Louise Kames, MFA
Chair and Professor of Art
I love to take students abroad and help them learn new things, such as how to navigate the Paris Metro or the London Tube. I encourage them to experience a sense of awe in unexpected places.
Studio Art
Bachelor of Arts
MAKE IT! Clarke’s Art major is your pathway to the creative economy. Maybe you are career-driven and know exactly what you want to do with your art degree. Great! Clarke is the place for you. Or, maybe you don’t quite know what to do with your interest in fine arts. Clarke is the place for you, too. All art students take the same foundation courses in the first year of study in the BA Studio Art Program. These courses will ground you in contemporary practice in drawing, design, digital skills, 3D structures, and art history and guide you as you discover yourself.
The Studio Art Program includes coursework in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and ceramics. You choose a studio emphasis in one of these areas to develop both technical expertise and a personal creative voice. You will often work one-on-one with a professor in an advanced course so your instruction is individualized and rivals that of an art or graduate school program.
Ask yourself this. Are you a doodler, a dreamer, a maker? Do you value innovation, taking risks, and creativity? Is art or photography your passion? Or maybe you like to draw characters from your favorite video games or even create your own? Do you want to make a difference in our world? Do you want to work with professors and peers who challenge you to be more than you can imagine? Then, take the next step and launch your career as a creative with the Art + Design Programs at Clarke University. Clarke Art + Design faculty members will guide you toward a successful life in the arts. They will be your mentors in the classroom studios and beyond as you earn your BA in Art. Each is a successful professional in his or her field. They will provide you with immersive studio experience and assist in making connections in the creative economy whether that is as an art teacher, independent artist, design fabricator, graduate student, museum or gallery professional, or so much more. An art degree in Art + Design can also prepare you for a career beyond the studio. Art + Design coursework cultivates creative thinking and research, the ability to synthesize complex ideas and processes with discipline and focus, and the facility to give and take criticism. These are the skills and attributes needed to succeed in diverse careers that will be gained with a BA studio art. Individuals who hold an art degree are creative types that are poised to thrive in an economy subject to automation and workforce reduction. If this interests you, take a drive to Dubuque, Iowa, and discover for yourself the Art Program at Clarke.
Graduates with a Clarke bachelor of visual arts are poised to succeed in the 21st-century creative market. Clarke’s studio art program includes coursework in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and ceramics. You choose a studio emphasis in one of these areas to develop both technical expertise and a personal creative voice. Clarke offers a bachelor’s degree in Art as well as the option of K-12 teacher certification. Not sure what career path to pursue? We also offer Graphic Design and Digitial Media Studies in addition to our BA Studio Art.
Program Details
Clarke’s bachelor of arts degree requires 48 credits in art. With this flexible schedule, students can double major or minor in a complementary area like communication or business, or complete K-12 art education certification. A professional and critical atmosphere encourages students to extend their artistic involvement beyond studio exercises into juried exhibitions, internships, independent study, and travel.
Opportunities Abound
As a bachelor of visual arts degree student, you will have the opportunities to exhibit your college art in Clarke’s Quigley Gallery as well as in the Dubuque community. Your studies culminate with the Senior Performance, an independent project created under the close guidance of a faculty mentor that is exhibited in Quigley Gallery. You will learn self-promotion strategies to help launch your career by creating a personal portfolio, entering professional juried exhibitions, and visiting galleries.
Cool Classes
Take a peek at the unique and fun classes you’ll take as an art major.
3D DESIGN — Tame the woodshop power tools and learn fabrication techniques in this 3D design class. LIFE DRAWING I — Draw like Leonardo da Vinci in the Human Anatomy Cadaver Lab.
BOOK ARTS — Bind your own journal and explore letterpress printing with wood type.
Real-World Experience
Look where a college art major in art can take you, both locally here in Dubuque, Iowa, nationally, and internationally:
- Studio Artist
- Etsy Shop Entrepreneur
- Illustrator
- Art Teacher/Professor
- 3D Production Artist
- Letterpress Printer
- Floral Designer
- Photographer
- Interior Designer
- Architect
- Art Store Manager
Admission to Clarke University
To enter Clarke’s art degree program, fill out the application to Clarke, and include high school transcripts and SAT/ACT scores. Freshman art school applicants must submit a portfolio of 12-20 examples of their work.
Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Apply to Clarke today to begin your journey.
Talent Awards
Clarke will invest in your future by offering Fine Arts Scholarships for excellence in Art + Design. Award amounts are based on portfolio review in the bachelor of visual arts program.
Engaged in Community
Studio Art degree-seeking students are active in Dubuque’s vibrant arts culture whether working one-on-one in a studio mentorship or participating in active public art campaigns. Our emerging artists gain valuable professional skills and connections by working with internationally known muralists, sculpting with snow in an Art in the Park winter festival, curating exhibitions for the Dubuque Museum of Art, flexing sculpture skills as a fabrication artist at McCullough Creative, or working in the ceramics studio of well-known Paul Eshelman.
Program in Pictures
Quigley Art Gallery
Students work on press printers
Erik Brolin puts on the finishing touches to his ceramic mugs.
Students draw on campus
Dubuque Art Scene-Gallery
FINE ART TALENT AWARDS_Art
Students participate in a body extension project.
Students make masks
Students draw landscapes off campus.
Jessie Rebik, MFA
Associate Professor of Art
My ultimate goal is that, through developing their artist selves, students will become self-aware, empathetic, and have a clearer realization of who they aspire to become, as well as their relationship to their world.
Eric Wold, MFA
Associate Professor of Graphic Design
I believe that teaching graphic designs as a process-oriented activity helps students to develop life-long skills of thinking and tinkering; to establish habits that become practice; and to develop a process that maintains creative curiosity across disciplines and technologies.
Nate Ditzler
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art + Design
I view education as an agent of empowerment and a gateway to self-actualization in a knowledge-based society. The knowledge acquired in a studio art education equips a student with a comprehensive sensibility about visual culture and self-expression, as well as an appreciation for different ideas and perspectives. I believe that this awareness, paired with the values of productivity, innovation, and creative problem-solving, is a solid foundation for a student’s future success in any field.
There’s more to college than going to class.
The Classroom and Beyond
Study Abroad
Art students study abroad more than any other major at Clarke. Walk through museums in Florence, study Japanese art in Nagasaki, or paint landscapes in Wales.
Careers in Studio Art
What can I do with a degree in this major?
Internships
Score cool internships at local businesses, marketing and design agencies, galleries, and museums.
Facilities & Equipment
The main painting and drawing studio is a beautiful space with skylight and windows on three sides offering views of the Mississippi River. The sculpture and ceramics studios have been renovated in recent years with the addition of a wood shop, welding equipment, and new gas kiln.
The Clarke Compass
Through your Clarke experience, you will be involved in many different activities that will guide you on your college journey. By your senior year, you will have a résumé of all your awesome involvements packaged and ready for your first interview.
Dubuque Art Scene
The Art + Design Department maintains a professional atmosphere that directs students to be actively involved in the art and design world beyond the Clarke campus.
But don’t take our word for it…
Our Students & Alumni
Hannah Goldsmith
Studio Art/Sculpture '16
When I first came to Clarke, I was shy and introverted. The professors encouraged me to go beyond the classroom to visit local exhibits and galleries, as well as submit my work to various shows.
Megan Kalmes
Studio Art '08
I received my degree studio art at Clarke and went on to achieve my MFA at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Now I am a visiting professor of art at Clarke. I’ve come full circle.
Jenn Rood
Studio Art with an Emphasis in Painting '16
I was part of the Clarke Art Slam Team for the Voices from the Warehouse Art Slam competition. I learned a lot about working to make a collaborative piece of art and also how to manage time and paint with an audience watching.
$5,000
Scholarships
Amount in renewable Fine Arts Talent Awards given yearly.
Two weeks
Senior exhibit
The senior capstone includes a professional, solo, two-week gallery exhibit.
February 1
Deadline
February 1 is the deadline for priority application to studio art program.
Other Programs to Explore
Experience Clarke Studio Art for Yourself