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Creative Arts Blog Posts - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

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The Open College of the Arts' blog

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Creative Arts


‘Dealing with the flood’? thumb

‘Dealing with the flood’?

OCA tutor, Helen Warburton recalls the discussion of image overload, and asks how do artists and designers deal with this now in the midst of a pandemic?  During lockdown, I’ve been revisiting a 2013 WeAreOCA blog post that posed a provocative question: how do we deal with the flood of images?  The discussion gravitated around […]

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A conversation between Foundations Drawing student David Csaba and tutor Cheryl Huntbach thumb

A conversation between Foundations Drawing student David Csaba and tutor Cheryl Huntbach

It may be interesting for prospective students, and others to know a little about your background, your life, and art experience prior to your OCA studies- for example from where you originate (how this may or may not inform your own studies / drawing work / process.   My name is Csaba David and I have  […]

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Art and soil: Part 3 thumb

Art and soil: Part 3

“I found it interesting that Alistair related Grizedale’s approach to art and everyday life to ideas of curating as, ‘making things with care – be it food, craft, art, writing, social projects, enterprises…’

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Art & soil: Part 2 thumb

Art & soil: Part 2

We discussed how different cultures and histories understanding of ‘good and bad soil’, before glass and microscopy developed scientific understanding of microorganisms, about mythologies of ghosts, culture and knowledge attached to the land, and more specifically compost, earth, clay, loam, silt and sand.

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Speaking Soil thumb

Speaking Soil

Over three blog posts. Dan reports on his recent involvement in Grizedale Arts anniversary weekend, and a current opportunity to get involved with them. The themes of this relate to current Arts & Environment learning resources, visits and e-meets developed by Dan and Melissa for OCA.

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edge-zine issue 7: The re-launch thumb

edge-zine issue 7: The re-launch

We are pleased to announce the relaunch of edge-zine, the student led zine. It is available to read & download now. The zine is a space for you to showcase the projects you have completed and are working on. It will allow us to discuss and show the techniques, thoughts and practices we are using to create our art therefore it is vital that you share your thoughts and processes to help us all learn and develop. We are proud to publish the seventh edition of the edge-zine. 

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Interior Design and the use of model-making. thumb

Interior Design and the use of model-making.

As a way of exploring the use of model-making in Interior Design Tutor Mike Fairbrass – a very experienced professional model maker, and Programme Leader Catherine Byrne – a spatial designer, have had a conversation about their own experiences of the uses of model-making in spatial design.

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Lisbon’s vibrant and optimistic art scene. thumb

Lisbon’s vibrant and optimistic art scene.

If you are heading to Portugal this summer, take some time to look around Lisbon’s vibrant art scene. This is art in the more liberal sense. Music, ceramics, architecture, visual arts, food culture, moving image, textiles- all are on show and in current conversation.

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Study event review: Remake / Remodel thumb

Study event review: Remake / Remodel

It was great to see such liberated and stimulating interplay between students and the work they were making. Unfamiliar drawing methods were explored including drawing with lengths of cane, using coloured tapes to collage with and stitching with a domestic sewing machine to create a variety of textured marks and lines. As the session progressed spontaneous collaborations began to develop between students where one would work over another’s drawing or drawings were developed together to produce an innovative dialogue of marks.

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OCA Music: Flute recordings thumb

OCA Music: Flute recordings

As part of a developing collaboration with UCA’s music department, I visited the new recording studios at the Farnham campus on 27 March. I recorded some flute music by UCA composers as part of a film music project, and, in return, was given the opportunity to use the studio facilities to record solo flute works by OCA composers. Four students responded to the call for pieces.

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