KOOTENAY SCHOOL OF ART

K.5.A. Came into existence as a full day school in 1960 ina small building on the main street of Nelson, Two familiar names on staff in the early days were Zeljko Kujundzic and Santo Mignosa. The first years saw a small enrolment and,I expect, great creative involvement because of a small student, teacher ratio. In 1964, students, teachers and equipment moved in and became a part of the Vocational School. Number of pupils - 12, Since that time the Art Department has grown steadily until today there are 100 full time diploma students, 75 university students and a staff of 7. Three programs are offered, First, there is a 10 month Commercial Art Program which is somewhat of a crash course in Graphic Arts, Because this is a short course, many of the students are able to obtain financial help through Canada Manpower. Also offered are a Three Year Fine Arts course, and beginning this year, ir co-operation with Notre Dame University, a B,F.A, degree program plus art education courses.

For those interested in Pottery, everyons must first take a One Year foundation course, This has proven especially frustrating to the student who wants instant commitment. However, in the second and third year, there are less compulsory subjects and more time can be spent on clay development.

The department is run with as much freedom as possible, with each student working out his own program. All manner of emperimenta- tion is encouraged: painted pots, screened pots, enamelled pots, Most emphasis is placed on wheal thrown stoneware. In spite of the fact that a pupil might have a contemporary bent, repetitive techniques such as throwing off the hump, are cultivated to pre- pare him for a studio production environment,

This year there are 9) students taking Pottery as a part of ths foundation course and 18 majors.

The school has ons 24 cu.ft. Alpine gas kiln, one 14 cu.ft., and two 6 cu.ft. electric kilns. In addition, last fall, the third year and post-graduate students built a 20 cu.ft. catenary arch woo buming kiln. Each year this kiln will be broken down and 7.