ART 470: The Mobile Studio: Creative Research in the Outdoors
Dates: July 27-Aug 1, 2025
Instructor: Susan Belau
Fee: $395.00 + meals and accommodations fees
Units: 1
Term: Summer 2025
Class Number: 1966 Section Number: 01Z
Course Description
Join us in the beautiful Sierra Lakes Basin region to examine nature firsthand and explore how visual works can respond to and reflect place and landscape. Working observationally and conceptually, projects encourage experimentation and incorporate drawing, watercolor, cyanotype, and collage. The emphasis of this class is to foster curiosity, attentiveness, and art making as a process rather than a fixed form.
Workshop time includes independent work, responding to daily prompts, engaging in writing exercises, and participating in group critiques and discussions. We will be working at different sites in the area to record observations and ideas. This field work is complemented with sessions introducing mobile printmaking techniques. The class includes short readings and examples of contemporary artists engaged with ideas of landscape and nature.
Open to artists of all levels, this 1-unit class is a unique opportunity to build an art practice that extends outside of the studio.
Instructor Bio
Susan Belau is a San Francisco based artist working in printmaking and drawing. Her studio practice centers on the poetics of space, perception, and the relationship between place and human feeling. Belau received her B.A. in Studio Art from University of California, Santa Cruz, and M.F.A. in Printmaking from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is currently a Professor of Art at San Francisco State University. Belau has received the Phelan Award for Excellence in Printmaking and been awarded fellowships at Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California and Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, New York. Her work is in private and public collections throughout the United States, including University of the Arts, Philadelphia, the Ford Foundation, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Instructor Bio
Leah Koransky (b. Chicago, IL) is a Berkeley-based artist working in expanded photography. She uses light, color, and form to explore the relationship between place and self. Her work has been featured in exhibitions across the US, including The Future Perfect in Brooklyn, NY, form & concept in Santa Fe, and the Berkeley Art Center. In 2020, she co-founded Deep Time Press︎, an independent publishing imprint centered on time and place. The press’s publications are in several academic and institutional collections including the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library and the SFMOMA Library. Leah holds a BFA from California College of the Arts and an MFA from San Francisco State University. She has lectured at UC Berkeley and California College of the Arts and received residencies at the School of Visual Arts, Kala Art Institute, and Mildred’s Lane. Leah is the recipient of the 2023 Murphy and Cadogan Award and is a 2024–2025 graduate fellow at Headlands Center for the Arts.
Course Details
Course Schedule
Arrive Sunday afternoon for set-up, dinner (6pm) and evening orientation/introductions.
Monday – Thursday 9am - 4pm, Friday 9am – 1pm.
Plus 3 evenings of discussion/activities
Each day we will travel off campus, which requires driving/carpooling and easy to moderate hiking.
Course Materials
Materials
- Participants are encouraged to bring drawing materials of their choice – please be aware that we will be working in the field, so portability, ease of use and containment of waste are important to consider.
- Some materials, such as paper for cyanotype will be prepared ahead of the workshop and ready to use once we need them. Please bring $25 to cover these additional materials.
- Listed below are suggested materials, please contact instructor for specific recommendations of brands or suppliers
Drawing:
- Pencils, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B
- pencil sharpener
- white eraser
- Ink pen – can be ballpoint, micron pens, or a calligraphy pen (such as Itoya Doubleheader Calligraphy Marker – Black)
- optional – colored pencils
- 9 x 12-inch or smaller drawing paper pad, 25 – 50 sheets
- additional small sketchbook/notebook, for writing and sketches
- Optional -- assorted papers for drawing, such as graph paper, newsprint, tracing paper, colored papers, pre-printed papers. Papers can be folded to fit within the 9 x 12-inch book folio.
Wet media: (optional)
- This is not a watercolor intensive class, so I recommend you work with what you are familiar with, or start with a small set of colors.
- any black or brown ink – india ink or sumi ink
- watercolor brushes, assorted sizes (such as #00 round, #6 round, 1-inch flat)
- Water brush – medium or large (such as Pentel or Sakura Koi)
- 9 x 12-inch or smaller pad of watercolor or mixed media paper, 15-20 sheets
Good to have:
- Scissors
- exacto knife
- ruler
- small, lightweight board/folio (chip-board or foam core) for keeping loose papers and using as a drawing support in the field
- Small mixing containers to hold ink and water
- Foam pad, folding stool, or whatever you need to draw outdoors comfortably.
Lodging and Camping Supplies
Camping gear if you are staying on campus:
- tent and sleeping pad (unless you are staying in our tent with a cot provided)
- warm sleeping bag
- pillow, toiletries, and towel
- flashlight and lantern
- alarm clock
Field gear for everyone:
- day pack
- sunscreen and lipbalm
- sun hat
- insect repellant
- water bottles
- plastic containers for packed lunches
- sense of humor
You might also want to bring:
- camera
- binoculars
- hand lens
- camp chair
Clothing:
The weather in the Sierra Nevada can vary greatly, even in a single day. Be prepared for chilly temperatures at night, even below freezing early in the summer. Rain is a possibility any time, whether forecast or not. Variable weather clothing that can be layered is best: long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, warm sweater and jacket, t-shirt and shorts or skirt, sturdy shoes or hiking boots, sun hat, rain gear, and a warm hat or gloves for cold weather and/or night activities. And, if you come later in the season, bring your swimsuit for afternoon dips in the lakes!