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California University of Pennsylvania
Guidelines for New Course Proposals
University Course Syllabus
Department of Art and Languages
UCC Approval date: 12/5/2016
A. Protocol
Course Name: Natural Science Drawing
Course Number: ART233
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 35
Maximum Class Size (online): N/A
B. Objectives of the Course:
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering of details.
2. Investigate the structural forms of organisms using drawing styles and compositional strategies practiced in
scientific illustration.
3. Develop technical skills in the manipulation of drawing media: pencil, pen and ink, watercolor or oil.
4. Organize the elements of a composition according to design principles.
5. Acquire a vocabulary of art and design terms and concepts that will allow students to discuss and evaluate
artworks as well as the biological structures of plants and animals.
6. Critique the work of classmates and apply recommendations to the drawing process.
7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the multiple approaches
of other artists who have illustrated these species.
8. Conduct visual research using cameras, scanners, and online image databases to portray organisms in various
aspects and at various stages of development.
9. Explore visual parallels in art and science, and be exposed to masterworks of natural science illustration,
landscape painting, and nature painting.
10. Research and deliver an oral presentation on a natural science illustrator or landscape/animal painter.
11. Research the form, function, and structural design of an organism to be used as a prototype product design in a
final project on applied biological design.
12. Demonstrate the proper handling of biological specimens and conduct safe, clean, and professional studio
practices in each class meeting.
13. Organize an exhibition of student artworks at the end of the course.
1)
C. Catalog Description:
An introductory course in observational drawing from biological specimens and outdoor field studies. Working
with plant, animal, and landscape subjects, students will focus on the careful observation of natural forms and
phenomena. Students will practice methods of scientific illustration through detailed renderings of organisms from
direct observation supplemented by visual research. Through slide lectures, students will be introduced to
masterworks of natural science drawing, as well as the work of great landscape painters and animal artists.
Outdoor field trips will include specimen-gathering and the sketching of landscapes with clouds, water, waves,
and land forms. Advanced art students will have the option of working in color with oils or watercolor. Upper
level science students may concentrate on drawing subjects that relate to their particular areas of interest. The
course is repeatable.
Click here to enter text.
D. Teaching Methodology:
1) Traditional Classroom Methodology
In addition to studio/lab drawing and outdoor field studies, course material will be presented through research
assignments, slide lectures, videos, reading assignments, class discussions, oral presentations, and critiques.
Students will also conduct research with cameras, scanners, microscopes, and online visual resources.
2) Online Methodology
N/A
E. Suggested Texts
Curtis, Brian. Drawing from Observation: an Introduction to Perceptual Drawing. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009
Baumeister, Dayna. Biomimicry Resource Handout: A Seed Bank of Best Practices. Missoula, MT, Biomimicry 3.8,
2014
F. Traditional Classroom Assessment
Student work is assessed through the grade point average of class drawings, research, quizzes, oral presentations,
participation in class critique, final project and end-of-semester exhibition.
Online Assessment
N/ A
G. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
OSD
Revised June 2015
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request accommodations. Students
requesting approval for reasonable accommodations should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities
(OSD). Students are expected to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and
requesting accommodations in a timely manner.
Students will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when requesting accommodations that
involve the faculty.
Contact Information:
Location:
Carter Hall - G-35
Phone:
(724) 938-5781
Fax: (724) 938-4599
Email:
osdmail@calu.edu
Web Site: http://www.calu.edu/osd
H. Title IX Syllabus Addendum
California University of Pennsylvania
Reporting Obligations of Faculty Members under Title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681, et seq.
California University of Pennsylvania and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational
environment for all students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with the Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to
report incidents of sexual violence shared by students to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, Dr. John A.
Burnett, Special Assistant to the President for EEEO, Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, Burnett@calu.edu,
724-938-4014. The only exceptions to the faculty member’s reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual
violence are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as
part of a University-approved research project. Faculty members are obligated to report sexual violence or any
other abuse of a student who was, or is, a child (person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedly occurred
to the person designated in the University protection of minors policy.
The University’s information regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that are available to
victims of sexual violence is set forth at:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I.
Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, 724-938-4014
o Social Equity Home Page
www.calu.edu/SocialEquity
o Social Equity Policies
www.calu.edu/SEpolicies
o Social Equity Complaint Form
www.calu.edu/SEcomplaint
Counseling Center, Carter Hall G53, 724-938-4056
End Violence Center, Carter Hall G94, 724-938-5707
Student Affairs, Natali Student Center 311, 724-938-4439
Wellness Center, Carter Hall G53, 724-938-4232
Women’s Center, Natali Student Center 117, 724-938-5857
Threat Response Assessment and Intervention Team (T.R.A.I.T.) & Dept. of Public Safety &
University Police, Pollock Maintenance Building, 724-938-4299
o EMERGENCY: From any on-campus phone & Dial H-E-L-P or go to any public pay phone
& Dial *1. (*Identify the situation as an emergency and an officer will be dispatched
immediately.)
Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.
Online visual reference resources for this course are available through the Manderino Library.
1. Go to Artstor : Public Folders: Natural Science Images
2. Library Homepage: Quick Links: Find Resources by Subject: Class Guides: Art and Design: Biological
Illustration.
Supporting Literature and suggestions for visual research. Many of the slides used in this course are taken from
the following books.
