basic fonts along with a variety of other writing styles. This class enables students to create artwork based on letters as the main design focus while they experiment with the use of various art media. Students can assert their own levels of creativity as they use their lettering skills for their projects throughout the semester. They will be able to discover their artistic niche through the beauty of using the various tools to create art with the use of letters.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:      

1. Learn about the history and culture behind Western calligraphy and of each of the alphabetic types practiced. (Unfortunately, we will not be learning Eastern Asian or Islamic Calligraphy)
2.  Learn basic pen strokes and forms of decoration and borders.
3.  Learn how to make a ladder for each script learned so that proportions are correct.
4.  Learn how to proportion letters by using a grid.
5.  Practice writing various calligraphic alphabets (including, Gothic, Italic, Roman Capitals) by focusing on its group characteristics.
6.  Learn Modern Calligraphy script styles, techniques, and tools
7. Be able to practically use calligraphy in craft-based projects

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Textbook: 

The Encyclopedia of Calligraphy Techniques, by Diana Hardy Wilson. 978-1-84448-810-0

Bring this with you to every class. 

Course Materials | Supplies 

Important tip: Please do not pay retail for these art supplies! AMAZON.COM is usually the least expensive. Materials may be also purchased at Green’s in Rochester MI (small discount)  or Dick Blick. These supplies will not be required until January 13th, so please save money by buying these supplies online. 

• binder + plastic sleeves, 3 hole punch 
• #2 pencils with erasers
• Eraser (Magic Rub or Staedtler Mars White Plastic)
• Hand-held pencil sharpener
• pad of grid paper + tracing paper
• Pilot Parallel Pen, 3.8mm (IF you are a leftie, please see me)
• Pilot Parallel Pens refill six pack of cartridges, black ink as needed
• Tombow Calligraphy Brush Pens (3)

• Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens or Colored pencils

• T-square, or wooden with an acrylic edge, or CLEAR plastic Ruler at least 18” long
• Plastic triangle, 45–90 degrees, 12”
• Tackle Box for pens and art supplies
• Drafting tape or painters tape
• 50 sheets of practice paper, 32 lbs

Course Load: 

Homework assignments will consist of referencing resources on the computer such as quotes, varieties of texts, gathering reference photos and recording ideas in sketchbooks for further use in the classroom.

 The classroom rules will be observed upon entering the classroom. Students will demonstrate respect for the equipment and materials of the classroom. They will also respect each other’s projects and most importantly show respect and tolerance for one another and the teacher. 

About the Sessions:

Each session can be divided into four main parts:

1. Appreciation and Understanding – discovering art history and culture, and the

artistic traditions through powerpoint presentations.

2. Presentation & Practicing –Demonstrating an aspect of calligraphy and how to go

about it and practicing it.

3.  Craft based Project Demonstrating how to integrate calligraphy with a craft based idea and practicing it creatively.
4.  Gallery – Artistic appreciation of each other’s work

TO SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS

1. You should believe in yourself, embrace your talents, learn from your peers and try to work outside of your comfort zone.
2. Be on time (If you’re more than 15 minutes late, you’re absent)
3. Do NOT LEAVE EARLY, if you leave early, you’re absent
4. Bring materials with you EVERY class period
5. Research what others have done and get inspired and learn from them, but create your own masterpiece
6. Learn through making
7. Your efforts do not let you down
8. If you need help, do not hesitate to ask
9. No electronic distractions (While in class, please give your full
   attention to our work and refrain from using electronic devices that divert your attention away. It will be considered as a tardy.)

