Reviews for ARTT200

Information Review
Danielle Leizman
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/14/2025
A lot of the review's are talking about the class specifically and not about Dan's teaching, so I'm writing this review as someone who had them for ARTT110, ARTT200, and as a TA for ARTT100. I'm also writing this as someone who is an IMD art major & CS major, so getting this out of the way: - unfortunately, these aren't just easy gen eds, theyre also pre reqs for multiple majors, including LEPs (practically weed outs for students who think IMD CS is an easier path to a comp sci degree than normal CS) - as long as you show up and TRY, you will get an A. these classes assume you aren't experienced with art. your grade is based on effort and technical improvement (which you will see if you put in effort) - you have to purchase your own materials for most art classes. i fear this is a research school, they aren't giving funding to pay for 120 student's individual materials, much less for a beginner art class with a standardized curriculum & materials list. Dan is genuinely one of the best professors in the ARTT department because they care about both technical skill development and individual growth. We had our class in the Sandbox in Iribe, and they went out of their way to pitch 3D printing as a major project for our course so that we could make full use of the space and learn an entirely new medium + CAD. They also had tactile sound sculpture as a project and we got to work with audio based sculpture. Meanwhile I have a friend who took ARTT200 with another prof and they did cardboard and flower foam for the whole semester. Dan genuinely wants you to learn new mediums and skills, explore your own interests, and think about art differently while still making stuff you actually want to make. Similarly, in ARTT110 they place a lot of emphasis on personal growth and improvement with how you draw. Its definitely not a "low effort" gen ed like the other reviews say, because you're not just "drawing", you're Learning how to draw. Practicing contours, doing quick 1 minute warm ups, learning how to move. For my final, I was struggling with an object to pick, and they referred me to the one most relevant to my major so that if I ever need it, I'll have something for a portfolio. Its not about just doing assignments, its about building a foundation, and Dan is the one of the only professors I've had for any of my art/humanities coursework who actually seemed to prioritized that. They're incredibly laid back, kind, and understanding (especially with grading), but still encouraging with their students to succeed and think outside of the box during the project process. I assume some of these reviews are from ppl not doing art-related majors, but any art student ik whose's had them will rave about them to you. I've never written a planet terp review before, but seeing their rating so low made me so sad I had to take the time to do this. If you're interested in art, and want to improve both technically and creatively, they are the right prof to get that foundation from. But if you just want to be told what to make, and get from point A to point B for a grade, take it with someone else (although at that point, university level art probably isn't for you)
Jeremy Kunkel
ARTT200

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/12/2025
Take this class! He is compassionate and a wonderful prof, he really was understanding of my situation when I fell behind and worked out a plan for us so I could pass his class. This was the first prof who I really connected with and felt heard me out, he will show you how to manage and operate basic tools and be very understanding of the skill level you are at. - 5-6 projects - Crits are open ended and take a majority of the 3 hours.
Sima Pirmoradi
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/05/2025
Professor Pirmoradi is a good professor, if you're used to receiving critique in an art setting you will be much more ready, if not you may be in for some adjusting. As a professor I found her projects fun and she will not hold back about what she thinks, you just have to ask.
Charlotte Richardson-deppe
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/20/2025
Charlotte is such a kind soul, great teacher, and very knowledgeable, and it's such an easy class as long as you put in effort. As someone who did art in high school but isn't taking it anywhere professionally, I loved this class because it was an excuse to try to new mediums and keep my creative abilities growing and flowing. Charlotte is leaving UMD after this semester, but I assume that even with other teachers its probably an easy class so I highly recommend if you like art.
Charlotte Richardson-deppe
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/09/2025
Charlotte is genuinely one of the best professors I've had so far. She gave our class so much creative freedom with our projects, each of them had a very simple prompt based on a material, but no restrictions on the subject or scale or anything. She was also very encouraging and helpful when I felt stuck with a project. If you have the chance to take a class with her I'd always recommend it.
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/02/2025
Took this class as an IMD major requirement, and as someone with no sculpting experience, I would strongly discourage taking Foon's class. He's a nice enough guy and will help you with your ideas and whatnot, but the requirements for his projects are very restrictive, and you can't be as creative as you might like to be. For example, our final project required us to take inspiration from 3 different artists at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC, but he would fail to see your inspiration (even if you explained it to him) unless the design concepts were almost copied from the artists. If you've never sculpted before and want to learn, Foon's class might stifle your passion, as he's very limiting and doesn't appreciate simpler projects even if you have no experience. Take someone else, he's very beginner-unfriendly. But if you are good at sculpting, you might get something out of taking him, since he is undeniably really good at what he does.
Charlotte Richardson-deppe
ARTT200

