Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute offers an Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) in Visual Arts. The 60 semester hour program prepares students for successful transfer into most four year institutions. This program is designed to develop a strong portfolio, ensuring that students have the academic foundations needed to continue their academic growth in the discipline of visual arts. The AFA, Visual Arts, is also appropriate for students who want additional training in fine arts to enhance their career or life.
The Fine Arts program’s mission is to provide students with general education requirements and skills needed to earn the Associate of Fine Arts degree, to prepare for junior entry into a Bachelor of Fine Arts program, and provide life enrichment and personal skills in the fine arts field. The intent of the program is to help students gain the skills, vocabulary, and a portfolio needed to successfully transfer and thrive in a Bachelor of Fine Arts program as well as provide skills in the field of fine arts.
The Associates of Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts was first available in the academic year 1999-2000, and Jean Cauthen was the first director of the program. In 2002, a full-time art position was added and based on the Watauga campus. After Jean Cauthen’s retirement and relocation in 2007, Jane Harrison became Director of Visual Arts. In 2013, Jane Harrison retired leaving the Director’s position open for two semesters. In the Fall of 2014, Tom Thielemann became the Director of Visual Arts. Currently, there are two full-time art instructors: Tom Thielemann and Laura Aultman. This program depends greatly on the availability of part-time instructors, some who have been associated with our program from the beginning and who have special expertise in distinct areas.
In the summer of 2014, the Fine Arts program moved from S Building to D Building. This move allowed for a better, more designated space for each discipline. The building offers rooms for Printmaking / Design, Painting / Drawing, Ceramics, Sculpture, and an exhibition space. The Jo Seila Gallery was opened in May of 2002. The designated gallery space is now located in D Building on the Caldwell campus, and features exhibitions of student, faculty and regional artists' work. Display systems were installed on the Watauga campus in the WOTF Building, and in the LRC on the Hudson campus, allowing the program to showcase work from Branches, CCC&TI’s literary and fine arts magazine.
Available studio course options have expanded in recent years and we now regularly offer Design I 2-D and Design II 3D, Drawing I and II, Computer Art I and II, Printmaking I and II, Painting I and II, Digital Photography I and II, Sculpture I, Ceramics I and II, Art history I and II, and Art Appreciation. These courses are used to fulfill the requirement of 21 hours of professional program studio electives. To maximize the effectiveness of our full time instructors, they are now scheduled to teach on both campuses.
If you are interested in the Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts, please let us know by clicking on the link below and completing the form:
Costs at North Carolina community colleges are traditionally the best educational value available for college transfer, technical, and vocational students. For current tuition and fees at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, visit our Tuition & Fees webpage or contact the Student Services Office at 828.726.2200.
Financial assistance is available to qualified students through grants, scholarships, loans, and part-time employment in the college work-study program. For more information, visit our Financial Aid page.
According to the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts, the arts and culture industry
creates about 5.7 million full-time jobs every year, nationwide!
Careers for graduates with a Visual Arts Degree include:
Studio Artist:
Education – Teaching privately, or in Middle Schools, High Schools, Private Schools, or College and University Fine Arts Programs.
Visual Communication and Graphic Design – Including many opportunities in Film, Print, Graphic Design and Web Based Design.
Commercial / Design Fields
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists many occupations for Craft and Fine Artists. The Job Duties, Education Required and the Median Pay varies greatly depending on the occupation.
To learn more information about employment outlook and work environment in the AFA Visual Arts field, visit CCC&TI's Career Coach site for the following program:
AFA: Visual Arts
Thomas Thielemann, the AFA Visual Arts Director at Caldwell Community College and Technical institute, is an award winning multi-media artist. Thomas’ work combines a variety of disciplines including Printmaking, Graphic Arts, Collage, and Painting. His work is represented by several galleries throughout the south east and in Washington DC. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Radford University.
Thomas teaches Printmaking, Computer Art, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Design 1 and 2, and Art Appreciation. His focus in the classroom is on craftsmanship, methods, demonstrations, and design principles. He is a dedicated teacher, believing that true education can never exist without visual discovery and appreciation. His work can be seen at www.moonheadstudio.com.
