Our first OCA SW study day of 2019 was led by Matt White, OCA tutor and former Programme Leader for Moving Image, who led a session on research and critical review. Thirteen OCA students attended across a range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, textiles, creative writing.
Read MoreThis post is aimed at those students who are still to attend a study event – those of you who already have will already understand the benefits. As tutors we always advocate visiting exhibitions, performances, readings, recitals, any event where there is potential for you to be presented with something new. Only by experiencing the […]
Read MoreIt’s something to take your time over, both in appreciating it, and developing your own art. Because, Fine Art is experimentation, how far can you push something, how far can you take it until it meets what you want it to do. It’s only through experimentation and trying new things and combinations that you’ll get there.
Read MoreOCA are proud to increase access to the arts, as we approach the end of our 30th anniversary year I wanted to share a few of the ways we are doing that.
We have a new mission:
“To be at the forefront of student-led creative arts education through innovative open, enhanced, & supported distance learning, for an evolving society.”
Beginning my first Level Two course last year, I had confidence I would be just fine; happily settled after receiving a pleasing result at assessment for my previous course at Level One. I flew through L2 Developing Creative Textiles, sure I knew what my path and career specialisation would be. As far as I was concerned, I had developed my “style”… All I had to do was repeat it.
A stark shock came at assessment, when I got a much lower mark than expected. Why? I questioned; with my confidence in tatters.
OCA students, like other Art and Design students, are often told by their tutors, the assessors and the assessment criteria to put their work into context, to contextualise it. So what are you being asked to do and why?
Read MoreA young person who gets up late, parties hard and squeezes studying into the odd spare moment. Is that what you see when you hear the word ‘student’, even though you’re a student yourself? Stereotypes are pervasive and persuasive.Photographers (often, but not always, under commercial pressure) create and reinforce stereotypes: the bride dressed in a […]
Read MoreI’d like to share with everyone the work of one of my drawing 1 students – Joe Clark. He is a capable student and very motivated. We are having some interesting discussions because when he first came onto the course his work seemed to have an aesthetic which was born out of advertising or graphic […]
Read MoreOCA tutor Linda Khatir welcomes student Vicky Speirs onto its new Painting 2 course, Mixed Media; one of the options if working towards the BA(Hons) Painting degree, or the BA(Hons) Creative Arts degree. Linda says: ‘in previous modules Vicky has shown an inventive and enthusiastic approach to art practice. This is important when considering the […]
Read MoreOne of the things that has been concerning me recently is that, while we have showcased some fantastic student work over the last year, we possibly haven’t conveyed enough about who are the students are behind the work. So it was with alacrity that Mark and I seized the opportunity to interview Esther Rose, who […]
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