Armstrong, Carol and De Zegher, Catherine. Ocean Flowers: Impressions from Nature. Princeton and Oxford:
Princeton University Press, 2004
Ball, Philip. Shapes: a tapestry in Three Parts, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009
Bager, Bertal. Nature as Designer: A Botanical Art Study. New York: Reinhold, 1977
Baker, Steve. The Postmodern Animal, London: Reaktion Books, 2000
Baumeister, Dayna. Biomimicry Resource Handout: A Seed Bank of Best Practices. Missoula, MT, Biomimicry
3.8, 2014
Blossfeldt, Karl. Art Forms in the Plant World. New York: Dover Publications, 1985.
Benyus, Janine. Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by Nature NewYork: Harper Perennial, 1997
Blunt, Wilfred and Stearn, William. The Art of Botanical Illustration. Woodbridge, Suffolk: 1994.
Clark, Kenneth. Animals and Men. New York: Wm. Morrow and Co., 1977.
Colquhoun and Ewald, New Eyes for Plants: Workbook for observing and drawing plants. Stroud:1996
Cook, Theodore. The Curves of Life: Being an Account of Spiral Formations and their Application to Growth in
Nature, Science , and Art. New York: Dover, 1979
Croney, John. Drawing by Sea and River. Cincinnati: North Light, 1985
Dance, S. Peter. The Art of Natural History. New York, Arch Cape Press, 1990
Da Vinci, Leonardo. The Notebooks. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008
Donald, Diana and Jane Munro. Endless Forms: Charles Darwin and the Visual Arts. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2009
Dowden, A.O. From Flower to Fruit. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
______. The Clover and the Bee. Pittsburgh: Harper Collins, 1990.
Doczi, Gyorgy. The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture. Boston and
London: Shambhala, 1994
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Careers in Scientific Illustration, Washington, DC, 2010
Haeckel, Ernst. Art Forms from the Ocean. New York: Prestel Verlag, 2005.
_____________. Art Forms in Nature. New York: Prestel Verlag, 1998.
_____________. Art Forms from the Abyss: Ernst Haeckel’s Images from the Challenger Exhibition. New York,
Prestel, 2015
Hale, Nathan Cabot. Abstraction in Art and Nature. New York: Dover, 1993
Hildebrant and Tromba. Mathematics and Optimal Form. NY: Scientific American Books, 1986
Jacobs, Michael. The Painted Voyage: Art Travel and Exploration 1564-1875. London: British Museum Press,
1995
Kemp, Martin and Wallace Marina, Spectacular Bodies: The Art and Science of the Human Body
from Leonardo to Now. Berkeley: U. of Cal. Press, 2000
Knight, David M. Natural Science Books in English, 1600-1900. London: Portman Books, 1989
Lack, H. Walter. Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration: Garden of Eden. New York: Taschen, 2001.
Lippincott, Louise and Andreas Bluhm. Fierce Friends: Artists and Animals, 1750-1900. Pittsburgh: Carnegie
Museum, 2006.
Mabey, Richard. The Flowers of Kew. New York: Atheneum, 1989..
Murdoch, John E. Album of Science: Antiquity and the Middle Ages. N.Y. Scribner’s Sons, 1984
Ormond, Richard. Sir Edwin Landseer. London: The Tate Gallery, 1981
O'Malley and Saunders. Leonardo Da Vinci on the Human Body: The Anatomical, Physiological and
Embryological Drawings. New York: Wings Books, 1982
Pinault, Madeleine. The Painter as Naturalist: From Durer to Redoute. Paris: Flammarion, 1991
Rappaport/Stayton. Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, NY:Abrams, 2001
Rifkin and Ackerman. Human Anatomy (from the Renaissance to the Digital Age). New York: Abrams, 2006
Robin, Harry. The Scientific Image: from Cave to Computer. New York: Abrams, 1992
Schwenk, Theodor. Sensitive Chaos: the Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air. London: Rudolf Steiner
Press, 2004
Strauss, Walter. The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Durer. (6 Vols)New York: Abaris Books, 1974
Thompson, D’Arcy. On Growth and Form. New York: Dover, 1992
West, Keith. How to Draw Plants: The Techniques of Botanical Illustration. Portland:Timber Press 2005.
___________Painting Plant Portraits: A Step-by-Step Guide. Timber Press. Portland. 1991
Wood, Phyllis. Scientific Illustration: A guide to biological, zoological, and medical rendering techniques, design,
printing, and display; New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994.
Zweifel, Frances W. A Handbook of Biological Illustration. Chicago, U. of Chicago Press, 1997
Additional Information for Course Proposals
J.
Proposed Instructors:
Any qualified art studio faculty from the Department of Art and Languages.
K. Rationale for the Course:
Click here to enter rationale for the course. Explain how the course fits into existing offerings within the
program and the discipline in general, and why it is necessary, or desired as an addition or change to the
current curriculum.
K. This course is intended as a Fine Arts and Lab course elective for the general education menu, offering
students a liberal arts alternative to the traditional science Lab. The course content and observational
skills developed will be useful to both art and science students, as well as to nursing, forensics, sports
medicine, anthropology, or any other majors that require discipline and skill in careful visual observation.
Art students accustomed to working in studios from photographs or imagination will have the experience
of working outdoors and from the live animals and preserved specimens in the Frich Biology collection.