Expecting an A+
chadvader29
12/10/2024
I have already given Charlotte a 5 star review, but now that I have taken her for a more extensive class, I feel the need to write a new review. She is still a great professor; she's extremely nice and understanding, as well as genuinely good at teaching. Although for this class, it is more like giving instructions, because ARTT200 is all about messy materials and big machines that she will make sure you are definitely using safely and correctly. Each project in the class uses entirely different materials and Charlotte essentially gives you a basic prompt to follow. The final project for example, was wood and the prompt was just that your piece had to involve wood/paper in any way. That's it. This class/prof gives you tons of artistic freedom to express yourself. She is also just very chill and understanding, so the class is very laid back but engaging enough that I wanted to make some genuinely good art pieces.
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/21/2024
Honestly, one of the worst professors I've had. Overall, I've noticed the art professors here are seriously lacking and it's a major disappointment, I'm just hoping to get better professors down the line.. He doesn't give much guidance in the projects, or actual teaching at all. I basically had to teach myself through YouTube videos because he just didn't help. Talking with him about literally anything was the most infuriating thing, he would loop around in circles and never answer my questions, then be condescending and make me feel stupid. He claims the projects are very free range in what we do with them, but then grades according to his personal opinion of what he likes and what you "deserve". He also has a weird philosophy of "no one gets 100%" so his grading is capped at 97%. Don't expect an A+ because it's not possible. I worked so hard on every single project, researching endlessly, going to open studio, working at home till 3am.. it wasn't worth it. Don't overdo yourself in this class because it literally does not matter to him. He barely gives any useful comments for grading, if at all, so you're just left wondering why you got points taken off and no guidance for improvement. He also does not care at all about any other commitments you have outside of his class. Had an exam? Family emergency? Sick and/or depressed? Should've made this class a priority.. I don't think he realizes we have lives outside his class, or if he does, he doesn't care. I can say more.. I'm an art teacher myself and I'm getting my degree in education. But all in all, college professors aren't required to have a teaching degree. All they really need is a PhD saying they can make art. Just because you can make art doesn't mean you know how to teach it.. because he clearly doesn't have a clue.
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/21/2024
Honestly, one of the worst professors I've had. Overall, I've noticed the art professors here are seriously lacking and it's a major disappointment, I'm just hoping to get better professors down the line.. He doesn't give much guidance in the projects, or actual teaching at all. I basically had to teach myself through YouTube videos because he just didn't help. Talking with him about literally anything was the most infuriating thing, he would loop around in circles and never answer my questions, then be condescending and make me feel stupid. He claims the projects are very free range in what we do with them, but then grades according to his personal opinion of what he likes and what you "deserve". He also has a weird philosophy of "no one gets 100%" so his grading is capped at 97%. Don't expect an A+ because it's not possible. I worked so hard on every single project, researching endlessly, going to open studio, working at home till 3am.. it wasn't worth it. Don't overdo yourself in this class because it literally does not matter to him. He barely gives any useful comments for grading, if at all, so you're just left wondering why you got points taken off and no guidance for improvement. He also does not care at all about any other commitments you have outside of his class. Had an exam? Family emergency? Sick and/or depressed? Should've made this class a priority.. I don't think he realizes we have lives outside his class, or if he does, he doesn't care. I can say more.. I'm an art teacher myself and I'm getting my degree in education. But all in all, college professors aren't required to have a teaching degree. All they really need is a PhD saying they can make art. Just because you can make art doesn't mean you know how to teach it.. because he clearly doesn't have a clue.
Sima Pirmoradi
ARTT200