Grading: 

Component Examples of Components Points 

Technical Proficiency Projects, Daily drills, Quizzes, Exercises 40% 

Participation (incl Responses) Class Discussions, 25% 

Artist Presentations Critiques, Peer Feedback, Concepts 15% 

Deadlines & Following Instructions Assignment completion and content, Readings 20% 

Total 100% 

Projects will be graded in the following categories: 

1. Visual Appeal
2.  Concept
3.  Development
4.  Presentation 

Independent Work Process Binder

Keep your process documentation in a large three-ring binder. Use letter-size plastic sleeves and/or punched holes to place items into your binder. You may use a sketchbook for notes, brainstorms and sketches, but remove the pages from your sketchbook and place them in your binder. Date and label all entries. Keep your binder organized. This is where you will keep your sketches, final projects and personal assessments of each project and the course. This will be due on the Final exam day.  

Late Assignments: NOPE, won’t accept them. If you’re absent the day something is due, send me an email with a photo of your assignment. 

Attendance + Participation:

 All students are expected to attend classes regularly and promptly and for the duration of the scheduled instructional time. A MAXIMUM of 3 (THREE) absences will be allowed before your final grade is affected. For example: If you have a ‘B’ in class, but are absent 4 times, your final grade will be a ‘C’. I’m super strict on this and WILL NOT ACCEPT excuses, so use your allowed 3 absences for illness and family emergencies only. It is your responsibility to keep track of your absences. Students that acquire 3 absences will receive a written warning from the instructor reminding them that any further absences will lower a student’s final grade. Excessive tardiness will be counted as an absence. Repeated absences may result in a grade of "F" for the course. *Students who withdraw from a course must do so in writing. Non-attendance does not constitute an official withdrawal.  

Critiques: 

Each week or at least every other week, we will try to make time to discuss each other’s work. This will take the form of a discussion where each of us should have an equal footing, with myself serving as something of a moderator. From the beginning, you should try your best to speak from your hearts and to learn from each other’s comments. Please respect each other’s voices—often many of the true gems of a workshop experience come from your peers. Remember from the outset when discussing someone else’s work to keep comments and criticisms as constructively honest and helpful as possible. This is very important. Hopefully, when we look at work, we will be looking at and talking about art. So please remember: in matters of art, there are no facts, only opinions. Please act accordingly.

What this class is: 

A very, very, very, very slow and almost meditative approach to the meticulous learning and practicing of creating beautiful writing. This will be a very relaxed class and should be a time for you to check all of your daily stresses about life and other classes at the door. Think of this course as a yoga class for writing -- it takes time and deep focus to learn proper form and to create a proper practice. 

What this class is NOT:

This is not a fast-paced course. Yes, you will get bored to tears at times as you work to perfect strokes and letterforms. It takes a great deal of time to perfect letterforms, so if you’re uncomfortable extremely slow-paced course instruction and a lot of in-class time to work silently, this will not be the class for you. 

Proposed Course Outline *subject to change per Instructor’s discretion

1. Italic

1. Basic calligraphy techniques
2. Practice worksheets

2. Gothic

1. Practice worksheets
2. Practice projects

3. Roman Capitals

3. Practice worksheets
4. Practice projects

4. Modern Brush and Script Calligraphy techniques and styles

5. Practice worksheets
6. Practice projects

Session + 

Proposed Assignments/ Projects 

Name 

Bookmark 

Alphabet forest

A passage from a novel

Family Coat of Arms

Engagement Painting

Pangrams

Independent Project

PROJECT GRADING RUBRIC: This will be used on every assignment this semester

Major projects will be graded on 5 separate criteria with a total of 50 possible points

5 = unacceptable, 6.5 = below average, 7.5 = average, 8.5 = above average, 10 = excellent

1. TECHNOLOGY / CRAFT

Techniques applied with precision and control.

3. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION

Was the idea well-conceived and thoughtful?

2. VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF CONCEPT

Control of variables in achieving legible and expressive meaning.

4. CRITIQUE PARTICIPATION

Did the student actively and thoughtfully participate in a final critique of student projects?

ATTENDANCE:

 Attendance is mandatory.  I do not budge on this, I do not make exceptions or take excuses for missed classes. 