Art and science students will benefit from the mutual exchange of skills and interests. Students interested
in design will discover new developments in the field of bio-mimicry: artists and scientists using nature’s
designs to solve man’s problems. Science majors needing to fulfill fine arts requirements may find this
cross-disciplinary course more interesting, and with more practical applications, than a traditional fine
arts lecture course, because they will learn how to sketch and design. Slide lectures will expose students
to visual parallels in art and science, as well as various methods of scientific illustration. This initial
experience may cause students to seek further connections between the disciplines, or possibly pursue the
field of scientific, medical, biological illustration, or bio-design, as a career path. Currently, there are
very few institutions nationally that offer this type of cross-disciplinary study.
Additional rationale for the course is that it reduces competition and course conflicts with other ART
studios since it should appeal to students other than Art majors. Hopefully this will attract non-art
students to the department to increase enrollment.
L. Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
All specialized equipment is available through the Cal U Department of Art and Languages and will be
provided.
M. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
a.
Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain)
No, it does not require additional human resources..
b.
Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain)
No, just the classroom in 211 Old Main and use of the Biology collections in Frich.
If Yes, click here to answer Question N2, above.
c.
Does the course change the requirements in any particular major? (Please explain)
No, it does not. Art majors may repeat the course for art studio electives.
d. Does the course replace an existing course in your program? (If so, list the course)
No, it does not.
d.
How often will the course be taught? The course will be offered once a year or every 3
semesters as needed.
Select the intended timing of the course.
e.
The course will be offered once a year beginning Fall 2017.
f.
Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or College? (If the
possibility exists, indicate course discipline, number, and name)
No, it does not. Click here if the answer to Question N6, above is YES. Indicate the other
discipline/department and the other course number and name.
g. If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught in another discipline, you
must request a statement of support from the department chair that houses that discipline.
N/A
N. Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu course for General
Education. The General Education Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before
consideration by the UCC.
Yes, it should be considered for the General Education Menu as a Fine Arts selection and also as a Lab.
The course was written specifically with the intention of offering it on the General Education Menu because
observational skills are applicable to a variety of disciplines. Through practice in observational drawing, students
will develop the visual acuity and discipline necessary to make careful and accurate observations.
Learning to sketch, as well as render in careful detail, may also be of practical value to science, anthropology,
nursing, or forensics students who may require drawing skills for research and fieldwork when photographs are
unsuitable for recording complex observations. Science majors needing to fulfill fine arts requirements may find
this cross-disciplinary course more interesting, and with more practical applications, than a traditional fine arts
lecture course, because they will learn how to sketch, compose, and design.
The course should be considered for the Lab menu because drawings and sketches, and design projects created in
the 3-hour bi-weekly studio/labs will account for 90% of the grade.
Slide lectures will expose students to visual parallels in art and science, as well as various methods of scientific
illustration. Art and science students will benefit from the mutual exchange of skills and interests. This initial
experience may cause students to seek out further connections between the disciplines, or possibly pursue the field
of scientific, medical, or biological illustration, or bio-design, as a career path.
Yes or No?
O. Approval Form
Provide the Approval Form (Signature Page) with the signatures of your department
Chair AND college Dean (electronically).
FULL REVIEW MENU COURSE APPLICATION FORM
FINE ARTS MENU
General Education Committee
COURSE PREFIX
ART
COURSE NUMBER
COURSE TITLE (as it appears in the University Catalog):
233
Natural Science Drawing
X
New Course Proposal
Existing Course
Date of UCC approval:
____________
CONTACT PERSON
Maggy Aston
724-938-4563
Telephone
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Telephone
Aston@calu.edu
Email
Arcides Gonzales
724-938-4182
Email
Gonzales@calu.edu
9/22/16
DATE OF DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL:*
DATE OF COLLEGE COUNCIL APPROVAL:*
10/ 18/16
To your knowledge, will this course listed as a ‘directed general education’ course on any program advisement
sheet? (If yes, please indicate which program(s)):
BFA Bachelor of Fine Arts
BA Bachelor of Arts
(Existing Courses Only) Has the UCC-approved syllabus been changed in any way in order to complete this
General Education application? (If yes, this course syllabus will be forwarded to UCC as part of this application
process)
Listed below are the objectives of the Fine Arts menu along with justification for the inclusion of this course
on the menu.
Goal–1.
To present, critique or analyze human values, beliefs, and emotions as they are conceptualized, formulated,
and expressed through verbal, aural, and physical action and artifacts and perceived through the senses.
Drawing Objective 5. Acquire a vocabulary of art and design terms and concepts that will allow students to
discuss and evaluate artworks as well as the biological structures of plants and animals.
Drawing Objective 6. Critique the work of classmates and apply recommendations to the drawing process.
Students sketch outdoors and in the studio. They create 4 scientific illustrations and a final design project during
the course. Each stage of the illustration / design process is discussed in weekly critiques. The final critique
includes an oral presentation and written artist’s statement describing the relation between the form and function
of a product design based upon a natural form.
Goal–2.
To attend and react to a performance or exhibit related to the discipline studied.
Drawing Objective 13. Organize an exhibition of student artworks at the end of the course.
The show is open to the public. Student responses to the show are voiced in a final critique at the display site in
Frich Lobby and are evaluated as part of the final exam grade.
Goal–3c.*
To recognize how critical analysis and reasoning are used to address problems in the fine arts.
Drawing Objective 7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the
multiple approaches of other artists who have illustrated these species.
Students research the work of other biological illustrators to become familiar with compositional strategies for
representing observations and conveying information about the natural world. Through this investigation students
may be exposed to multiple interpretations of the same species filtered through the eyes of various artists.
