Studio Art

This is an extremely high value course at Middlebury, and needed too. Unlike peer institutions, Middlebury does not have a Native American studies program, and Rogers and Jacobs (this course was co-taught) created an incredible curriculum for this winter term class that paired with the sculpture making class. Rogers worked in curation at Yale (she now curates the MAC and is bringing in native art to the college like pieces of Jacob's collection) and used those connections to bring in incredible guest lecturers for our class. Over Zoom, we had 2+ hour lectures with Native American contemporary artist Eric-Paul Riege, a curator of Native American art at Canada's National Museum of Art, and a totem poll artist from the PNW that were incredibly valuable and memorable, especially because we were able to ask direct questions to them. She also coordinated a workshop with local basket and bead weavers, had us visit the Henry Sheldon Museum, and required us to go to the Middlebury Museum of Art to learn about Jacob's work and the rest of the collection. Every reading was valuable and interesting, and you could borrow the hard copies of the books during class. She would pass around gallery books about the exhibitions we were discussing so that you could page through them during class. It was very engaging material and I benefitted from the frequent group discussions to go deeper with the material that was new to me. The projects were easy, fairly graded, and meaningful. This is an excellent J Term class (it only met 3 times a week, so 5 day weekend!) but I hope that Roger's curriculum can be taken seriously by the Middlebury administration and we offered in the regular academic year, because it was so high value. Thank you!!

This is an extremely high value course at Middlebury, and needed too. Unlike peer institutions, Middlebury does not have a Native American studies program, and Rogers and Jacobs (this course was co-taught) created an incredible curriculum for this winter term class that paired with the sculpture making class. Rogers worked in curatio …Read more

Michelle is an amazing and kind person who is so enthusiastic about art. I really enjoyed all the cameraless photography techniques that we learned, especially cyanotype. However, this is the first time Michelle has taught this class and it was very unorganized and we spent most of class time sitting around doing nothing. The course was not planned out well and we were constantly running out of materials or something was broken.

Michelle is an amazing and kind person who is so enthusiastic about art. I really enjoyed all the cameraless photography techniques that we learned, especially cyanotype. However, this is the first time Michelle has taught this class and it was very unorganized and we spent most of class time sitting around doing nothing. The course …Read more

This studio art course was a refreshing break from the typical academic grind. Professor Puerta is an incredibly warm and accommodating instructor who creates a genuinely supportive environment where you feel comfortable experimenting and taking creative risks. She gives thoughtful, individualized feedback and clearly invests in each student's artistic growth. The course structure is entirely project-based — there are no exams whatsoever, which makes it a welcome change of pace from more traditional classes. The bulk of your time goes toward individual drawing and studio work, so if you enjoy hands-on creative projects, this class will feel right at home. Expect to spend meaningful time outside of class working on your pieces, but it never feels like a burden because the work itself is engaging. What makes this course special is how it challenges the way you visually process the world around you. Professor Puerta guides you through exercises that genuinely shift your perception and approach to observation — it's not just about technical drawing skill, but about retraining how you see. For prospective students: this is a fantastic option if you want a creative outlet that fits well alongside a heavier academic courseload. No exam stress, a kind professor, and work that feels personally meaningful. Highly recommended even if you don't consider yourself an artist.

This studio art course was a refreshing break from the typical academic grind. Professor Puerta is an incredibly warm and accommodating instructor who creates a genuinely supportive environment where you feel comfortable experimenting and taking creative risks. She gives thoughtful, individualized feedback and clearly invests in each …Read more