Spend this summer enhancing your art portfolio and advancing your skills in Northern Spain.  Wendy Edwards, Visual Art Department Chair at Brown, will be joined by RISD colleague, Jerry Mischak to offer courses in drawing and painting.   Professor Edwards has over 20 years of experience teaching intensive international summer art programs. In addition to art courses, students will participate in introductory culture and language courses each afternoon.  

Comillas, located in Cantabria, boasts a stunning landscape in a smaller town with close proximity to larger cities.  Participants will move throughout Comillas, enjoying the outdoor setting and comfortable summer weather on the coast. The studio location sits on a hill in front of the old Seminary, and has views of the coast. Excursions to local towns, such as Santillana del Mar, will offer students a broader perspective on Spanish life and art in the region.  In just four weeks, students create a rich portfolio through careful study of the similarities and differences between world cultures, and how these are manifested in the arts.  

• Program Overview
• Course Details
• Housing & Meals
• Costs
• Apply

Program Overview

2012 Dates	Jun 2 - Jun 30
Faculty	Wendy Edwards, Chair, Program in Visual Arts Jerry Mischak, Senior Critic, RISD
Program Fee	Academic Program Room & Board	$6250 $1770
Prerequisites	None - students with various backgrounds and concentrations are encouraged to apply. Concentrators in art and those with no prior art experience will both find this program challenging and rewarding.
Eligibility	Undergraduates currently enrolled at a university
Application Deadline	February 15, 2012 (rolling: applications will be accepted beginning in Dec.)
Financial Aid	Limited need-based OIP summer grants will be available for Brown students only.

 

Course Details

VISA 0063: Comillas, Spain: Painting I and II

This class will investigate painting based on information collected from the surrounding environment. Each assignment will stem from research on selected visual findings in the town of Comillas, the local landscape, or field trips to historic sites. This class will accommodate both beginning and advanced level students through individual and group critiques. All students will be assigned twenty-four hour access to an individual studio space allowing for a wide range of ongoing projects in relation to scale and materials. The minimum requirement of eight paintings is expected within a stimulating and highly productive and focused four-week course. Basic principals as well as conceptual critical thinking skills will be introduced. This course will include daily interaction with the professor and individual support throughout the program. Students will be required to attend faculty and visiting artist lectures, Saturday excursions to sites selected by the faculty. Slide lectures, articles and other visual materials will be provided to both the group and individuals.

 

VISA 0061: Comillas: DRAWING I and II: Introduction and Advanced Tutorial

Working on-site and in the studio with traditional drawing media -- charcoal, graphite, ink wash, crayon, and pastel -- students will study the experimental and innovative potential of drawing. Weekly assignments will challenge students to encounter aspects of Drawing that are foundational to visual thinking. Projects will develop drawings that stand independently as finished final works on paper. Working from direct observation beginning students can expect individual one-on-one support daily and experienced students develop means of visual research that build advanced-level projects. Drawings and personal notations will be collected during field trips, and each day's work in this book will document all studio developments and on-site observations. This important research tool will be central to weekly dialog with faculty.

 

Language & Culture

Language and Culture courses (not for credit) will be offered through the Comillas Foundation. Participation in this portion of the program is required for all students, and will accommodate students with varying levels of Spanish proficiency. Students who apply for this program should be invested in not only the studio art courses, but also in learning about Spanish language, life and culture.

Housing & Meals

Student housing with host families will be arranged by the Comillas Foundation in this picturesque town in Northern Spain. Students will receive full room and board while in Comillas, but will pay for other meals out of pocket during excursions and other activities.

Costs

	USD	Includes
Academic Fee	$6250	Tuition fee for 2 Brown credits Site visits as described in the program description Most art supplies that are required for course completion Cultural courses taught through Fundación Comillas
Room & Board	$1770	Housing in Comillas with host families Overnight in Santander Transportation from Santander to Comillas Breakfast in Comillas, lunch with host family and dinner vouchers during the week.

 

Other Costs (not covered by Brown)
	Estimate	Notes
Int'l Flights	$1400	to/from Santander, Spain
Incidentals	$400	Personal expenses incurred, site visits outside of academic program, pre/post-program accommodations
Classroom Materials	$300	Textbooks, notebooks, pens, etc. Students should plan to bring some art supplies with them. The majority will be made available on site.
Other meals	$400	Meals not included in program

 

Apply

Apply by downloading the Brown Summer Study Abroad Application, and returning the completed form via email to Dana_Pratt@brown.edu.

Updated: January 29, 2009