FULL REVIEW MENU COURSE APPLICATION FORM
LABORATORY COURSE MENU
General Education Committee
COURSE PREFIX
ART
COURSE NUMBER
233
COURSE TITLE (as it appears in the University Catalog):
Natural Science Drawing
X
New Course Proposal
Existing Course
Date of UCC approval:
____________
Maggy Aston
CONTACT PERSON
Telephone
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Telephone
724- 938-4563
Email
Aston@calu.edu
Arcides Gonzales
724-943-4182
DATE OF DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL:*
Email
Gonzales@cal.edu
9/ 22 /16
DATE OF COLLEGE COUNCIL APPROVAL:*
10/ 18 /16
(Existing Courses Only) Has the UCC-approved syllabus been changed in any way in order to complete this
General Education application? (If yes, this course syllabus will be forwarded to UCC as part of this application
process)
Goal: 1: Use discipline specific methodologies and practices to systematically investigate
the world.
Listed below are the objectives of the Lab menu along with justification for the inclusion of this course on
the menu.
Drawing Objective #1 Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering
of specimens with patience and accuracy.
Students create drawings from observation of live animals and plants and also view specimens through
microscopes, scanners, and cameras. Students conduct further research on individual species through library and
internet research on art and science websites.
Drawing Objective #2. Students will investigate the structural forms of organisms using drawing styles and
compositional strategies practiced in scientific illustration.
Styles and methods include gesture sketch, field studies, line and value studies, schematic diagram, parts analysis,
cross section, etc.
Drawing Objective #7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the
multiple approaches of other artists who have illustrated these species.
Drawing Course Objective #10 Research and deliver an oral presentation on a natural science illustrator or
landscape/animal painter
Students research the work of other biological illustrators to become familiar with various drawing styles and
compositional strategies employed in scientific illustration. Through this research they are exposed to multiple
interpretations and representations of the particular species (or land forms / water forms) they are investigating.
For example, students examine how Durer renders fur and feathers with watercolor, or how Leonardo illustrates
flowing water and wave forms in pen and ink.
Students are given a list of art and design terms, are tested on vocabulary, and expected to use discipline-specific
terms in an oral presentation on a scientific illustrator or natural science draftsman. Students are also taught how
to identify and label species with the binomial classification system.
Goal: 2: Organize data into trends and patterns using quantitative and/or qualitative
methods (spatial, graphical, symbolic, etc.) to sort, analyze, and interpret natural
phenomena.
Drawing Objective #8 Conduct visual research using cameras, scanners, and online image databases to portray
organisms in various aspects and at various stages of development.
By patiently observing and rendering the minute details of organisms, students acquire skills in visual observation
and digital documentation that allow them to notice subtle differences between subspecies or changes in
organisms over a period of time.
Drawing Objective # 4. Organize the elements of a composition according to design principles.
Students combine detailed enlargements, cross sections, schematic diagrams, etc. on the page with line drawings
and full chiaroscuro renderings of the specimen subject. Parts are labeled, and subspecies are identified with the
correct scientific names through visual online research.
Goal 3: Effectively communicate results of a set of applied experiments or observations.
Drawing Objective #1 Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering
of specimens with patience and accuracy.
Drawing Course Objective #13. Organize and attend an end-of-semester exhibition and sale of student artworks.
Students draw live specimens from observation over the course of three weeks per specimen. In addition to
outdoor landscape studies, they observe a total of 5 different plants or animals (or water and landforms), some of
them in different stages of development, such as mature frogs and tadpoles, caterpillars and butterflies, etc. They
also dissect and cross-section plants or insects and investigate the parts greatly magnified through high resolution
scans. This type of observational research is presented within a single drawing that might show several aspects of
the specimen in various growth stages or with diagrams of parts analysis. Though students may supplement their
drawings with online research, they are required to create their drawings from observation of the live specimens
right in front them. Students discuss their subjects during weekly class critiques, and eventually present their
drawings in a public exhibition.
Drawing Objective # 11. Express in both visual and written/oral format the relationship between biological form
and function.
For example, a student might draw a diagram of a cross-section of a flower to show how the reproductive parts are
designed to facilitate pollination by particular insects. They would research, identify, and label the structural parts
on the illustration and also explain to the class during oral critiques how the structural design facilitates
pollination.
Research on the functional and structural design of a particular organism is used to create a prototype product
design in a final project on biomimicry and applied biological design, such as maple seeds and fan blades or bat
wings and hang gliders. This project includes observational sketches, original photographs or scans, visual
research from online databases, concept drawings, a written artists statement, and a three-dimensional model.
Goal 4: Assess differences between theory and experimental results during evaluation of
experimental design.
Drawing Objective #6 Give and receive criticisms to and from peers and apply these criticisms to the illustration
of natural science.
Students create sketches outdoors and in the studio and animal rooms, plus 4 scientific illustrations and a final
design project during the course. Each stage of the illustration process is discussed in weekly critiques. This
includes proper identification of species; visual research and photo-documentation of the various stages of the
life-cycle of the organism; rendering techniques and schematic diagrams; compositional strategies for effective
visual documentation of biological organisms; and a functional product model based on a biological design.
Illustrations and 3-D models are labeled, matted, framed, photographed and critiqued as part of an end-ofsemester exhibition in the lobby of Frich Hall.
