written by John Roach

Welcome to the students and faculty in Parsons First Year. I’ve just returned from a sabbatical after 13 years of teaching at Parsons – it was a productive period that involved working with glass, designing an interactive installation in a cave for radio, boats and a goat, recording sound in an abandoned Italian power plant, and working in a barn upstate side by side with 11 other international artists. It was an energizing experience and I hope to share details with you now that I’m back on campus and in the role of Director. As usual we have great things going on in First Year and I hope you take advantage of events and opportunities in the weeks ahead. I wanted to highlight in particular our ongoing First Year student workshops lead by our esteemed faculty. These short bursts of activity introduce students to a range of tools and experiences from black and white darkroom printing, to presentation and critique methods, to hand drawn animation.   Below are some of the first upcoming workshops we will be holding:

Metamorphosis: Using Pattern and Type in Adobe Illustrator
Lead by Anney Bonney
February 2, 2016 7-9:40pm
In this workshop, students will be using Illustrator to create an image using pattern, color and type.  Students can bring images their own images to place into Illustrator.  The workshop will include color theory and moveable type.

Line
Lead by Natalia Zubko
February 3, 2016 7-9:40pm
In this workshop, students will explore the scope, realm, and possibilities of linear materials in the 3D world. What are linear materials? How can they be used?  What are the methods for creating mechanical connections? Where do we see line/linear materials in art and design? And, Why is it important?

Print It! Getting the most out of Parsons Print Labs
Lead by Kimberly Hoeckele
February 9, 2016 7-9:40pm
In this workshop students learn about various high-quality print labs on-campus, and the best practices to get the most out of them for design and photographic work. We will review setting up files to print with the large format printers, as well as some lesser known high quality resources on campus. Bring laptops and some photo or design files to work with.

Be sure to look for the posters around campus for these and many, many more upcoming workshops being held for First Year students!