Visual Arts

Engage in studio arts through theory and practice. Explore image and object-making as historical and cultural traditions in relation to contemporary artistic, political, and social issues.

2017-18 Day of Caring

Note: You can join or leave a Path of Study at any time and your credits will always count toward your Bachelor’s degree.

In 2023-24 the Visual Arts and Media Arts and Studies paths will be combined – creating a new path of study in Visual and Media Arts.

Evergreen’s unique visual arts curriculum offers ample opportunities for you to work deeply on art making in studios-based programs, while applying artistic approaches to themes with other academic disciplines in interdisciplinary programs.

  • Cultivate visual art and visual studies creative methodologies as part of interdisciplinary inquiry.
  • Gain hands-on art skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, woodworking, fine metals, sculpture, ceramics, and photography.
  • Learn practices, histories and theories of image and object making as historical and cultural traditions.
  • Develop critical awareness of artistic practices in our contemporary era that allow for individual and collaborative work with direct engagement from faculty and staff.

You will have unparalleled access to techniques and tools in state-of-the-art studios that minimize negative environmental impacts. Interdisciplinary art programs integrate the visual arts with philosophy, environmental studies, cultural studies, media, education, and history, among other fields.

Graduates are educators and sculptors, jewelers and fashion designers, printmakers and photographers, animators and illustrators. Many go on to join prestigious arts organizations and non-profits, or do advanced studies in art history, critical theory, curatorial studies, and museum studies. Others nurture creative talent in the fields of information science, art history, and industrial design, while some choose to or start their own creative businesses as artists, craftspeople, or entrepreneurs. The career opportunities for visual artists are as varied as the mediums they choose to pursue.

Learn more about this field of study.

Ceramic Portraits

    This Path can prepare you for careers in

    • Arts education: museums and galleries
    • Visual communications: media advertising, publications, video games, theater, and film
    • Craft artist: letter press and printmaking, woodworking, pottery, and jewelry
    • Fine artist: illustration, painting, cartoons, graphic novels, and sculpting
    • Multimedia artist: special effects artists, animators, and game designers
    • Photography
    • Graphic design
    • Animation
    • Art direction
    • Set and exhibit design
    • Studio assistant
    • Public artist
    • Fabricator
    • Studio technician
    • Project manager
    • Commercial and industrial design
    • Fashion and retail design
    • Floral design
    • Interior design

    Graduate school opportunities beyond this Path

    • Master's in Fine Arts
    • Curatorial studies
    • Museum studies
    • Art therapy
    • K–12 teaching
    • Business and non-profit organizations
    • Architecture
    Faculty on this Path
    Title Expertise
    Adams, Emily Printmaking
    Alexandria, Catherine (Jehrin) Dance, ballet, movement therapy
    Birzer, Sharon
    Blackwell, Evan Ceramic art, sculpture, visual studies
    Boilini, Lauren Painting, drawing, art history
    Chema, Carolyn
    Davis, Pamela
    Eamon, Kathleen Aesthetics and philosophy, critical theory, psychoanalysis
    Faur, Amjad Photography
    Jensen, Don
    Lee, Albert
    Leverich, Robert Visual arts, architecture
    McCarty, Alexander 3D studio art
    Osha (Flores), Shaw visual arts, painting, drawing
    Partridge, Penelope
    Pavel, Susan
    Sandoz, Joli Academic and creative nonfiction writing, community studies, analog game design
    Sattler, Jill
    Thompson, Bruce Ceramics
    Towles, Stokley performance art, public art, urban systems
    Zay, Julia Media arts, photography, visual studies
    Catalog Offerings for 2022-23
    Title Paths Class Standing Credits
    Alchemy of Witness II: Relating Through the Camera
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    8
    Art + Archive
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Art Time in Animation and Painting
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Arts and the Child: Early Childhood (A)
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Arts and the Child: Early Childhood (B)
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Capturing Gems: Metalsmithing Techniques for Setting Stones
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Ceramics: Fundamentals
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Ceramics: Fundamentals
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Ceramics: Intermediate and Advanced Projects
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Ceramics: Intermediate and Advanced Projects
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Drawing: Figure
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Drawing: Foundations
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Drawing: Foundations
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Drawing: Portrait
    • Exploratory
      Entry
      Intermediate
      Advanced
      Support
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Engaging Collectively Through Art and Critical Social Psychology
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Figure (Oil) Painting: Post-Pandemic Hands-On Learning
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    2
    Figure Drawing
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Fine Metals: Foundations (A)
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Fine Metals: Foundations (B)
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Graphic Design II: Brand Identity and Print Publication for Artists and Designers
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Graphic Design III: Capstone Projects, Professional Portfolios, and User Interface Design for Artists and Designers
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Greece and Italy: An Artistic and Literary Odyssey
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Intermediate Painting
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Medium and Message: Fine Metals, Book Arts, and Design Thinking
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Medium and Message: Graphic Design, Audio Ethnography, and Design Thinking
    • Freshman
    10, 14
    Oil Painting: Post-Pandemic Hands-on Learning
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    2
    Oil Painting: Post-Pandemic Hands-on Learning
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    2
    Painting
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Painting
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Photography: Digital
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Photography: Documentary
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Photography: Foundations
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Power Games: Identity and the Social Imagination in Game Studies and Design
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    8
    Printmaking: Advanced
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Printmaking: Intermediate
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Printmaking: Introduction
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Professional Practices for Artists
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Remaking the Photograph
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Salmon, Raven, and Whale: The Pacific Northwest in Art and Science
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    14
    Studio + Field: Advanced Projects in Art and Media
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    Studio Projects: Rites of Passage
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    16
    The Alchemy of Witness I: Integrative Skills for Psychology and the Helping Professions
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    8
    Woodworking Special Topics: Multiples
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking Special Topics: Seating
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking: Enclosures and Containers
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking: Enclosures and Containers
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking: Frames and Surfaces
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking: Frames and Surfaces
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Woodworking: Summative Research and Studio Project
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    4
    Writing Visual Culture: the Image in Cultural and Critical Theory
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    8, 16