90% of the course grade is based on field sketches and lab sketches and 5 illustration/ design projects
drawn from observation in the studio/lab, supplemented with photographs and online visual research.
Guidelines for New Course Proposals
University Course Syllabus
Department of Art and Languages
UCC Approval date: 12/5/2016
A. Protocol
Course Name: Natural Science Drawing
Course Number: ART233
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 35
Maximum Class Size (online): N/A
B. Objectives of the Course:
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering of details.
2. Investigate the structural forms of organisms using drawing styles and compositional strategies practiced in
scientific illustration.
3. Develop technical skills in the manipulation of drawing media: pencil, pen and ink, watercolor or oil.
4. Organize the elements of a composition according to design principles.
5. Acquire a vocabulary of art and design terms and concepts that will allow students to discuss and evaluate
artworks as well as the biological structures of plants and animals.
6. Critique the work of classmates and apply recommendations to the drawing process.
7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the multiple approaches
of other artists who have illustrated these species.
8. Conduct visual research using cameras, scanners, and online image databases to portray organisms in various
aspects and at various stages of development.
9. Explore visual parallels in art and science, and be exposed to masterworks of natural science illustration,
landscape painting, and nature painting.
10. Research and deliver an oral presentation on a natural science illustrator or landscape/animal painter.
11. Research the form, function, and structural design of an organism to be used as a prototype product design in a
final project on applied biological design.
12. Demonstrate the proper handling of biological specimens and conduct safe, clean, and professional studio
practices in each class meeting.
13. Organize an exhibition of student artworks at the end of the course.
1)
C. Catalog Description:
An introductory course in observational drawing from biological specimens and outdoor field studies. Working
with plant, animal, and landscape subjects, students will focus on the careful observation of natural forms and
phenomena. Students will practice methods of scientific illustration through detailed renderings of organisms from
direct observation supplemented by visual research. Through slide lectures, students will be introduced to
masterworks of natural science drawing, as well as the work of great landscape painters and animal artists.
Outdoor field trips will include specimen-gathering and the sketching of landscapes with clouds, water, waves,
and land forms. Advanced art students will have the option of working in color with oils or watercolor. Upper
level science students may concentrate on drawing subjects that relate to their particular areas of interest. The
course is repeatable.
Click here to enter text.
D. Teaching Methodology:
1) Traditional Classroom Methodology
In addition to studio/lab drawing and outdoor field studies, course material will be presented through research
assignments, slide lectures, videos, reading assignments, class discussions, oral presentations, and critiques.
Students will also conduct research with cameras, scanners, microscopes, and online visual resources.
2) Online Methodology
N/A
E. Suggested Texts
Curtis, Brian. Drawing from Observation: an Introduction to Perceptual Drawing. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009
Baumeister, Dayna. Biomimicry Resource Handout: A Seed Bank of Best Practices. Missoula, MT, Biomimicry 3.8,
2014
F. Traditional Classroom Assessment
Student work is assessed through the grade point average of class drawings, research, quizzes, oral presentations,
participation in class critique, final project and end-of-semester exhibition.
Online Assessment
N/ A
G. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
OSD
Revised June 2015
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request accommodations. Students
requesting approval for reasonable accommodations should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities
(OSD). Students are expected to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and
requesting accommodations in a timely manner.
Students will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when requesting accommodations that
involve the faculty.
Contact Information:
Location:
Carter Hall - G-35
Phone:
(724) 938-5781
Fax: (724) 938-4599
Email:
osdmail@calu.edu
Web Site: http://www.calu.edu/osd
H. Title IX Syllabus Addendum
California University of Pennsylvania
Reporting Obligations of Faculty Members under Title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681, et seq.
California University of Pennsylvania and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational
environment for all students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with the Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to
report incidents of sexual violence shared by students to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, Dr. John A.
Burnett, Special Assistant to the President for EEEO, Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, Burnett@calu.edu,
724-938-4014. The only exceptions to the faculty member’s reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual
violence are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as
part of a University-approved research project. Faculty members are obligated to report sexual violence or any
other abuse of a student who was, or is, a child (person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedly occurred
to the person designated in the University protection of minors policy.
The University’s information regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that are available to
victims of sexual violence is set forth at:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I.
Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, 724-938-4014
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www.calu.edu/SocialEquity
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www.calu.edu/SEpolicies
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End Violence Center, Carter Hall G94, 724-938-5707
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Wellness Center, Carter Hall G53, 724-938-4232
Women’s Center, Natali Student Center 117, 724-938-5857
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University Police, Pollock Maintenance Building, 724-938-4299
o EMERGENCY: From any on-campus phone & Dial H-E-L-P or go to any public pay phone
& Dial *1. (*Identify the situation as an emergency and an officer will be dispatched
immediately.)
Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.
Online visual reference resources for this course are available through the Manderino Library.
1. Go to Artstor : Public Folders: Natural Science Images
2. Library Homepage: Quick Links: Find Resources by Subject: Class Guides: Art and Design: Biological
Illustration.
Supporting Literature and suggestions for visual research. Many of the slides used in this course are taken from
the following books.
