Fiber/Fashion Design
Phyllis Fredendall

In the Fiber/Fashion Design program at Finlandia we explore the vast field of fiber and textiles with a strong foundation in materials and processes. Here we join the threads of ancient textile histories around the world with technological innovation and student inspiration.

Students weave with looms as varied as simple inkle and backstrap looms to 24-harness computer interface looms. Surface design processes include hand binding, screen printing, devoré and computer aided design. Our close relationship to Finland brings special techniques such as feltmaking, weaving with paper yarns, and use of edible resists in dying and printing. Students also learn patternmaking and draping for garment design. All this created in an environment surrounded by a rich history and the powerful presence of Lake Superior. Students find their passion in the studio and pursue it!

Studio Arts/Illustration
Yueh Mei Cheng

Based on my solid training in both Western and Eastern painting techniques and expressions, I developed a new way to learn from art history. I feel that I can communicate directly with painters of the past, sharing the same profound philosophical meanings and myths. Once I learned this 'secret', everything changed. I realized that things can be perceived in different ways. Painting as a type of visual art is an art of vision. To look is to invent. I teach 'how to look' and 'how to paint.' Keeping a balance between these two aspects, I help my students develop their painting abilities and their creative expressions.

Generally speaking, the learning process of painting is a process of transformation from the object through spatial imagination and artistic methods into the discovery of personal symbolic expression. Teaching serves as an initiation into this dynamic learning process in which the individual's creative potential could be revealed and a personal artistic language gradually be formed.

In my experience, through certain kinds of exercises, the teacher can stimulate the learner's imagination and promote that individual's artistic vision / ability. At the same time, the teacher can help the student to develop the necessary technical ability in the context of the learner's own goals in a painting. The review of art history and insights from it are very valuable. I always encourage my students to study widely and to seek their own direction.

Ceramic/Glass Design
Jon Brookhouse

As I think of my teaching style, I focus on my objectives in three areas:

• The physical aspects of the material
• The social aspect of the media
• The psychological aspects of the artist

In the physical aspects, students focus on manipulation of the material - clay - and acquire knowledge of clay and its properties, glaze and its characteristics, as well as the methods used for making objects with clay.
In the social aspects, I want the students to understand the social meaning of ceramic forms from different times and places as well as today. In the psychological aspects "of the mind", the students gain an understanding of their thought processes and learning styles which they will use to develop an individual style in clay.

As the students progress through the ceramic sequence, I present information and set up learning experiences that relate to the level of the student (freshman, sophomore, etc.) that address and engage the students in thinking about the inter-relationship of the three areas.

Graphic Design
Niki Belkowski

I consider myself a graphic designer who teaches, rather than a teacher who practices graphic design. In fact, the reason I'm teaching now is, after twenty-something years in a fast-paced, demanding design career, I needed a lifestyle change. Finlandia University is located in one of the most beautiful, inspiring, and comfortable places I have ever been. Modern technology allows me to remain connected to the industry and helps me maintain a long list of clients; from General Motors Corporate to Hiram-Walker and Dow.

In my teaching I emphasize strong fundamental skills (especially drawing), fluency in the latest industry-standard computer applications and printing techniques, good people skills, and the willingness to push personal boundaries. I will encourage you to see the world through different eyes, challenge your preconceived cultural and social perspectives, reach outside your life experiences and explore your own undiscovered potential.

Oh, yeah - I also believe chocolate is an ideal tool for artistic inspiration and that design is, basically, a lot of fun.

Product/Interior Design
Rick Loduha

"Every problem in life is a design problem."

Today we know that most human activity on the planet is not sustainable. The complex and fragile natural environment that supports us and innumerable other life forms in exquisite balance, is being disrupted by the aggregate effects of unthinking human behavior. We are consuming the Earth and with it, it’s capacity to assimilate our waste and provide us with food and other essentials. This over-consumption occurs most seriously in industrialized nations and it is the industrialized nations that must lead the way if we are to change this behavior. The Product/Interior Design profession has a crucial role to play in this leadership.

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