Laura Aultman received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2003, concentrating in the ceramic arts. During her undergraduate career, she was a studio assistant for raku artist Steven Forbes-de Soule, who resides in Weaverville, North Carolina. During that time she also received a research grant, which enabled her to complete an extensive undergraduate research project that focused on the crystal growth of zinc-silicate crystalline glazes. In 2003, Aultman presented her crystalline research findings at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she was accepted into the graduate ceramic program at the University of Florida, Gainesville, under the tutelage of Linda Arbuckle and Nan Smith. She received her Master of Fine Arts in May 2006; and returned to University of North Carolina at Asheville where she taught ceramics as an academic scholarly leave replacement.
Ms. Aultman has been an art instructor for Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, teaching at the Watauga and Caldwell campuses, since 2008. She teaches Ceramics I and II, Design I and II, Sculpture I and II, Art History Survey I & II, and Art Appreciation.
Her ceramic work has been shown in art shows throughout the southeastern United States and has been published in Crystalline Glazes 2nd ed. by Diane Creber, 500 Plates and Chargers and 500 Prints on Clay by Lark Books.
Maggie Flanigan is a North Carolina based artist working with ideas of community, intimacy and immediacy. Her experience in professional schools of crafts, community studios, and university settings have helped to define her interests in teaching in a playful and supportive atmosphere while maintaining and cultivating an artistic community. Maggie holds a BFA in Studio Art from Appalachian State University and an MFA in Photography from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Being deeply entrenched in education is of utmost importance to her career, staying engaged in the art community both through gallery and museum work as well as teaching brings balance into her personal art practice.
Currently teaching as an Instructor at Caldwell Community College, Maggie Flanigan specializes in teaching art and photography at all levels as well as working with alternative photographic process, printmaking, and mixed media fiber arts. maggieflanigan.com
Scott Brown is a sculptor residing in Linville Falls, North Carolina with his wife Susan and son Logan. Scott has a BFA in sculpture from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and an MFA in sculpture from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. His sculptures are concerned with the relationship between humankind and nature. Through the use of natural materials in juxtaposition with manmade ones he express his view of the world. He believes sculpture is a powerful visual language of self-expression. The forms he creates express a concern for tension and balance found throughout life. Life, like a river can be chaotic and ever fluctuating, but it also has periods of tranquility. Sometimes these aspects come together and merge into one in Scott’s work.
Scott teaches Design 1 and 2, Sculpture 1 and 2, and Drawing for CCC&TI.
Martin Church is a lifelong student of photography. Early on, he began to photograph his first inspiration, the landscape of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina. Later, as a student at Virginia Intermont College, he was trained in Ansel Adam's process of the Zone System and became a proponent of Edward Weston's concept of Previsualization. While a graduate student at Radford University, he researched elements of chance and developed an alternative approach he call Partial-visualization. In this manner he considers many experimental options. By sacrificing the absolute control of the medium, he embraces working in an oxymoronic attitude called Advancing Backward.
Jenelaine Carson is a Ceramic artist currently residing in Jonas Ridge, NC. After studying under master potter Dan Finch in Bailey, NC, Jenelaine went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from East Carolina University, and her Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She has exhibited and taught extensively throughout North Carolina, Richmond, VA, and Philadelphia, PA.
Her sculptural work often morphs the internal and external both visually and conceptually, creating individual narratives in each piece. Her subject matter is often inspired by similarities between seemingly dissimilar forms found in her natural surroundings.
As a teacher, Jenelaine encourages students to explore new ways of thinking as individuals while developing observational skills, a strong sense of design, detail oriented craftsmanship, and practical knowledge of the medium.
Jenelaine teaches Ceramics 1, Ceramics 2, Sculpture 1, and Sculpture 2
Mark Peters gained his master of Fine Arts degree from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.
Mark Peters makes wheel-thrown, wood-fired functional pottery. Each piece is made by hand, often altered or assembled off the wheel. His work is a collaboration with clay and fire. Working with the clay’s inherent qualities to make objects that are complimented through the wood firing. Organic and loose in form yet bold and defined in structure, his pots have unique characteristics that make each pot one of a kind. Mark has taught at The John C. Campbell School of Craft, has made “How To” videos, and been published in several ceramic magazines.
Mark teaches Art Appreciation, Design 1 and 2, Sculpture, Ceramics, Drawing, and Painting.