Armstrong, Carol and De Zegher, Catherine. Ocean Flowers: Impressions from Nature. Princeton and Oxford:
Princeton University Press, 2004
Ball, Philip. Shapes: a tapestry in Three Parts, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009
Bager, Bertal. Nature as Designer: A Botanical Art Study. New York: Reinhold, 1977
Baker, Steve. The Postmodern Animal, London: Reaktion Books, 2000
Baumeister, Dayna. Biomimicry Resource Handout: A Seed Bank of Best Practices. Missoula, MT, Biomimicry
3.8, 2014
Blossfeldt, Karl. Art Forms in the Plant World. New York: Dover Publications, 1985.
Benyus, Janine. Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by Nature NewYork: Harper Perennial, 1997
Blunt, Wilfred and Stearn, William. The Art of Botanical Illustration. Woodbridge, Suffolk: 1994.
Clark, Kenneth. Animals and Men. New York: Wm. Morrow and Co., 1977.
Colquhoun and Ewald, New Eyes for Plants: Workbook for observing and drawing plants. Stroud:1996
Cook, Theodore. The Curves of Life: Being an Account of Spiral Formations and their Application to Growth in
Nature, Science , and Art. New York: Dover, 1979
Croney, John. Drawing by Sea and River. Cincinnati: North Light, 1985
Dance, S. Peter. The Art of Natural History. New York, Arch Cape Press, 1990
Da Vinci, Leonardo. The Notebooks. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008
Donald, Diana and Jane Munro. Endless Forms: Charles Darwin and the Visual Arts. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2009
Dowden, A.O. From Flower to Fruit. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
______. The Clover and the Bee. Pittsburgh: Harper Collins, 1990.
Doczi, Gyorgy. The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture. Boston and
London: Shambhala, 1994
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Careers in Scientific Illustration, Washington, DC, 2010
Haeckel, Ernst. Art Forms from the Ocean. New York: Prestel Verlag, 2005.
_____________. Art Forms in Nature. New York: Prestel Verlag, 1998.
_____________. Art Forms from the Abyss: Ernst Haeckel’s Images from the Challenger Exhibition. New York,
Prestel, 2015
Hale, Nathan Cabot. Abstraction in Art and Nature. New York: Dover, 1993
Hildebrant and Tromba. Mathematics and Optimal Form. NY: Scientific American Books, 1986
Jacobs, Michael. The Painted Voyage: Art Travel and Exploration 1564-1875. London: British Museum Press,
1995
Kemp, Martin and Wallace Marina, Spectacular Bodies: The Art and Science of the Human Body
from Leonardo to Now. Berkeley: U. of Cal. Press, 2000
Knight, David M. Natural Science Books in English, 1600-1900. London: Portman Books, 1989
Lack, H. Walter. Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration: Garden of Eden. New York: Taschen, 2001.
Lippincott, Louise and Andreas Bluhm. Fierce Friends: Artists and Animals, 1750-1900. Pittsburgh: Carnegie
Museum, 2006.
Mabey, Richard. The Flowers of Kew. New York: Atheneum, 1989..
Murdoch, John E. Album of Science: Antiquity and the Middle Ages. N.Y. Scribner’s Sons, 1984
Ormond, Richard. Sir Edwin Landseer. London: The Tate Gallery, 1981
O'Malley and Saunders. Leonardo Da Vinci on the Human Body: The Anatomical, Physiological and
Embryological Drawings. New York: Wings Books, 1982
Pinault, Madeleine. The Painter as Naturalist: From Durer to Redoute. Paris: Flammarion, 1991
Rappaport/Stayton. Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, NY:Abrams, 2001
Rifkin and Ackerman. Human Anatomy (from the Renaissance to the Digital Age). New York: Abrams, 2006
Robin, Harry. The Scientific Image: from Cave to Computer. New York: Abrams, 1992
Schwenk, Theodor. Sensitive Chaos: the Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air. London: Rudolf Steiner
Press, 2004
Strauss, Walter. The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Durer. (6 Vols)New York: Abaris Books, 1974
Thompson, D’Arcy. On Growth and Form. New York: Dover, 1992
West, Keith. How to Draw Plants: The Techniques of Botanical Illustration. Portland:Timber Press 2005.
___________Painting Plant Portraits: A Step-by-Step Guide. Timber Press. Portland. 1991
Wood, Phyllis. Scientific Illustration: A guide to biological, zoological, and medical rendering techniques, design,
printing, and display; New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994.
Zweifel, Frances W. A Handbook of Biological Illustration. Chicago, U. of Chicago Press, 1997
Additional Information for Course Proposals
J.
Proposed Instructors:
Any qualified art studio faculty from the Department of Art and Languages.
K. Rationale for the Course:
Click here to enter rationale for the course. Explain how the course fits into existing offerings within the
program and the discipline in general, and why it is necessary, or desired as an addition or change to the
current curriculum.
K. This course is intended as a Fine Arts and Lab course elective for the general education menu, offering
students a liberal arts alternative to the traditional science Lab. The course content and observational
skills developed will be useful to both art and science students, as well as to nursing, forensics, sports
medicine, anthropology, or any other majors that require discipline and skill in careful visual observation.
Art students accustomed to working in studios from photographs or imagination will have the experience
of working outdoors and from the live animals and preserved specimens in the Frich Biology collection.
Art and science students will benefit from the mutual exchange of skills and interests. Students interested
in design will discover new developments in the field of bio-mimicry: artists and scientists using nature’s
designs to solve man’s problems. Science majors needing to fulfill fine arts requirements may find this
cross-disciplinary course more interesting, and with more practical applications, than a traditional fine
arts lecture course, because they will learn how to sketch and design. Slide lectures will expose students
to visual parallels in art and science, as well as various methods of scientific illustration. This initial
experience may cause students to seek further connections between the disciplines, or possibly pursue the
field of scientific, medical, biological illustration, or bio-design, as a career path. Currently, there are
very few institutions nationally that offer this type of cross-disciplinary study.