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
04/18/2024
it’s not the best. you have around 5 projects in total, and they can get pretty tedious at times. you really have to go out of your way to get feedback, and sometimes you’ll think you’re on the right track and it isn’t until critique day that suddenly there were many issues with your work. we didn’t do any wood projects, which, if you want to take ARTT333, you’ll be at a bigger disadvantage than the people who took Foon Sham for 200. honestly, there just wasn’t a lot of engagement, and it kind of turned me off from wanting to continue sculpture work (which luckily wasn’t my concentration anyway). it’s not the worst class, but i think if you’re not much into sculpture already or are coming from outside of the art major, i would probably recommend another professor as your first introduction.
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Anonymous
03/29/2024
Foon hasn't had a review written in awhile, but he is a great professor with a great sense of humor. He's a well-known artist and has notable pieces. His feedback in class is very useful and he helps add onto your ideas. Although, his grading could say otherwise. He can praise you in class, but when it comes to the grading the finished product, your grade could be different, but nothing too crazy like a C+. It's his form of critiquing. His projects are pretty time consuming as well, but that's the beauty of it. There are 3/4 projects, and then a final paper
Charlotte Richardson-deppe
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/01/2023
Charlotte is such a nice professor. She was great at giving feedback and letting us express ourselves. She would go around individually to hear what our plans were going to be for our project and would fully listen and help us out if we were struggling. I highly recommend her!
Steven Jones
ARTT200

Anonymous
04/29/2023
I like Steve a lot. He's a great guy, really genuine, and checked-in on me when I was having a hard time. Aside from him as a person, I have some grievances about his instruction: Grades need to be entered throughout the course - it is 2 weeks til the end of the semester and have zero (0) grades in canvas for this course and I do not know where I stand; A set required materials list needs to be communicated at the beginning of the course; I am a little upset with how much money I needed to spend on this course because of under-utilized materials I needed to obtain. But, as long as you go to class, do ur projects, and have a good attitude you will be just fine in class with Steve. glhf
Cy Keener
ARTT200

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
02/01/2021
Great guy who is really nice and knowledgeable about a lot of things. He has a lot of experience working with well known artists and producing art himself. I took him for 200 and 479E and he was great for both
Cy Keener
ARTT200

Anonymous
01/01/2020
He can be a tough grader, but is otherwise laid back and does not usually require attendance if you produce art.
Jeremy Kunkel
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/27/2019
Jeremy is a great professor! Taking this class, I was apprehensive at first, because I've never liked sculpture much. But Jeremy was really helpful during each stage of my projects--as long as you let him know when you're struggling, he's always happy to help you find solutions for whatever you're trying to do. I went into one project with little idea of how to execute it, but by the end of it I'd learned how to use multiple new tools and I was really happy with the result!
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Jnorcro1
09/18/2014
Professor Sham is the BEST. I would recommend him to anyone, including non-majors and people uninterested in sculpture. He's very energetic, friendly, and fun. There was never a time I didn't look forward to going to his class. He really cares about his students, gives you great feedback and tips to help you improve your work. This class was one of my absolute favorites to take thus far in my education, and I would absolutely take a course with Foon again. He invites you to his gallery openings for extra credit, and even once took a friend and me around to other galleries in DC with his wife, which was hilariously fun.
Foon Sham
ARTT200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/09/2014
An excellent professor, who really cares about is students. He has a lot of work in the dc area, and is relatively famous. Students vote for the projects that they want to do at the beginning of the class. Early projects are rather restrictive, but later projects allow you to do whatever you want under loose guidelines. You will use a lot of materials and power tools in the class. He throws a huge party after cleanup at the end of the year. Greatly recommended.
Steven Jones
ARTT200

Expecting an A
futureUMDgrad
05/21/2010
Professor Jones "Jonsie" is awesome! He is sarcastic and seemingly intimidating, however he is harmless! He is very helpful and really inspired me to just go try different things and not worry so much about their outcome. He encourages community in the classroom and I am glad to have had him as a professor.