Design and Industry Associate Professor Hsiao-Yun Chu is headed to Monterey this summer, and she hopes you will join her. Chu is teaching a course on jewelry and body adornment at CSU Summer Arts, held at CSU Monterey Bay.
CSU Summer Arts is an annual program offering courses in visual art/design, theatre, dance, music, creative writing and media/animation. Each two-week course provides up to three units of transferable college credit. Most participants stay on campus, and everyone has the opportunity to share their work through as many as 25 public events.
“These are intensive arts classes, within the context of an arts festival,” Chu says. “It’s a transformative experience for both the students and faculty who participate.”
Chu’s class, Jewelry and Body Adornment Using Alternative Materials, pushes students to transcend the traditional boundaries of jewelry design. Students will learn how to integrate wood, ceramics, glass, natural materials and found objects with traditional materials such as metal and beads as well as to explore the cultural meanings and aesthetic possibilities of body adornment.
“Jewelry doesn’t have just be an accessory to match an outfit,” she says. “It can also be an expressive art piece done an intimate scale and worn close to the body, reminding one of particular moments and moods.”
As is the custom at CSU Summer Arts, accomplished guest artists will complement Chu in the classroom. Sophie Monet, a designer of handcrafted wood jewelry, and Winnie van der Rijn, an artist and jewelry designer who specializes in using upcycled found objects, will lead hands-on workshops, share insights into entrepreneurship and the creative process, and work with students.
Chu, who makes jewelry in her spare time, looks forward to exploring themes of cultural and individual expression in the class as well.
The course takes place June 27 – July 10, and culminates in a public exhibition of student work.
Students must apply for admission to the class by May 2. Scholarships are available. Summer Arts is open to CSU students, students from other universities and community colleges, and the general public.
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Photo by Hannah Anderson