Additional rationale for the course is that it reduces competition and course conflicts with other ART
studios since it should appeal to students other than Art majors. Hopefully this will attract non-art
students to the department to increase enrollment.
L. Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
All specialized equipment is available through the Cal U Department of Art and Languages and will be
provided.
M. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
a.
Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain)
No, it does not require additional human resources..
b.
Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain)
No, just the classroom in 211 Old Main and use of the Biology collections in Frich.
If Yes, click here to answer Question N2, above.
c.
Does the course change the requirements in any particular major? (Please explain)
No, it does not. Art majors may repeat the course for art studio electives.
d. Does the course replace an existing course in your program? (If so, list the course)
No, it does not.
d.
How often will the course be taught? The course will be offered once a year or every 3
semesters as needed.
Select the intended timing of the course.
e.
The course will be offered once a year beginning Fall 2017.
f.
Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or College? (If the
possibility exists, indicate course discipline, number, and name)
No, it does not. Click here if the answer to Question N6, above is YES. Indicate the other
discipline/department and the other course number and name.
g. If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught in another discipline, you
must request a statement of support from the department chair that houses that discipline.
N/A
N. Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu course for General
Education. The General Education Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before
consideration by the UCC.
Yes, it should be considered for the General Education Menu as a Fine Arts selection and also as a Lab.
The course was written specifically with the intention of offering it on the General Education Menu because
observational skills are applicable to a variety of disciplines. Through practice in observational drawing, students
will develop the visual acuity and discipline necessary to make careful and accurate observations.
Learning to sketch, as well as render in careful detail, may also be of practical value to science, anthropology,
nursing, or forensics students who may require drawing skills for research and fieldwork when photographs are
unsuitable for recording complex observations. Science majors needing to fulfill fine arts requirements may find
this cross-disciplinary course more interesting, and with more practical applications, than a traditional fine arts
lecture course, because they will learn how to sketch, compose, and design.
The course should be considered for the Lab menu because drawings and sketches, and design projects created in
the 3-hour bi-weekly studio/labs will account for 90% of the grade.
Slide lectures will expose students to visual parallels in art and science, as well as various methods of scientific
illustration. Art and science students will benefit from the mutual exchange of skills and interests. This initial
experience may cause students to seek out further connections between the disciplines, or possibly pursue the field
of scientific, medical, or biological illustration, or bio-design, as a career path.
Yes or No?
O. Approval Form
Provide the Approval Form (Signature Page) with the signatures of your department
Chair AND college Dean (electronically).
FULL REVIEW MENU COURSE APPLICATION FORM
FINE ARTS MENU
General Education Committee
COURSE PREFIX
ART
COURSE NUMBER
COURSE TITLE (as it appears in the University Catalog):
233
Natural Science Drawing
X
New Course Proposal
Existing Course
Date of UCC approval:
____________
CONTACT PERSON
Maggy Aston
724-938-4563
Telephone
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Telephone
Aston@calu.edu
Arcides Gonzales
724-938-4182
Gonzales@calu.edu
9/22/16
DATE OF DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL:*
DATE OF COLLEGE COUNCIL APPROVAL:*
10/ 18/16
To your knowledge, will this course listed as a ‘directed general education’ course on any program advisement
sheet? (If yes, please indicate which program(s)):
BFA Bachelor of Fine Arts
BA Bachelor of Arts
(Existing Courses Only) Has the UCC-approved syllabus been changed in any way in order to complete this
General Education application? (If yes, this course syllabus will be forwarded to UCC as part of this application
process)
Listed below are the objectives of the Fine Arts menu along with justification for the inclusion of this course
on the menu.
Goal–1.
To present, critique or analyze human values, beliefs, and emotions as they are conceptualized, formulated,
and expressed through verbal, aural, and physical action and artifacts and perceived through the senses.
Drawing Objective 5. Acquire a vocabulary of art and design terms and concepts that will allow students to
discuss and evaluate artworks as well as the biological structures of plants and animals.
Drawing Objective 6. Critique the work of classmates and apply recommendations to the drawing process.
Students sketch outdoors and in the studio. They create 4 scientific illustrations and a final design project during
the course. Each stage of the illustration / design process is discussed in weekly critiques. The final critique
includes an oral presentation and written artist’s statement describing the relation between the form and function
of a product design based upon a natural form.
Goal–2.
To attend and react to a performance or exhibit related to the discipline studied.
Drawing Objective 13. Organize an exhibition of student artworks at the end of the course.
The show is open to the public. Student responses to the show are voiced in a final critique at the display site in
Frich Lobby and are evaluated as part of the final exam grade.
Goal–3c.*
To recognize how critical analysis and reasoning are used to address problems in the fine arts.
Drawing Objective 7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the
multiple approaches of other artists who have illustrated these species.
Students research the work of other biological illustrators to become familiar with compositional strategies for
representing observations and conveying information about the natural world. Through this investigation students
may be exposed to multiple interpretations of the same species filtered through the eyes of various artists.
