The focus of our Architectural Plaster Working program is centered on creating the academic environment necessary to produce multidimensional educated artisans. In order to provide this unique educational experience our students complete an intensive, integrated liberal arts curriculum. This curriculum has been developed in such a way that all courses, both academic and artistry, build upon each other and missing any portion of the curriculum provides an incomplete education. This integrated approach creates a highly focused learning environment which students find both challenging and rewarding.

Of all the building arts, plastering is the trade which has changed the least over time. Artisans still use the same methods and tools which have been developed over hundreds of years. Newer, less costly materials have caused a resurgence in the popularity of plaster, but the skills needed remain time-tested. The characteristics of plaster make it an excellent material to create highly decorative detail. At its core, plastering appears to be a simple trade, but when one sees a true master working, it is revealed as a true art form. Plasterers use a limited palette of tools, but they are used to great effect working with textural surfaces in flat wall plastering and stucco work, or creating ornamental detail in decorative cornice and scagliola. Plasterers help create a finished look for any room. If you have a disposition towards creating fine finish and detail, this trade will give you a rewarding career. It is only through constantly working and understanding the material that an artisan can develop the skills to become a highly desired worker. Most plastering today is undertaken in preservation and in high quality construction.

The plaster trade can be divided into two categories: 1) working in a studio creating decorative detail, and 2) installing flat wall plaster straight to existing surfaces, many times from a scaffold work area. Both these areas demand patience, lifting, standing and attention to detail. It is also a very satisfying trade, as it is the final finish of a building and becomes the focal point of a room.

All college preparatory courses are desirable (see College Catalog), as are courses in shop, art, mechanical drawing and woodworking. Manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, physical fitness and a good sense of balance are important.

Plasterers may be employed as flat wall plasterers, decorative plasterers, Stucco masons, preservation plasterers, preservation stucco masons or scagliola plasterers.

The plaster curriculum consists of eight semesters that will prepare students for a career as a plaster artisan. The course is designed to give a broad overview of the skills required to work in all aspects of this material.

The curriculum is designed with two distinct stages. During the first two years students develop the basic skills required to work plaster and put this material into use as an architectural form on either historic or contemporary buildings. Upon completion they will receive an Associates degree and be able to competently begin working as an apprentice to a master craftsman. Students who choose and are selected to continue into the Bachelors program will complete two more years of intensive training -- honing their practical skills and techniques. They will advance their study into theoretical aspects of the trade, conservation work and business management. Students finishing the full four year curriculum will receive the education and skills needed to become a business owner and master artisan.

The student who applies for this course should have a high level of practical skills. Their background should include a determination to succeed in a field which has a fine tradition. Plastering, from the basic construction to highly decorated detail, will give practitioners much satisfaction.

An emphasis throughout this curriculum will be on workshop and on-site practice where repetition will lay the foundation for high skill levels. Initially the courses will focus on hand skills/techniques for manipulating plaster and the theoretical knowledge needed to use this material. These skills will lay the foundation for later workshops which extend the initial knowledge beyond practice and into accomplished work. During the third and fourth year students will specialize in the craft and continue to improve their skills. With repetition of process engrained within the student, they will be able to concentrate more on the craft than the process. This approach will leave students with a solid background, preparing them for the rigors of working as a commercial artisan/practitioner.

Areas of study within the course will be: conservation, craft and architecture history, drawing, design and geometry, English, information technology, math, general plaster work, management and professional practice. Classes in many of these subjects will be complemented by lectures and instruction from master artisans brought in to teach specific specialties.