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My name is Jane Francis I'm the Course Leader for the BA Fashion Jewellery Course
students that have completed an art and design foundation studies course do very well
on a degree course i think it prepares them very well for
higher education study
it is somewhat different to when you come straight from school
the type of teaching and learning environment is very different
at university level
so i think an art and design foundation studies course
does definitely prepare students very well for the experience
The way we select students for the course is
we do interviews
we ask students to bring in a portfolio
of work and we will then
review the portfolios
we ask candidates to come back for interview
and then we talk through their ideas and what they would like to study on the
course
and how they see themselves fitting into the course
what we're looking for in a portfolio is we are looking for
fundamentally ideas
students that can generate creative ideas through development work
through the process of thinking
we're looking for
drawing skills
we are also looking for 3D
awareness and 3D ability and that could be through
small sculptural works, it might be jewellery pieces that they've already made
but it's fundamental to our subject area, it's very hands-on
so we would be looking for some 3D ability within the portfolio.
At interview we would be looking to discover out more about the
candidate
why they wanted to come and study
and what their vision of fashion jewellery really was.
We'd be interested to know about prior study
and we'd be interested to hear about the work that they'd brought with them.
We might asked them to discuss what's within the portfolio
and how they would like to work within the course.
The teaching on the course is structured in different ways. Students
will be participating in group lectures
small seminars
we also do hands-on
making workshops
with technician support. We have some excellent technicians working on
the course who are specialists within their field.
Also we run a program of tutorials and academic support throughout the
studies.
The students will be supported with that
uh...
and it's very much
the approach is very learner-centered. The way the course is assessed is
we assess students' work holistically.
They will be asked to present work at a defined assessment deadline,
then what happens is they will
discuss their work individually with a tutor
who will offer feedback
and they will be assessed in that way so it's a two-way process the assessment.
We encourage students to consider what
the future of Fashion Jewellery is,
and therefore we are asking our students to consider what type of materials and
processes would be appropriate.
So our students currently are working with a range of materials. They working
with
acrylics, with plastic,
with skin,
with hair, with natural materials.
uh...
So we take quite an open approach
and an experimental approach to the use of materials and processes within the
course. In the first year of the course students are introduced to
making skills so we go step-by-step through casting processes,
through working with acrylics, working with metal,
and really considering materials
and the value of materials.
The students are also introduced to the design process
to start their creative thinking
and in term three
we consolidate that learning together into a group project
where the students are actually working with womenswear, across the courses
so quite an exciting project often industry-linked that project.
In year two the focus
really turns towards the individual development of the student
where they can start to define the direction that they would like to take
as a design-maker
we have an industry placement in either term two or term three
where the students will be working in industry with an external partner
plus they will be collaborating at college on a research project.
So that can be quite exciting and a really enriching experience within the course.
In recent times we've had students working with
Natasha Bulley, with Tatty Devine, with Scott Wilson, these are
practitioners within the fashion jewellery industry.
So very exciting placements.
Year three is very much about
putting together a final collection
so those students will write a proposal for a final collection
under the guidance of the tutors
and then they go on to realise that collection
which could be presented on a catwalk, it coulee be presented in a gallery context
it is really up to the individual learner.
Jewellery
has a very rich historical tradition
and it's loaded with cultural and social signifiers.
What we're doing on the course is we are relocating jewellery within
fashion
so we are asking our learners to consider
fashion
and the future development of the subject area.
We take quite an experimental approach to jewellery
and thinking about materials and thinking about processes and really thinking about what
jewellery could be
and how jewellery is worn.