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The Glassell School of Art Studio School for Adults offers courses in art history and studio arts for adults, ages 18 and older. Studio courses and workshops are offered in a variety of media, including painting, watercolor, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry. Students at the Glassell School of Art are diverse in background and skill levels. Classes may be taken at the student’s leisure or as part of a more in-depth study through the Certificate of Achievement program. Additionally, many courses may be taken for undergraduate credit as part of the University of St. Thomas’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program. For more details on the Certificate of Achievement program and the University of St. Thomas BFA program, contact the Studio School Registrar.

In addition to a rigorous curriculum, the Studio School offers a variety of student programming, including a rotating schedule of exhibitions featuring current student and alumni works, as well as changing exhibitions of contemporary works by professional artists in the Laura Lee Blanton Gallery; lectures in the Frank Freed Auditorium; and a variety of events offered through the Student/Alumni Organization.

Facilities

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Housed in a 41,669-square-foot, glass-block building that permits diffused daylight in every classroom and shop, the Glassell Studio School was the first of its kind in the Southwest. Technical efficiency, productivity, and great design were assured by faculty and architects, resulting in a building that supports the creative process through form and function. Highlights include:

Sculpture
A two-story sculpture studio with adjacent large exterior court contains approximately 4,500 square feet of total work area. It features two giant automatic doors, a three-ton ceiling hoist for moving large-scale works, a sandblasting area, a wood shop with Delta 10-inch table saw, radial arm saw, chop saw, 150-inch vertical band saw and two drill presses, TIG/ Heli-arc welding, Plasma cutter, bench grinder and polisher, two stationary combination disk belt sanders, and a foundry with a separate wax and investment area, a 90-pound crucible furnace, a burnout kiln and a forge, and pneumatic tools.

Ceramics
A 4,400-square-foot indoor/outdoor ceramics studio has a large automatic door, 14 electric wheels, a 40-cubic-foot downdraft gas kiln, a 12-cubic-foot updraft gas kiln, a 105-cubic-foot downdraft cart kiln, raku kilns, clay mixers, spray booths, pug mill, extruders, slab rollers, ware trucks, and a hydraulic-lift truck.

Digital Imaging Lab
The School’s Digital Imaging lab is equipped with networked Windows-based PC workstations running Adobe Photoshop imaging software. File input is through media card readers and two dedicated scanners that can digitize 2-D flat media and most transparency and film formats. Output options include a full color laser printer for proofing and a 13-inch-wide inkjet printer for high quality prints.

Jewelry and Enamel
A 900-square-foot jewelry and enamel studio is equipped with an excellent selection of specialty hand tools, flex shafts at each individual student workbench, three types of torches, and a broad range of hammering and forming tools. There is a complete enamel facility, casting, hydraulic press and etching facilities, bench lathe, rolling mills, buffing machine, and shears. An additional small room houses mold-making equipment, a sandblaster, and expanded hammering area.

Printmaking
The 1,700-square-foot printmaking studio has two American French tool presses for intaglio, a Thomas Hall and Takach–Garfield press for lithography. It features a Tennsmith foot-operated shear, 20 litho stones, a Crown hydraulic-lift truck, and blackout facilities for photo-sensitive processes, a professional rosin aquatint box with a capacity to accommodate a 30- x 40-inch plate, as well as a polylight vacuum table plate exposer.

Photography
The photo facility consists of a 12-station gang-style print room equipped with Omega D5 XL enlargers with aristo cold light heads. Additionally, there is a film developing area, print finishing area with dry mount presses and screens, and a dedicated toning sink.

Painting, Drawing, Design
More than 3,700 square feet are devoted to four painting, drawing, and design classrooms. Glass block walls and balanced fluorescent lights approximate daylight for day and evening classes.

Art History
Art History courses are typically held in the Freed Auditorium, which has theater seating for 100, along with a full projection booth and sound system.

Free MFAH Admission and Use of the Hirsh Library
The MFAH is the largest art museum in the Southwest, and its encyclopedic collections are an exceptional resource for learning about the visual arts from a worldwide perspective. Glassell students receive free general admission to the MFAH (not including ticketed exhibitions and events).

Glassell students are encouraged to use the Hirsch Library, the art-research center of the MFAH, for academic research as well as for exploring creative possibilities in the studio. Reference staff are available to help during normal business hours, as well as on Mondays by phone. Contact the Hirsch Library at 713-639-7325 or hirsch@mfah.org.

Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is a reference library accessible to students Tuesday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:45 p.m.; Thursday until 8:45 p.m.; and Saturday, 12:00 noon–4:45 p.m. The collection of more than 105,000 volumes is devoted to the visual arts, including fine and applied arts.

*School facilities are for use only by registered students. Outside visitors, including former students, are not permitted to use any of the facilities or equipment under any circumstances. Children and visitors are not permitted in classrooms and studios.

The Glassell School of Art receives generous funding from the following donors:

Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation/Mrs. Margaret Alkek Williams; The Glassell Family; Leslie and Brad Bucher; Kathrine G. McGovern; Mr. and Mrs. John S. Orton; Joseph Havel; Cherie and Jim Flores; Barbara and Michael Gamson; Demetre P. Grivas; Mrs. Mary Louis Kister; Tamara and Andrius Kontrimas; Mrs. Sybil F. Roos; Paul A.Van Hook; Adrienne and Tim Unger; Samuel F. Gorman; Mr. and Mrs. David Marsh; Mr. and Mrs. Eddy S. Blanton; Karen and John E. Bradshaw, Sr.; Diana and Steve Brown; Mrs. Jereann H. Chaney; Sara Dodd-Spickelmier and Keith D. Spickelmier; Susan and David Fine; Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hawkins; Kerry F. Inman and Denby Auble; Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long; Ms. Beth Madison; Bunny and Perry Radoff; Rick and Nancy Rome; Mr. and Mrs. Scott McCool; Pauline and Stephen Smith; Mrs. Dorothy C. Sumner; and Vallette and Russell Windham.