Penalties are as follows:

• If you are absent more than 3 classes, your final grade will be lowered by one whole grade point and so on. 
• Six absences will result in a failure (F). There are no acceptable excuses. None. 
• If you are tardy 3 times, it will count as one absence. If you leave early, it will count as a tardy. 
• If you are late for more than an hour, you will be marked absent.
• If you miss a crit, a discussion, or a presentation, it will also count as an absence.
• If you do not have your own materials for the day’s activities, you will be marked absent.
• If you do not have images to work on during open lab days, you will be marked absent. 
• If you are paying attention to an electronic device or a computer during a lecture or critique (unless otherwise directed) you will be marked absent.

Bottom line, if your course performance would normally have merited an “A”, but you missed two classes and were late to three more, you should expect a final grade of “B”. If you missed four classes, an A would then become a C.

Attendance is taken at the beginning of class. If you come in late it is your job to inform me that you are present.

This is important, so read it carefully: You get three excused absences. The three excused absences are for illness and emergencies, not excused “cuts”. If an illness or emergency requires more than your allotted three absences, no documentation or circumstance of any sort will save you. Attendance and promptness can and will greatly affect your overall final grade.

Students are responsible for contacting the instructor regarding late arrivals to class or need to leave class early; no contact with the instructor is interpreted as unexcused.

The university gives the authorization to lower grades or fail students for poor attendance and tardiness at the instructor’s discretion. (Students have been known to get a very low grade because they come late or are absent frequently.)

Honor Code: 

A violation of the principle includes, but is not limited to Plagiarism: Intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc., is common knowledge. Artists & designers occasionally work from photographs or other imagery. This is allowed & is sometimes necessary, however, the artist’s intent must be clear that the new work was not made to merely duplicate someone else’s artwork in another medium or form & claim it as one’s own.  

You will FAIL this course if it is determined that you plagiarized on any photographic or written assignments this semester.  Without hesitation, your work will be given a zero and a meeting will be scheduled between you and the chair of the department. Don’t copy another student’s work, pull work from another artist’s website, turn in work from other classes for this class, or turn in work that was done by you prior to this semester.  

DISABILITY STATEMENT: 

“The University of Michigan–Flint strives to make learning experiences as accessible as possible and complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act. The university provides individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to participate in educational programs, activities, and services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodations to participate in class activities or meet course requirements must self-identify with Disability and Accessibility Support Services as early as possible at (810) 762-3456 or dassflint@umich.edu. The office is located in 264 University Center, inside the CAPS Office. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined you will be issued an Accommodation Letter. Please present this letter to each faculty member in each class at the beginning of the term, or at least two weeks prior to the need for the accommodation (test, project, etc.).”

POLICIES: 

Academic Rights

1. Protection of Freedom of Expression.  Students are responsible for learning thoroughly the content of any course of study, but are free to take exception to the data or views presented and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion.
2. Protection Against Improper Disclosure.  Protection against improper disclosure of information regarding student views, beliefs, and political associations which instructors acquire in the course of their work as instructors, advisors, and counselors is considered a professional obligation.
3. Protection Against Improper Academic Evaluation.  Students can expect protection, through orderly procedures, against prejudice or capricious evaluation.  Students are also expected to respect the academic freedom of faculty and their rights and responsibilities to determine curriculum and evaluate academic performance.

If any student has a grievance regarding academic practices and policies, there are established procedures within each college and school of the University of Michigan-Flint for resolving such problems.  See the appropriate school or college section of the Catalog for a statement of the academic grievance procedure to be followed.  

For conflicts involving a faculty or staff member, students are encouraged to try to resolve the matter through consultation with that individual. If the conflict is of a discriminatory or sexually harassing nature, the student should consult with the Institutional Equity Specialist or the Office of the Dean of Students.  Complaints against a faculty or staff member must be filed with the Institutional Equity Specialist.

