Studio Arts

In the fine arts studio, art-making is a journey of self discovery.

Mapping your life; opening your mind; believing in the faith of internal beauty-these are the creative powers innate to your heart and soul.  Your heart is the studio and soul is the artist.  Sublimation is our work ethic.  Our studio is internationally connected and our faculty are the magicians who help you transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

If you wish to express your feelings, ideas, and dreams with images, and if you want to experience the joy of creating something imaginative and meaningful, you are by heart a studio artist.  Creating art is the way towards a fuller and more enriched life.  It helps unlock deep sources of wisdom and unleashes the creative power that lies at the center if our being.

Studio Arts: Drawing and Painting

The Studio Arts major at Finlandia learns and experiments to discover their preferred mediums. On this creative journey, you'll grow your sensitivity to the beauty of line, form, color, and composition.

In our studio arts program, our students work with a devoted artist/teacher in small classes and in their own studios.  They learn a variety of techniques and experiment with various media to find which best serves their expressive needs.  Sensitivity to the beauty of line, form, color, and composition grow along this creative journey.  Diverse ideas are introduced.  New critical and technical approaches are encouraged,  It is also important to know famous artists, historical and contemporary, and their master works in order to find your place in the art world.

Senior studio arts students prepare a formal exhibition of their Diploma Works, displaying their personal journeys and marking their transition from student to professional artist.

Studio Arts: Illustration

Finlandia's Illustration major embarks on a process of visual discovery. Illustration majors work with experienced artists to develop solid skills in story-boarding, character development and design, drawing for animation, and more.

Our illustration students begin by learning creative visualization-they then transform these visions into a personal vocabulary, gradually building a visual language.  Through this process they master various conceptualization and drawing techniques, color theory, and visual storytelling.

ISAD illustration majors work with experienced artists and faculty, learning story-boarding, character development and design, drawing for animation, and much more.  Through focused projects our students have the chance to specialize in a particular area such as comic book illustration, advertising illustration, children's book illustration, and medical illustration.  Our students each develop a marketable portfolio that demonstrates their high level of professional skill and individual artistic style.

Self discipline, global awareness, and a strong work ethic are merged naturally through the learning process.  Emphasizing effective visual communication skills, our illustration program offers many opportunities to develop an artistic sensibility and creative voice within the context of today's visual culture.

Studio Arts Learning Outcomes