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Hungary 2015
Travel Abroad Proposal, May 18 – June 21, 2015
This Study Abroad experience offers students the chance to experience living
and working in Eastern Europe. Our home base for the trip is the International
Ceramic Studio, a center that features comfortable lodgings and excellent
studios- ample workspaces, numerous kilns and a mold making facility. A special
translucent porcelain clay (Herend) is available for use. The Studio Museum
houses an extensive international collection of contemporary works in clay,
providing an excellent on-site study resource.
Hungary has a long tradition of ceramics from folk art wares to the exquisite art
nouveau luxury wares of Zsolnay and the Herend Porcelain Factory, as well as
examples of historic and architectural ceramics in Kecskemet, Budapest, Pecs,
and an extended visit to the Herend Porcelain Factory. This is an AMAZING
MONTH-LONG ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cost includes tuition, single room lodging, studio and materials fees, visiting
artists' demo fees, museum fees, day trips to Budapest, Herend, Pecs and
Tihany, a four day trip to North Eastern Hungary and Austria, and transportation
to and from the Budapest airport. Please note that this price does not include
airfare or meals. Students will purchase airline tickets to Budapest where they will
meet the entire group and take a bus to Kecskemet.
*Due to the nature of this program, all participants are required to register for 6 credit hours.
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The Hungary 2015 study abroad program is introducing a new travel trip this year
as a replacement for the Cesky Krumlov trip in the Czech Republic. The NEW
Szalafo trip will be centered around Eastern European architecture and outdoor
adventures.
It includes a visit to the Riegersburg castle in Austria and a tour of the Zotter
Factory, the best chocolate makers in Eastern Europe. This tour will include
sampling of the delicious merchandise and a history of the franchise, a
destination not to be missed for locals and visitors of the region.
On the way to Austria we will stop at the Lenti Thermal Water Park to enjoy its
many thermal bathes. These bathes are a traditional part of Hungarian culture, a
unique experience hard to come by in other parts of the world.
We will stay in Szalafo, Hungary, near Studio 8- the International Studio for Art
and Ceramics. We will also tour this new residency to inform the students of
opportunities in the future. While in Szalafo, Orseg we will visit the
Magyarszombatfa Pottery Museum, the Pityerszer Museum, the Albert Attila
Pottery, the Reformat & Velemer Churches, and the unique architecture of the
Owl House as a continuation of the study of Hungarian architecture.
We will also include a day trip for a white water rafting adventure!!! The timing is
perfect as the high waters are swift and the refreshing. A nice break from studio
work as the final kiln is being fired back at the I.C.S. in Kecskemet.
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Liberal Arts Elective
Dreaming in Magyar: Hungarian Art and Architecture
Architect//Instructor: Aaron Blumenhein
LAEL 3823 01, 3 Credit Hours
This course is a cross-sectional capsule of architectural education with an
emphasis on historical Hungarian building traditions, forms and vocabulary.
Through the study of basic architectural vocabulary, students will be able to
dissect the constructed forms they will be observing and understand the origin of
historical Hungarian buildings. Within contemporary contexts, students will be
able to trace architectural styles in reverse, in contrast to beginning with the
meaning of architecture and its formal origins, with which the students may not
have any primary experience, this process affords them a connection to what
they observe directly.
Students will continuously be employing creative acts that will enrich and inform
their personal work. To compliment their tactile work with materials in studio,
students will be required to maintain a visual notebook. A final paper is also
required, which will fuse the technical knowledge learned in lectures and
readings with the site visits of Hungarian Art and Architecture.
The pre-program readings in “Accessible Architectural Theory” are intended to
give the student a basic lifetime understanding of the meaning of architecture and
its importance to our improved sense of existence.
Ceramic Open Elective
Professor George Timock
CERME 357 01, 3 Credit Hours
The Ceramic Open Elective is a self-directed offering taught by George Timock
and assisted by the visiting and resident artists at the International Ceramic
Studio (I.C.S.). Students are encouraged to identify areas of visual interest and
create works with the translucent porcelain clay used exclusively at the Herend
Porcelain Factory in Hungary. The I.C.S. is the only venue outside the Herend
Factory that is authorized to use this extremely high temperature, glass-like
porcelain material… Herend Porcelain… and envious material to create with!!!
Students will have the opportunity of working with this Herend porcelain clay to
form with the potter’s wheel, implement hand-building construction and the
specialty of Eastern Europe… Plaster mold design and porcelain slip casting.
Hands- on demonstrations are an integral part of this studio experience. The
KCAI faculty and I.C.S. resident master artists assist students with both technical
and aesthetic concerns.
The introduction of glazing the porcelain ware, loading and firing the two large
high fire kilns (1380 C) with both wood and natural gas gives the students a
knowledge base and understanding of this final process. Developing and
demonstrating critical thinking skills for examining and discussing their creative
work and the work of their peers during this month-long adventure in Eastern
Europe is a very important expected learning outcome for the ceramic elective
course. A final presentation and critical evaluation with faculty is required.
Important Trip Deadlines // ESTIMATED TRIP COST: $4,485 (not including airfare)
Friday, Feb. 6, 2015
Application and Required documents, PLUS a $250 non-refundable deposit is
due in the Business Office
Monday, Feb. 9, 2015
Student selections will be made and confirmations via email
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015
A non-refundable payment, half of the TOTAL trip fee is due in the Business
Office
Friday, Mar. 6, 2015
Full payment of the total trip fee is due in the Business Office
Monday, May 18, 2015
Depart USA, Arrive in Budapest May 21th. Return to USA June 21st .