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student work Blog Posts - The Open College of the Arts

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student work


Happy Movement thumb

Happy Movement

Student work uncovered – new painting student Emily Costello with a contribution from programme leader, Emma Drye. EC: Here is one of my temporary artwork pieces. I had the idea of creating a happy moving piece of a child outside playing. I used flour and a sieve to create it, I really love the details […]

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Student Story: Jane Weinmann thumb

Student Story: Jane Weinmann

I’ve just reached the end of my degree in Photography with the OCA and am excitedly waiting for the final results. As a well-trained student, it’s time for that one last reflection and a look back at where I came from.  When I started out on my degree a long time ago, I was always […]

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A (virtual) study visit with interview and Q&A thumb

A (virtual) study visit with interview and Q&A

A tour of the project Climacteric with OCA student Jane Weinmann In a live discussion, final year photography student Jane Weinman and OCA tutor Derek Trillo will talk about the strategies and approaches Jane used to develop her major project.   The focus will be on topics that students at any level might encounter, with specific […]

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Short Film Collaboration – a painter and photographer talk thumb

Short Film Collaboration – a painter and photographer talk

Andrew Fitzgibbon (photography level 3) and Paul Butterworth (painting level 2) met up to discuss their recent collaboration on Andrew’s short film, Leeds and Liverpool. Paul, who is a professional actor, liked the idea of swapping modelling for some headshots and posted his suggestion on OCA Discuss. Andrew was near completing his BoW project and […]

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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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Student work: Sarah-Jane Field thumb

Student work: Sarah-Jane Field

Zines are also an incredibly democratic way of sharing work: they’re relatively inexpensive to produce nowadays as digital printers offer a range of accessible services, although you can make them yourself too if you are that way inclined.

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Critical thinking: Developing a model as an approach to problem-solving thumb

Critical thinking: Developing a model as an approach to problem-solving

Critical thinking and reflection are powerful tools which add validity and credibility to qualitative research, but they can be challenging to apply because there is no single ‘right way’ or set of prescriptive instructions which can be followed. Over time, I began to see that the challenge could be used to my advantage, because the tools are versatile and can be adapted and applied to many different situations. 

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Student work: Sarah-Jane Field thumb

Student work: Sarah-Jane Field

“This was exactly what I’d been searching for as I’ve been trying to get to grips with a developing practice, one that is moving away from straight photography; and I’ve been on the lookout for opportunities to synthesise previous experience as an actor with what I have been learning while studying with the 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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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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