Spring Term courses are usually Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The courses run for three weeks during the month of May and the longevity of the classes allows for more in-depth learning of the topics.
A course being offered this Spring Term is “DIY Woodworking” and will be taught by Associate Professor of Art and Design James Viewegh. The class will take place in the woodshop on campus, which is fully loaded with tools. This class allows students outside the department to come in and use the tools, and learn to use them properly.
Viewegh said students will begin the term with an orientation on how to use all the shop tools and machines. Students will then be allowed to build projects out of wood using those tools and machines.
“A lot of people these days, since they don’t have shop in schools anymore, don’t know how to do any of this stuff,” Viewegh said.
Students do not need to know anything about woodworking to join this class. The class is three hours a day, but the time allows for learning how to properly use the tools, tool safety, designing projects, buying wood and building the projects that students have designed. In the past, students have made tables, corn hole boards and even furniture.
Viewegh said a class like this can be really valuable for people who want to own a home in the future because students learn how to use the tools necessary for basic home maintenance and repair. Viewegh encourages students to come and try it and learn new techniques and skills.
“Come in and have some fun,” Viewegh said. “Get dirty.”
A new Spring Term course being offered is “Ready, Set, Paint,” which will be taught by Assistant Professor of Art and Design Katherine Fries.
Fries grew up knowing she wanted to be an artist and has been making and producing art. Her particular interests are in printmaking and assemblage sculpture.
This year is Fries’ first year as a full-time professor in art and design and her first time teaching a Spring Term course. She said she is very excited to teach this course because it is her first opportunity to teach something outside the regular curriculum.
“Arts are essential to society,” Fries said.
Fries believes this course is good for any UIndy student, whether he or she paints regularly or has never picked up a paintbrush before. This class paints wet paint into wet paint, and by the end of the course everyone will have completed six small paintings.
The course is laid out in a step-by-step manner, to allow students to ease into the process and enjoy the experience of creating art. Students will learn how to use the tools and the basics of art.
“No matter what Spring Term class that you select, pick a class that you are interested in, even if it might sound intimidating,” Fries said. “Do it because you might surprise yourself with what you get out of it. Go for it.”
