Facilities
Painting Studio
The light filled painting stuidos offer ample space to create large scale pieces and are equiped with easels, movable painting trays/tables, and storage racks for works in progress during the semester.
Printmaking
Our large, light-filled printmaking facilities give printmakers ample space to work, and backs up to views of the Copeland Creek that runs through campus.
Our Lithography studio houses four litho presses and a large stone library that includes several full-size litho stones. We also have aluminum ball-grain litho plates as well as photo-lithography. The litho studio is also home to a letterpress and type library.
The Etching Studio houses three large etching presses and a separate, well ventilated, acid room. We have the capabilities of etching copper and zinc as well as facilities for photo-etching.
Works on Paper
Our large, open, drawing studio offers large drawing tables and room to explore many different media.
Ceramics
The Ceramics studio offers students a spacious light-filled room with ample storage, a separate glaze materials lab, mold-making area, clay mixing area, and several gas and electric kilns.
Foundry
We are proud to be among the few universities in the nation still offering bronze and aluminium casting. Our foundry has two furnaces, one to melt bronze and the other to melt aluminum. Processes include sand molding, ceramic shell and wax pattern making.
In our expansive metal shop we have a full range of welding, cutting, rolling, sand blasting, and bending equipment. Our campus also has a maker space, accessible to all students for 3D printing, laser etching, and sewing machines.
Students are encouraged to merge technologies and resources to broaden their art making experience. With the added benefit of a large courtyard our students are able to experiment with larger projects.
Sculpture
The sculpture studio offers students the ability to develop a strong knowledge of fabrication processes in various media, such as wood, metal, bronze, clay, plastic, and repurposed objects.
In our expansive metal shop we have a full range of welding, cutting, rolling, sand blasting, and bending equipment. Our campus also has a maker space, accessible to all students for 3D printing, laser etching, and sewing machines.
Students are encouraged to merge technologies and resources to broaden their art making experience. With the added benefit of a large courtyard our students are able to experiment with larger projects.
Woodshop
Sonoma State has a fully equipped, safe and well organized woodshop for student use. Students have the opportunity to learn a variety of skills from panel making to steam bending. All students using the woodshop learn how to safely and properly use equipment for their projects by taking the Shop Safety 103 class.
Equipement highlights:
- SawStop table saw
- Two Delta variable speed drill press
- 20” Powermatic planer
- 8” Oliver jointer
- Two 14” bandsaws
- 9”x 138” oscillating Oliver edge sander
- 12” sliding miter saw
- Horizontal panel saw
- 1942 Oliver lathe
- Wood steamer
- Router table
- Sharpening station Tormek
- Torit dust collector
Photography
The Photography program at Sonoma State University will offer undergraduate-level courses that develop technical, critical and conceptual skills for a practice-based approach to the medium. The combined curriculum of analog and digital photographic methods provides the students with a full technical and theoretical grounding necessary for maintaining an artistic practice while refining the practical skills applicable to building a photographic career in the artistic, commercial and/or media fields.
Media Arts
The Media Arts emphasis exposes students to concepts and techniques of contemporary extended photographic practice, including video, installation and experimental art techniques as well as cross- disciplinary possibilities and contextual issues in the presentation of art works.
Every idea has a medium most suited to its execution, but often not the one in which the artist is working. This program considers new ways of translating ideas into other media to develop a sense of possibilities beyond the straight photograph. Conceptual art has given us an understanding of the triggers that might provoke an investigation of layers of meaning within the simplest of ideas. Assignments encourage students to think beyond the usual way they work and include the use of collaboration, installation, live feed, the Internet, sound recording, still and moving digital image production as well as performance and performative uses of photography. Course content will include viewing work from a range of disciplines and will be delivered through demonstrations, field trips, slide lectures, workshops, discussion, readings, critiques, individual consultations and lab participation.
Rage Gallery
The Rage Gallery is a space for student use during the academic year. This space is often used to critique work, and for students to construct installations. The room can be reserved by students for any kind of art project, or for collaborative shows.
For reservations, call 707-664-2364.
University Art Gallery
The University Art Gallery presents exhibitions and public programs on modern and contemporary artists of regional, national, and international significance. Visitors to the Art Gallery can view stimulating and challenging works of art from important private and public collections as well as new work directly from artist's studios.