Instructors who teach introductory art studio courses face the task of covering large quantities of diverse content in a short amount of time. Developing material and technical knowledge requires time-consuming practice. Yet these courses are essential for launching a relational studio practice embedded in critical thinking. The awkward leap from making still-life paintings to producing conceptually thoughtful work often results in overly literal projects and thoroughly confused students. In this article, Mary N. Laube proposes educators address the difficulty of this transition by removing the demarcation between the technical skills typically developed in introductory courses and learning objectives that are often reserved for advanced courses, such as conceptually based critical thinking.