This is an introductory program for students who don't consider themselves artists but who wish to explore the visual arts and what it means to be an artist. It includes a component on art history, a hands-on studio arts component, reading fiction and nonfiction about the theory and practice of art, and learning to write about art. The studio component for the first half of the quarter will be devoted to the study of drawing the human figure; the last five weeks will be devoted to black-and-white film photography. Some of the main objectives of this program are instilling a basic knowledge of the history of Western art, the development of students’ skills in two-dimensional image making by learning disciplined work habits in the art studios, visual thinking, and adapting a working vocabulary for talking and writing intelligently about art. Expanding students’ visual literacy will be emphasized along with the study of traditional studio techniques. Reading materials and films have been selected to initiate class discussion and encourage an ongoing dialogue on topics related to aesthetics and art history. Our seminar texts are a combination of nonfiction works dealing with aesthetics and the practices both of making and viewing art, and novels which attempt to portray the lives of artists. In addition, practicing artists will come and talk about their lives, especially in terms of their daily activities and their decisions to become artists.