To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.
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Collage has been used as an artform for many years but when students approach it during their studies it can feel like something children do so has little value or skill. However there is a surprising amount of dexterity and technical skill required working with small pieces of sticky paper. In textiles collage is used primarily as a form of drawing either to develop ideas or plan designs so it is worth mastering.
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Critical thinking skills are vital if you are going to be successful in your undergraduate studies but organising your thoughts in this way can feel confusing and mysterious. From the conversations I have had with many of you on the textile’s forum and with my individual students it is clear that lots of you desire more support and guidance. What I also picked up is that there is a feeling you need a safe place to ask questions and voice your concerns. Therefore, during this coming November, I will be leading 3 online study workshops for textiles students based around the critical thinking skills required for degree level study.
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It is no surprise then that OCA textile students are experimenting with bright colour palettes, demonstrating their understanding and synthesis of current colour trends.
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This is an important book for anyone who writes about art and its related disciplines. From Textile Foundations to Sustaining Your Practice as a textile student you are asked to comment on the work of others and your own creative output. This is a skill that does not necessarily come naturally, and many students struggle with it. It is therefore important to get some help. This book is different from the many “how to” writing books because it makes a strong case for knowing your subject and writing creatively about it.
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Yarn Bombing has been around since the early 2000’s, springing up in different cities around the world under names like guerrilla knitting, yarn storming and urban knitting. It varies in style, aesthetics and meaning but it’s attitude is always warm and fun, bringing beauty to urban spaces. What is common is a sense of community, belonging and working together to improve or reconnect with the places we live.
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So why might it benefit you to visit a degree show? All textiles students whether studying at a distance, like you, or in a ‘bricks and mortar’ university ought to take note of their contemporaries creative outcomes.
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As an educator it is always delightful to sit back and absorb the ideas and knowledge of others. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Textile and Place Conference co organised by Manchester School of Art and the Whitworth Gallery. It proved to be two days of textile nourishment spending time with other textile types.
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What makes this particular student’s yarns so exciting is that she has clearly been inspired and demonstrates so well that she has been stimulated by her source material. Whether this is her secondary research in the form of a medieval artwork or her primary research in the colour studies of glass vessels, there are clear links and reference points between her work and its creative source.
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In this blog post I will be drawing to your attention and discussing the work of Textiles 3: Advanced student Jill Hodgkins. Jill has recently completed this unit and as part of the course she exhibited her work in a local gallery.
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The basic aim is that your work looks coherent and that the assessors can effortlessly navigate it. It may take you a couple of assessment events to get this right but as you progress through the degree programme, repeatedly sending work for assessment you will develop and perfect ways of organising your work.
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