Academic Integrity

Intellectual integrity is the most fundamental value of an academic community. Students and faculty alike are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity in their scholarship. No departure from the highest standards of intellectual integrity, whether by cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or aiding and abetting dishonesty by another person, can be tolerated in a community of scholars. Such transgressions may result in action ranging from reduced grade or failure of a course, to expulsion from the University or revocation of degree.

It is the responsibility of all students and faculty to know the policies on academic integrity in the instructional units at the University of Michigan-Flint. Information about these policies and the appeals process is available from the appropriate administrative office of the instructional units: in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; in the School of Education and Human Services, the Office of the Dean of the School of Education and Human Services; in the School of Management, the Office of the Dean of the School of Management; in the School of Health Professions and Studies, the Office of the Dean of the School of Health Professions and Studies and for graduate students, the Office of the Dean of Graduate Programs.

Departments and programs within these instructional units may have specific policies and procedures which further delineate academic integrity. In such cases students are bound by the University policy on academic integrity as well as these department or program policies.

Procedural Rights of the Accused Student. A student who is charged with academic dishonesty by an instructor, administrator, or another student may be assured that he/she has the right to a fair hearing of the charges and the evidence, the right to question witnesses, to invite witnesses on his/her behalf, and to introduce whatever other evidence may be relevant to the charge.

Code of Academic Conduct. The University, like all communities, functions best when its members treat one another with honesty, fairness, respect, and trust. Therefore, an individual should realize that deception for the purpose of individual gain is an offense against the members of the community. Such dishonesty includes:

Plagiarism: taking credit for someone else’s work or ideas, submitting a piece of work (for example, an essay, research paper, assignment, laboratory report) which in part or in whole is not entirely the student’s own work without fully and accurately attributing those same portions to their correct source.

Cheating: using unauthorized notes, or study aids, or information from another student or student’s paper on an examination; altering a graded work after it has been returned, then submitting the work for regrading; allowing another person to do one’s work, then submitting the work under one’s own name.

Fabrication: fabricating data; selectively reporting or omitting conflicting data for deceptive purposes; presenting data in a piece of work when the data were not gathered in accordance with guidelines defining the appropriate methods of collecting or generating data; failing to include a substantially accurate account of the method by which the data were gathered or collected.

Aiding and Abetting Dishonesty: providing material or information to another person when it should reasonably be expected that such action could result in these materials or information being used in a manner that would violate this code of academic integrity.

Falsification of Records and Official Documents: altering documents affecting academic records; forging a signature of authorization or falsifying or omitting necessary information on an official academic document, election form, grade report, letter of permission, petition, or any document designed to meet or exempt a student from an established College or University academic regulation; falsification or unauthorized altering of information in any official academic computer file.

Identity Theft: Assuming another person’s identity or role through deception or without proper authorization. Communicating or acting under the guise, name, identification, email address, signature, or indicia of another person without proper authorization, or communicating under the rubric of an organization, entity, or unit that you do not have the authority to represent.

Misrepresentation and Other Acts of Academic Dishonesty: fraudulently obtaining and/or using academic materials that would give oneself an unfair advantage over other students or would deceive the person evaluating one’s academic performance.

Attempts. An attempt to commit an act prohibited by this code may be punished to the same extent as a completed violation.

Attendance Policy and Syllabus Acknowledgement:

By signing this, you are acknowledging that you are aware of the attendance policy for Digital Photo 1  and have read through and understand the syllabus and expectations of the class. You are aware that a maximum of 3 absences is allowed throughout the semester and that any days missed beyond that will result in a lowered final grade. Excuses for missed classes beyond 3 will not be accepted. 

______________________________________________________

Printed Name,  Date 

Attendance Policy and Syllabus Acknowledgement:

By signing this, you are acknowledging that you are aware of the attendance policy for Digital Photo 1  and have read through and understand the syllabus and expectations of the class. You are aware that a maximum of 3 absences is allowed throughout the semester and that any days missed beyond that will result in a lowered final grade. Excuses for missed classes beyond 3 will not be accepted. 

______________________________________________________

Printed Name,  Date