The Craft Art program offers three specialized tracks: Glass Art and Design, Jewelry Art and Design, and Lacquer Art and Design. Guided by the teaching philosophy of “Revitalizing Traditional Crafts, Focusing on Oriental Aesthetics, and Grounding itself in Contemporary Life,” the program centers on the contemporary transformation and innovative practice of traditional crafts, emphasizing the organic integration of material understanding, technical mastery, and artistic expression. Supported by the distinctive “Full-cycle Workshop” teaching model and the “Learning through Making” practice system, the program strengthens students’ hands-on abilities and innovative thinking, cultivating high-caliber, application-oriented and interdisciplinary art professionals with a solid grounding in craftsmanship, cultural consciousness, and independent creative capacity. Graduates can pursue careers in jewelry design, metal art, glass art, lacquer art creation, intangible cultural heritage preservation, cultural and creative product R&D, public art education, and beyond, meeting the demands of the cultural and creative industries. They benefit from well-defined career paths and ample opportunities for advanced academic study.
2. Course Overview
Curriculum Structure
·Glass Art and Design
The Glass Art and Design is structured around three core modules—Form Fundamentals and Formal Language, Material Media and Language, and Creative Concepts and Methods—and follows a four-year progressive curriculum. In the first year, students build a solid foundation in form, composition, and art theory through the design foundation platform. The second year moves into the Material and Media module, offering courses such as History of Glass Art, Material Experimentation, and Fundamentals of Glass Techniques. Students develop an in-depth understanding of the properties of glass materials and their technical applications, thereby strengthening their material and media literacy. The third year focuses on the Creative Methods module, where courses like Thematic Creation, Applied Design, and Residency Practice cultivate students’ original creative thinking. The fourth year serves as a comprehensive capstone, integrating Graduation Field Study, Creative Practice, and the Degree Thesis to unite all elements of form, material, technique, and creation, achieving a deep synthesis of traditional cultural heritage and contemporary glass art practice.
·Jewelry Art and Design
Centered on three core modules—Form Fundamentals and Expression, Metal Material and Craft Language, and Jewelry Creation Concepts and Methods—the Jewelry Art and Design builds a comprehensive project-based curriculum that integrates new concepts, techniques, and materials. In the first year, students build a solid foundation in form, composition, and art theory through the design foundation platform. The second-year core foundation courses focus on material perception and technical skill training. Adhering to an approach that combines formal language development with the cultivation of innovative thinking, and anchored by core specialized courses, the program expands hands-on practice with various materials and techniques, diligently honing students’ professional practice and innovation capabilities. In the third and fourth years, the program draws on the distinctive “Full-cycle Workshop” educational model to achieve a full integration of pedagogical logic, interdisciplinary convergence, and theory-practice alignment, thereby enhancing students’ overall professional competence.
·Lacquer Art and Design
In the first year, students build a solid foundation in form, composition, and art theory through the design foundation platform. The first semester of the second year begins with Fundamentals of Lacquer Craft, where students learn the properties of raw lacquer, tool making, and lacquer board preparation techniques to establish a firm craft foundation. Concurrently, Decorative Techniques I introduces techniques such as Zhangxiu (resist-patterned lacquer) and Duisu (relief modeling), initiating the study of decorative language. In the second semester, students delve into Decorative Techniques II, covering Qiangjin (gold-inlaid engraving) and inlay, as well as Bodiless Lacquer Technique for three-dimensional forming, supplemented by Woodworking for core body construction. The course Chinese Lacquer Art Studies supports the accumulation of craft history and aesthetic cultivation, forming a multidimensional technical system encompassing surface decoration, three-dimensional form, and historical-theoretical grounding. In the third year, students advance to comprehensive creation courses such as Lacquer Painting, Functional Lacquerware, and Lacquer Painting Creation, expanding their expressive language through diverse media including thin-coat lacquer (using gold/silver powders), Maki-e (sprinkled-picture technique), and wood-core lacquerware. The fourth year, through Lacquer Art Creation and the graduation Thematic Creation Project, facilitates the transformation from technical mastery to independent artistic expression, completing a knowledge cycle of material cognition—technical study—comprehensive creation—graduation practice. This cultivates lacquer art talents who are both rooted in tradition and attuned to contemporary perspectives.
