Art and Design course

Have just started back after half term and thought some of you might like an update on how the course is going??
...and the answer is it's going well...lots of ideas, different ways of doing things and Homework - not something I have done for a very long time!!
The first couple of weeks we spent either as a whole year group or in smaller workshop style groups. The first project was the Tableau project where a smallish group were given a photo which we then had to reproduce exactly in 3D. Our group was given a black and white photo so we had to make background walls with cardboard and paint them dark grey, make costumes etc in black....then the tutors took a photo of our 3D group so that it can be compared with the original photo...good fun and it got us working together.
Once term settled down we have critical studies lectures once a week, workshops on 2 afternoons and visual studies and drawing on the other 2 afternoons.
Visual studies has covered collages and 3D amongst other ideas..

the start of a 3D sculpture made out of card....

this is a piece of work that formed part of a drawing class...we spent time doing a vast coloured still life and then had to do some quick drawings(close to; far away; sitting on the floor; wrong handed etc) For homework we then embellished these drawings - left hand is the original and right hand is embellished. Fun!!

The first workshops I chose were Contemporary Art Practice(CAP) and Sculpture/3D.
In CAP we were looking at Appropriation which is where you take an artist's work and then alter or change it in some way to make it your own.  Amongst the artists I checked out Gerhard Richter stood out and I then took his picture of The Party and changed it - as is was a party I thought of all the diffeerent types of party you could have....see other blog for images of this. Gerhard Richter has an exhibition at the Tate Modern on at present. I am told it is fantastic so if you get the chance go and take a look and see what you think.

In sculpture we looked at many objects etc in Christchurch Mansion and then worked in different mediums to create a variety of 3D objects.  We were lucky enough to be able to try using porcelain which was interesting, although after it had been fired it didn't seem to take the glaze as I expected - I have increased admiration for the craftsmen who paint those beautiful designs on lovely porcelain plates and teacups!

From the back you can see a little Chinese man with a snake, a bucket with moulded porcelain shells and at the front the head of our late lamented dog Curtly(with slightly frigthening eyes)resting on his ball with a bone - which took the glaze better than anything!
Just before half term in our drawing class, we had to take a small object and then draw some quick larger images of it. Then we spent about 1 1/2 hours on a really large detailed drawing of it.

This gives you an idea of the size of the small round object I chose to draw! and here is the finished result

Not bad but my shoulders ached a bit!!