|
Why study Art and Design?
A study of Fine Art is the base for all Art careers. Students of Art and Design will develop their artistic imaginations and they will start to look at life in a more visual way. The course equips students with the practical tools to put their visual ideas into practice. There is a particular emphasis on drawing skills but students are introduced to a range of materials and media. Anyone who wishes to pursue any Art related career needs the practical techniques taught and developed in this course.
Which syllabus do we follow?
We follow AQA specification for Art
How many units are there?
There are four units; two at AS and two at A2
What is the course about?
Students will be introduced to a variety of experiences exploring a range of fine art media, techniques and processes. They will be made aware of both traditional and new technologies. They will explore images, artefacts and resources relating to art and design from recent times. Students will appreciate how ideas, feeling and meanings can be conveyed and interpreted in images and artefacts, they will study historical and contemporary developments and different styles and genres and begin to understand how images and artefacts relate to the social, environmental and cultural contexts and to the time and place in which they were created.
Students will work in one or more areas related to Fine Art such as those listed below:
Painting and drawing
Mixed media, including collage and assemblage
Sculpture
Land Art Installation
Printmaking, relief, intaglio, screen processes and lithography
Film, television, animation, video, photography, lens-based and light-based media and new media
Students will be expected to develop and later demonstrate skills in all of the following:
Appreciation of different approaches to recording images, such as observation, analysis, expression and imagination. Understanding of the conventions of figurative/representational and abstract/non-representational imagery or genres, Appreciation of different ways of working, such as using underpainting, glazing, wash and impasto; modeling, carving, casting, constructing, assembling and welding etching, engraving, drypoint, mono printing, lino printing, screen printing, photo silkscreen and lithography Understanding of pictorial space, composition, rhythm, scale and structure Appreciation of colour, tone, texture, shape and form.
How is each unit examined?
Unit 1
AS unit 1 is portfolio of work set and marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.
Unit 2
AS unit 2 is an externally set assignment. It is produced in supervised conditions over 5 hours and will be marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.
Unit 3
A2 unit 3 is a personal investigation supported by written element of 1000-3000 words, set and marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.
Unit 4
A2 unit 4 is an externally set assignment. It is produced in timed conditions over 15 hours. Work produced will be marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.
How is the course structured?
Students will work on developing their understanding, technique and ideas over the course of the two years. They will be producing work for their final portfolios throughout the two-year course and will need to keep on top of their workload if they are to be successful.
When do the exams take place?
Work can only be submitted in the June examination series.
Which Ashbourne teachers teach this course?
Gina Fiori
(Catholic University of Chile Art College, Santiago (Chile), St Luke Art School, Brussels (Belgium) BA Hons (Beaux Arts, Brussels) Art and Design (HoD)
Gina was educated in a variety of different countries. She pursued her Foundation course in Art at the Catholic University of Santiago, Chile. Later, she completed a degree at the Beaux Arts Bruxelles (Belgium). She has taught at Ashbourne since 1992 and is Head of Department for Art and Design. She continues to be an active painter, speaks 5 languages and teaches arts and crafts to children of all ages.
Sheila Cosgrove
(BA Hons (Chelsea College of Art and Design) CFA (Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University) BSc Design (University of Cincinnati,USA) Art, Fashion)
Sheila worked in New York as a fashion illustrator before moving to England for post-graduate work in Fine Art at Oxford University. She spent twenty years as a freelance art and design journalist and portrait artist before taking a degree in textile design at Chelsea College of Art. She frequently lectures to interior design students on Colour Theory and Application and her textile designs for fashion and furnishings have been sold in America, Britain and across Europe.
Beyond A Level for Art Students
Many of our students are preparing for a career in Art and go on to prestigious Art Colleges but many others combine Art with A Levels in English Literature, Humanities or even Sciences. Art courses are not confined to Fine Art. Students can pursue courses and careers in Interior Design, Product Design, Fashion Design, Public Art, Jewellery Making, Ceramics, Graphic Design, Textile Design, Surface Design, Architecture, Photography, Advertising and Animation. Art A Level can provide a gateway into a structured commercial career.
Any other Information
Students wishing to study Art related subjects may need to produce a portfolio of related work, which they are prepared to discuss with the Art Department. Art A level requires students to produce a large quantity of work and is usually an unsuitable course for completion within one year.
|
