Emily Carr University of Art + Design continuing ed offers everything from metal sculpture to painting

Vancouver’s metal sculptures have helped define our city in the eyes of the world. Countless tourists have photographed the George Norris–designed stainless-steel giant crab outside the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre, Bill Reid’s bronze Spirit of Haida Gwaii at the airport, and Elek Imredy’s bronze Girl in a Wetsuit in Stanley Park—three works of art that reinforce our cultural connection to the water.

The steel-panelled Komagata Maru Memorial in Harbour Green Park, which simulates the hull of the infamous Komagata Maru, is another metal sculpture imbued with meaning.

It’s hard for the average person to conceive of creating anything like that. In fact, however, making metal sculptures is not so far out of reach. Ian Rhodes is a sculptor and continuing-studies instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, which was known as the Vancouver School of Art when Norris was a student.

Rhodes teaches introduction to metal sculpture for beginners and an open-studio class in a metalworking shop at the Granville Island campus. The area includes gas-, arc-, and spot-welding equipment, as well as metal band saws, drill presses, a lathe, and a milling machine.

“We give them access to the foundry to cast bronze and aluminum in two-part sand moulds, which is a quick method of metal-casting production,” Rhodes told the Straight by phone.

It’s one of many flexible, self-directed courses and programs offered through Emily Carr University’s continuing-studies program. Certificates through part-time studies are also available in illustration, fine arts, painting, drawing, and photography. That’s in addition to general courses for developing and practising artists.

Rhodes acknowledged that metal sculpture can be daunting and perhaps even a little scary for those who’ve never picked up a welding torch or experimented with fabrication.

“I work very hard in the introductory class to demystify these things and to remove the old-fashioned idea that metal sculpture is a male-dominated kind of roughty-toughty thing,” he said.

Rhodes emphasized that his goal is to enable students to generate their own ideas and develop the confidence to succeed. That’s why he holds off speaking about his own metal-sculpture practice until they’re well into the course so they don’t simply mimic what he’s done.

Although it is called a sculpture class, Rhodes said students are permitted—”within reason”—to make whatever they want. This could include sculpting metal furniture.

Meanwhile, Emily Carr University’s visual-arts coordinator for continuing studies, Emily Ludington, told the Straight by phone that introductory courses and part-time certificate programs enable people in the workforce to develop skills without having to enroll in a full-time program.

“They really do learn from one another,” Ludington said. “It becomes a community of like-minded people but with enough variety that they grow from each other and can even mentor each other.”

She pointed out that instructors are practising artists and designers who draw upon their experiences while teaching. According to Ludington, courses are often offered in the evenings or on weekends, usually over four or eight weeks. During the summer, there are “weeklong intensives”, which are ideal for those who might want to take a course during a holiday and for teachers interested in professional development.

“Our curriculum focuses on skill development,” Ludington said. “We want people to leave with applicable skills that they can utilize right away.”

On a deeper level, she noted that Emily Carr University continuing-studies courses encourage students to learn how to ask questions, investigate, explore, lead with creativity, and, perhaps most importantly, think like artists.

“I find that lifelong learning comes very naturally to artists and designers—and to creative people in general,” she said.

Some continuing-studies students who obtain certificates later enroll in the full-time program at Emily Carr University. Rhodes, for example, mentioned that he recently saw one of his former continuing-education students who’s in her third year of undergraduate studies.

“She came from a graphics background and was getting kind of stuck in a rut,” he recalled. “She took an introduction to metal sculpture class. She enjoyed it so much that she prepared a portfolio, presented it to the school, and was accepted. So it was definitely a vehicle, if you like, to actually continue with her practice.”

In addition to George Norris, Emily Carr University counts many other internationally acclaimed artists as alumni—such as Jack Shadbolt, Stan Douglas, Attila Richard Lukacs, and Brian Jungen—as well as award-winning filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming and writers Douglas Coupland and Heather Spears.

Its new state-of-the-art campus will open in September 2017 along Great Northern Way in East Vancouver.