Tag: First Year

Muriel Spark 100

Muriel Spark 100 – student work exhibited at the National Library of Scotland.

This collaborative project between Edinburgh College of Art first year Illustration and Graphic Design students was inspired by the current exhibition ‘The International Style of Muriel Spark’, which celebrates the life and work of Muriel Spark one hundred years after she was born in Edinburgh.

Small groups of students formed a collective and worked on a series of tasks including creating a collective archive box inspired by Muriel Spark’s personal collections, the development of one character at different stages of their lives, a tunnel book in response to a piece Muriel Spark’s writing and a piece to help promote her work to a new, young audience.

Throughout the collaboration, the collectives were asked to research into the life and times of Muriel Spark, and to create different responses to their findings. The collaborative nature of the project meant that students had to find a common ground and identify common values to work with one another while delegating various tasks amongst the group.

The students attended a series of workshops and crits led by author Vivian French and artists / designers Brigid Collins, Mary Asiedu and Astrid Jaekel, which has influenced the work they have created. We are delighted to see the work displayed in the foyer of the National Library, where it will be on show until 29th May.

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Painting workshop with AR Sarah Sheard

Some afternoon painting fun in the studio – as part of a current painting-inspired project, our first years have taken part in an experimental painting exercise led by Artist in Residence Sarah.

Students were paired up and asked to sit back to back. One side was given an image of a painting, which they then have to describe to their partner (without naming the painting or artist if they knew it). The painting partner then painted the description they heard.

The challenge for the describer was to put into words what they saw in the painting and to give as much information about how they believe it would have been created; what kind of brushstrokes were applied, is the style realistic? Are there many layers of colour? Do you think it was made quickly? What’s the mood of the painting?

The painters on the other side had to ask further questions; for example what is meant by ‘a yellow circle’, is it a perfect circle or a bit wobbly? Is the yellow completely flat or can they see some texture? How do they think the texture is made? What sort of yellow? Lemony yellow or orangey yellow?

This workshop was designed to help students really think about what they see and discover different methods of using colour and painterly mark-making. And at the end of it all the group were able to share their experience and have a good laugh – here are the results:

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First Year’s Poetry

Our first year illustrators have taken pen to paper and made their own series of illustrated poetry while exploring inventive layout, new methods of research and experimental image-making.

Inspiration was found in different genres of poetry, such as personal, nonsensical, satirical, political, dada, surrealist and beat poetry to name a few. Illustrations were based on students own writing, some of which was generated through word games, and explored the complex relationship between word and image.

During visits to the Scottish poetry library, ECA’s artists’ books collection as well as a drawing and research trip along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile students were able to gather further inspiration and make first-hand observations which fed directly into their projects.

For many of the group the project served as a first introduction to creative writing and digital page layout. At the end of the project students were asked to submit a printed artefact which frames all the work they have done; to build a sequence or structure which communicates their creative journey.

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