fine art Archives | The Open College of the Arts

In conversation with: Áine Byrne

Áine Katrina Byrne is a Textile Artist and Designer originally from Ireland and now based in London. After Completing her MA at the RCA, Áine spent time working as a designer in India, before returning to London to continue her work within the field of textile design. Áine woven designs both digitally and by hand for the fashion industry, supplying high end clients and the high street. Áine is based in Hackney Wick Space studio and works as a lecturer at CSVPA.

Breaking into the boys’ club

For centuries, women have fought against adversity to pursue artistic careers in what was (and arguably still is) a man’s world. They have suffered the humiliation of having their works passed off under someone else’s name, of being barred access to training, of struggling to do what men have taken for granted (simply represent themselves on canvas or celluloid) and of having their pieces relegated to dark corners of museum and gallery storerooms.

Jenny Saville on Rembrandt

I have always thought that serious art is not just something put into the world by its makers to express their feeling or point of view or as a reaction to some external stimulus. It’s also in conversation with work made in the past, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes in spite of the artist’s intention. To a greater or lesser extent, all works of art join a continuum that stretches back to prehistory.

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.

What is your tutor up to? Jim Cowan

All over Britain art students of all ages are setting up end of year shows. From primary school to adult education, from higher education to post graduate, artworks are filling up boards for family and friends to view and assessors to scrutinise. Open House studio exhibitions are a particularly popular way to show your work to the general public and this year I have signed up for the Richmond ARThouse Open Studio event.

Wood, a material for textiles

Wood may be one of the oldest and most commonplace materials, long used in African, Pre-Columbian, and Oceanic artwork to create groundbreaking forms, but it’s full of surprises.

New textiles tutor: Introducing Katie Taylor

As a new textiles tutor at OCA I have been invited to introduce myself on the #weareoca blog. I am a sculptural installation artist based in Oxford and my work is heavily research based. My research explores the fabric and clothing found in mass graves and its ability to help forensic investigations after atrocity.

Study event: OCA Midlands

Join OCA Midlands Photography students for a day with artist Stephen Burke on Saturday 22 June at Blast Festival of Photography in the West Midlands.

What’s your tutor up to? Adam Thompson

Conversations amongst friends evolved into artworks, artworks resonate conversation, new knowledge and understanding, things I find to be at the core of art practice.

The Making of Books. Part 2.

Making individual page layouts is an essential part of the book planning process. Play around with the sequencing of images. This stage can take longer than you imagine. It is good to spend time with various versions of your book before completing it.