Evans and Groat believe that some art schools are offering rich, "artsy" cultures with very little emphasis on real-world application. They feel that BCC's Art department -one of the college's fastest growing programs -offers a healthy dose of practicality to its students.

'I used to hate it when my teachers would tell me to move or change something without divulging any of the reasoning," Evans said. "Our students must explain the logic behind their design decisions." She believes in pushing the process just as strongly as the finished product. Students must understand how to work with imposed limitations on factors such as time, budgets, materials, and pre-existing design themes. All mistakes, sketches, and false starts are handed in as part of each assignment. "I need to see the struggle," Patricia said, "in order to see how the students arrive at their finished products."

The department has taken an approach based on the methods of the German Bauhaus School (Bauen = build, Haus = house) of the 1930s . That school's goal was to combine art with engineering and craftsmanship. Bauhaus students were trained by both artists and master craftsmen; the goal was to develop modern artists who were also familiar with science and economics.

"Many art schools are focused on learning by discovery," new Assistant Professor Hall Groat agrees. "Here students learn to understand the foundations of good design."

BCC's art programs strive for a balance between the creative and the practical. Groat believes that students should learn how to think conceptually and solve problems, rather than simply following directions. "An artist should learn depth, as well as commercial methods," he said.

In addition to honing creative expression and artistic skill, Groat feels that it is important for students to learn about the politics and business of commercial art. As Art & Design Club coordinator, he teaches students how to create professional portfolios, how to present portfolios to a group, how to approach businesses for employment, and how to create digital portfolios. Students also learn how to research jobs online.

"Companies are hiring creative thinkers who know how to communicate their ideas," Groat said. "They want to see strong portfolios, not just credits and degrees."

Groat's aim for the BCC Art and Design Club is that it have immediate usefulness for students; most club activities result in material for student portfolios, or knowledge that they can put to use in their work. For example, the club is sponsoring the "Artist Talk" series, which brings renowned professional artists to the campus to discuss their work. In the future, visiting artists will be asked to conduct workshops, which will also be open to the community.

Evans and Groat believe that many of the art students who come to BCC already have a strong vision of what they want to do. They are interested mainly in corporate image design, motion graphics (animation), and editorial design areas.
Some students are earning money right now, by hiring out their services in online auctions. They are already familiarizing themselves with creating contracts and dealing with clients. Several students are paying for their own education. "They have learned that they will get what they work for,"Evans said. "If they only want to play, they won't last."

And it would seem that the word is out on all the effort to distinguish BCC's art program. Enrollments are soaring, and student feedback is positive.

Alexandra Davis, a second-year Studio Art major, says, "The art programs here really open your eyes. They help you to understand how the things you see every day on TV and in the newspaper are designed."

Davis wants to become a teacher herself. "I plan to use what I have learned here in my own classes," she said. "The professors are just phenomenal. They really know how to keep the students interested." When asked how lessons in BCC's art program apply to the real world, Davis said "The lessons we learn here can be used anywhere. Even if you work in a furniture store you could use the design skills they teach."

by Jesse Wells, Assistant to VPSCA