Study event review: East of England – A tutor’s perspective

Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside …

On Saturday 12 October, a band of hardy students from the East of England group braved the elements to join me on the East Coast to undertake a day of practical work.

We met in sheltered confines of a seafront hotel and over a warming coffee, students introduced themselves.  A worksheet booklet was given out to give starting points for work and students were also free to produce work for coursework projects and/or assignments.  

However, a key point of the day was to undertake a piece of free writing at the start and end of the day and for students to compare their reactions to the place.

With a mix of students from various courses across drawing, painting, illustration, creative arts and photography, there was a real buzz of creativity in the air as they ventured out to complete work.

Later that afternoon we reconvened in the dry to share the work that each student had completed on the day.

There was a range of interpretations to the worksheet and students shared their responses.  

What struck all was the diversity of work that been completed. From using found objects as part of the mark making process to a piece of free writing that was wonderfully poetic when read aloud.  

Over discussions, it became clear that there was a sharing of knowledge and practice among the group.  These conversations showed how much students benefit from meeting together and sharing work. Ideas and the experience of being an OCA student.

There was plenty of enthusiastic feedback for the day – this is an event that I am sure the group will repeat.

“What a delightful EoE OCA get together yesterday! It was wonderful to catch up with and be around a group of kindred spirits. For the past few weeks I’ve been earnestly training my camera on the sea at Aldeburgh for my next Assignment. So, it was great fun to let my metaphoric hair down, take up Andrea’s creative challenges and experiment. Automatic writing, over exposure and out of focus, taking photos just for the joy of it. I had a great time and didn’t even notice that it never stopped raining all day!”

Dave – Level 1 Student

“It was great to meet you all in Aldeburgh on Saturday, a lot of creativity and feedback despite the weather. A big thanks to all the organisers.”

Chris – Level 1 Student

Below is a selection of images from student work produced that day.

Permission given by students to photograph work.