The structure and activities of the Fine Arts 3D department center on the world of objects and object-making. Philosophically and practically, the department reflects the contemporary art world and culture, where boundaries are dissolving: sculptors are making furniture, fiber artists are building installations.

Contemporary innovations and formats coexist with traditional approaches; students explore time-honored techniques and craftsmanship along with new technologies. We expect all students in the department to become technically competent, conceptually independent, critically aware, and dedicated to their passion of art-making. Chair Joe Wood explains that "in the 3D studio experience, patterns for problem solving are cultivated. Preliminary drawings, technical practice, model making, material studies, first attempt, second attempt - these are all great problem solving skills. Successful graduates can apply these skills wherever they go."

The Fine Arts 3D Department is housed in newly renovated spaces that occupy one of the college's buildings. The nearly 42,000 square feet of well-ventilated and well-maintained studios and workshops feature state-of-the-art equipment and materials. These extraordinary facilities accommodate welding, fabrication, machine tool processes, blacksmithing, foundry processes, woodworking, hot and cold glassworking, kiln firing, and more.

Our faculty are working artists. Their close ties to the contemporary art world in Boston and beyond provide contacts through which students profit enormously. Students also learn about art and art-making through visits to area studios, galleries, and museums, and from visiting artists and interesting exchange programs. And as new technologies emerge, the faculty have embraced computer modeling, computer-assisted design (CAD), and computer-controlled devices as resources that are becoming more important.

Among many other activities, we sponsor an annual five-day working field trip to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. The trip, open to all students at MassArt, offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in an environment of woods and ocean and sky. People come to Haystack to develop skills and nurture the creative spirit; they come to ask questions, reassess their work, and push into the unknown. Traditionally, this has been an opportunity for students to engage in making temporary outdoor installations in response to the qualities of this very special place. A student participant describes Haystack as "one of the best, hidden treasures of MassArt. For a very reasonable amount of money you spend five days meeting with people outside of your own specific area; painters meet sculptors, sculptors meet printmakers. I got lots of inspiration and made a sculpture based on The Odyssey, which I was reading in my Literary Traditions course. There is a library, a woodshop--all kinds of different professionally equipped studios."

The cross-disciplinary 3D department encourages students to push the limits of their expectations and creativity as they develop increasing technical mastery of their chosen media. Sophomores take two required courses that introduce primary information about structure, form-making, idea development and translation, tool handling, and safety procedures. They also choose two courses in their field of interest to acquire and expand a vocabulary of technical processes.

Juniors begin to develop a personal vision and focused interests, while continuing to refine their vision and expand their technical, conceptual, and critical skills. Juniors and seniors are encouraged to participate in "theme" courses, which examine common aesthetic issues such as narrative, function in art and design, mixed media, installation, public art, and object and image. They also participate in advanced seminars, forums in which to discuss important issues in their chosen fields.

Beginning in the junior year, students participate in the end-of-semester review process. Their work is evaluated by a 3- or 4-member faculty panel; visiting artists and graduate students often participate. By senior year, students focus their work to reflect personal perspectives and professional execution. Senior Seminar, a required professional practices course, provides students with the tools necessary to survive and flourish as working artists after graduation.

We offer five areas of 3D concentration, all of them enriched by studies in the history of object-making, as well as by a vibrant program of topical symposia and visiting artists. Students in the department also learn about art and art-making through field trips to area studios, galleries, museums.