The Department of Ceramic and Glass Design is the breeding ground for conceptual processes that have been applied in a wide range of specializations, with materials and their significance serving as the department's point of reference. The breakthrough made by materials in the world of art and design, the development of a broad-based dialogue between artists, philosophers and designers in Israel and other parts of the world, the search for truth and the balance between soul, form and material – are all key values that serve as guidelines for artistic creation in the department.
In today's world, replete with virtual values, the element of craft, entrenched in a deep-rooted tradition of productivity and changing world perspectives, and preserving as it were a "knowledge" of materials, constitutes a fundamental value in the department's outlook. The department's unique compostion is expressed in examining and bending traditional definitions, developing a more expansive lexicon of concepts in the field, and extending the boundaries of composition with material, while employing both traditional know-how and new technologies.
The syllabus in the various specializations exposes the students to content, investigative methods and directions of thought that integrate the spiritual and the material, and help develop skills and cognitive flexibility.
The studies in the department take place in an atmosphere of openness, where materials are investigated without recourse to predetermined assumptions, and where contemporary multidisciplinary processes are drawn on as part of the overall framework that makes a student an independent creator.
First Year
The first year in the department is devoted to an introduction to ceramics and glass and a study of the arts, design and planning. The syllabus in this year exposes the students to the entire range of subjects studied in the department while developing their ability to think creatively, and imparting the knowledge and basic skills required in the field of ceramics to cope with the transition from the two to three-dimensional. All courses are compulsory.
Second, Third and Fourth Year
In the second, third and fourth years, the syllabus includes specialization in pottery making, design of ceramic objects, sculpture, and glass. Specialization in glass is new and includes: cold glass processing; sawing; filing; boring; sandblasting; burning; secondary heat processing; welding; bending; flame processing; molding of melted glass; glass blowing, culminating in blowing of melted glass into cylindrical shapes with control over wall size and thickness, and blowing of glass into molds.
Studio
In the framework of the main specialization, the student is required each year to take studies in a major studio (second year – basic studio; third year – advanced studio; fourth year – final studio); a general workshop; a minor studio; and lecturers panel (presentation of works at the end of the year). All the main specializations include compulsory courses that the student must take each year in addition to optional courses. In the third year each student is required to take one multi-departmental course.
Guest Lecturers
The Department of Ceramic and Glass Design holds seminars led by guest lecturers. The seminars are held during the course of the year and replace the regular studies scheduled for that hour.