FULL REVIEW MENU COURSE APPLICATION FORM
LABORATORY COURSE MENU
General Education Committee
COURSE PREFIX
ART
COURSE NUMBER
233
COURSE TITLE (as it appears in the University Catalog):
Natural Science Drawing
X
New Course Proposal
Existing Course
Date of UCC approval:
____________
Maggy Aston
CONTACT PERSON
Telephone
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Telephone
724- 938-4563
Aston@calu.edu
Arcides Gonzales
724-943-4182
DATE OF DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL:*
Gonzales@cal.edu
9/ 22 /16
DATE OF COLLEGE COUNCIL APPROVAL:*
10/ 18 /16
(Existing Courses Only) Has the UCC-approved syllabus been changed in any way in order to complete this
General Education application? (If yes, this course syllabus will be forwarded to UCC as part of this application
process)
Goal: 1: Use discipline specific methodologies and practices to systematically investigate
the world.
Listed below are the objectives of the Lab menu along with justification for the inclusion of this course on
the menu.
Drawing Objective #1 Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering
of specimens with patience and accuracy.
Students create drawings from observation of live animals and plants and also view specimens through
microscopes, scanners, and cameras. Students conduct further research on individual species through library and
internet research on art and science websites.
Drawing Objective #2. Students will investigate the structural forms of organisms using drawing styles and
compositional strategies practiced in scientific illustration.
Styles and methods include gesture sketch, field studies, line and value studies, schematic diagram, parts analysis,
cross section, etc.
Drawing Objective #7. Research and identify specimens using museum and library resources and investigate the
multiple approaches of other artists who have illustrated these species.
Drawing Course Objective #10 Research and deliver an oral presentation on a natural science illustrator or
landscape/animal painter
Students research the work of other biological illustrators to become familiar with various drawing styles and
compositional strategies employed in scientific illustration. Through this research they are exposed to multiple
interpretations and representations of the particular species (or land forms / water forms) they are investigating.
For example, students examine how Durer renders fur and feathers with watercolor, or how Leonardo illustrates
flowing water and wave forms in pen and ink.
Students are given a list of art and design terms, are tested on vocabulary, and expected to use discipline-specific
terms in an oral presentation on a scientific illustrator or natural science draftsman. Students are also taught how
to identify and label species with the binomial classification system.
Goal: 2: Organize data into trends and patterns using quantitative and/or qualitative
methods (spatial, graphical, symbolic, etc.) to sort, analyze, and interpret natural
phenomena.
Drawing Objective #8 Conduct visual research using cameras, scanners, and online image databases to portray
organisms in various aspects and at various stages of development.
By patiently observing and rendering the minute details of organisms, students acquire skills in visual observation
and digital documentation that allow them to notice subtle differences between subspecies or changes in
organisms over a period of time.
Drawing Objective # 4. Organize the elements of a composition according to design principles.
Students combine detailed enlargements, cross sections, schematic diagrams, etc. on the page with line drawings
and full chiaroscuro renderings of the specimen subject. Parts are labeled, and subspecies are identified with the
correct scientific names through visual online research.
Goal 3: Effectively communicate results of a set of applied experiments or observations.
Drawing Objective #1 Develop skill and discipline in visual acuity through the careful observation and rendering
of specimens with patience and accuracy.
Drawing Course Objective #13. Organize and attend an end-of-semester exhibition and sale of student artworks.
Students draw live specimens from observation over the course of three weeks per specimen. In addition to
outdoor landscape studies, they observe a total of 5 different plants or animals (or water and landforms), some of
them in different stages of development, such as mature frogs and tadpoles, caterpillars and butterflies, etc. They
also dissect and cross-section plants or insects and investigate the parts greatly magnified through high resolution
scans. This type of observational research is presented within a single drawing that might show several aspects of
the specimen in various growth stages or with diagrams of parts analysis. Though students may supplement their
drawings with online research, they are required to create their drawings from observation of the live specimens
right in front them. Students discuss their subjects during weekly class critiques, and eventually present their
drawings in a public exhibition.
Drawing Objective # 11. Express in both visual and written/oral format the relationship between biological form
and function.
For example, a student might draw a diagram of a cross-section of a flower to show how the reproductive parts are
designed to facilitate pollination by particular insects. They would research, identify, and label the structural parts
on the illustration and also explain to the class during oral critiques how the structural design facilitates
pollination.
Research on the functional and structural design of a particular organism is used to create a prototype product
design in a final project on biomimicry and applied biological design, such as maple seeds and fan blades or bat
wings and hang gliders. This project includes observational sketches, original photographs or scans, visual
research from online databases, concept drawings, a written artists statement, and a three-dimensional model.
Goal 4: Assess differences between theory and experimental results during evaluation of
experimental design.
Drawing Objective #6 Give and receive criticisms to and from peers and apply these criticisms to the illustration
of natural science.
Students create sketches outdoors and in the studio and animal rooms, plus 4 scientific illustrations and a final
design project during the course. Each stage of the illustration process is discussed in weekly critiques. This
includes proper identification of species; visual research and photo-documentation of the various stages of the
life-cycle of the organism; rendering techniques and schematic diagrams; compositional strategies for effective
visual documentation of biological organisms; and a functional product model based on a biological design.
Illustrations and 3-D models are labeled, matted, framed, photographed and critiqued as part of an end-ofsemester exhibition in the lobby of Frich Hall.
90% of the course grade is based on field sketches and lab sketches and 5 illustration/ design projects
drawn from observation in the studio/lab, supplemented with photographs and online visual research.
Media of