Arts and Crafts
To enrol on one of our Arts and Crafts courses, please click on the 'Course Search' button on the main menu to the left of the screen.
Arts
Welcome to the new stimulating programme of quality Art Courses available at ACRES for 2011/12. Our varied and inspirational programme is designed for students of all abilities, developed to provide a relaxing environment so you can really discover the joy of the creative process. Many of our tutors are practising artists and therefore are able to bring that depth of experience and knowledge to their teaching.
Courses this year vary in length from single day weekend workshops to 30 week courses that run over 3 terms. Many of our courses continue into the spring and summer terms, subject to student demand.
In the brochure we state what level the course is aimed at, e.g. all abilities, beginners, improvers or advanced. We run courses for all abilities where our tutors can vary the projects to suit the level of experience. Beginners courses are for students with no prior knowledge or who may have done art in the past but feel very rusty. Improvers are students who have completed a year in our beginners course and are now ready to move onto the next level, or for new students who may have had recent subject experience at another organisation. Advanced students are students who have been attending for more than 2 years and have increased their skill and knowledge, but wish to focus on personal development through longer negotiated projects.
If you need further information on what course would suit you please contact us on 01825 761820 or visit our website www.acreslearning.org.uk for a course information sheet which provides useful details and clarification for each course.
Courses in the arts on offer this year
- Life Drawing
Landscape
Portraiture
Art workshops
Printmaking
Wood Sculpture
Sculpture
Art History
Life drawing
These courses are designed to be an intensive but highly creative 2 day experience. Students will work through a variety of timed poses from very quick to longer studies, where you will be encouraged to experiment with expressive mark making, colour and form while tackling the fundamentals of composition, proportion, and sight measurement.
Landscape
This inspiring 2 day workshop is for those wishing to understand how to compose a landscape using both dry and wet mediums. The tutor is a practicing landscape artist and therefore has experience and enthusiasm for the subject and is able to adapt to both historical and contemporary preferences. Weather permitting, some work will be done outside.
Portraiture
This workshop is programmed to cover 2 full days. The focus will be to develop and refine student’s observational skills and drawing techniques within Portraiture, while using a wide variety of mediums. The tutor will provide plenty of art books and references to help students expand their knowledge and provide needed inspiration and ideas.
Art workshops
Art Workshops this year are offered in levels. Beginners will, in the first term, work through a structured, but flexible programme, which will take you through the basics of image making with a variety of mediums. You will learn about the importance of line, mark, tone, form and colour while working on creative projects. The second and third terms will focus on consolidating the skills learnt in the first term through extended projects. Improvers and Advanced will be encouraged to experiment further still with a greater focus on personalised projects and using their work books for research, ideas and playing with mediums and techniques.
Printmaking
This course introduces students to a range of printmaking techniques to produce their own, unique, hand finished or edition prints on paper. You will learn the process of lino printing, monotyping, relief and block printing. This year we offer an improver’s course for those students who have experience of printmaking either at ACRES or another establishment and would like to extend their printmaking skills further with increased emphasis on personalised projects. We are also offering a 4 week introduction course for new students at a reduced rate, so you can try out printmaking and see whether it is something that you would like to invest in further, perhaps enrolling on our longer 8 week beginners’ course.
Wood Sculpture
This course enables each student to learn to carve in wood and explore its natural sculptural qualities. Each student will learn the skills and techniques needed in order to carve and create their unique sculpture. Those with carving or sculptural experience will be extended with more complex works. All students will get a chance to show their work at the end of the course in a group exhibition.
Sculpture
In the first part of the course, students will receive an introduction to sculpture using a variety of materials to create your own 3 dimensional forms. As you move into the second term you will be encouraged to work on longer individualised projects in your preferred medium. You will be using materials such as clay, plaster, cardboard and wire construction. This is a hands on course which will enable you to experience how you move from a partly formed idea or design on paper to a sculptural fine art form.
Art History
”The Melting Pot” 500 years of outside influence on British Art
This course explores the impact that other artists from around the world had on British Art from 1530 to the present day; from Hans Holbein to Epstein and Chris Ofili to name but a few.
Landscape in Britain 1920 to 1960
This series of sessions looking at the period of British Art that spans two World Wars and goes far beyond, an epoch packed with many different strands of interest and material. The course will focus on the emergent reputations of the era, including Paul Nash, Ivon Hitchens, Graham Sutherland, John Piper and Peter Lanyon. A galaxy of talent!
British Art -“Salvation to Sensation” 1945 to 1997.
This will examine the cultural changes that took place in Britain after World War II. It will analyse and discus art movements that covered the period such as Pop Art and Conceptualism ,while examining the works of a variety of artists, for example Freud, Kossoff, Auerbach, Kappoor, Hirst and Emin.
Introduction to Art History - Early 18th to 20th Century.
This new course at Uplands will explore, examine and discuss art history while looking at paintings, architecture and design and listening to the music of the period. The students will study the elegance of Baroque right the way through to the shock of the surrealists movement.
CRAFT
This year’s programme at ACRES offers a broad brush of creative possibilities. In all our craft courses students learn hands on practical skills from specialist tutors, which will enable you to produce an object – whether it be jewellery in fused glass or silver, stained glass mirror frame, an upholstered stool, a cabinet, an embroidered sample, or a willow sculpture for the garden. Our tutors are practicing crafts people and bring this depth of experience and knowledge to their teaching.
Courses this year vary in length from single day weekend workshops to 30 week courses. Many of our courses continue into the spring and summer terms, subject to student demand.
In the brochure we state what level the course is aimed at, e.g. all abilities, beginners, improvers or advanced. We run courses for all abilities where our tutors can vary the projects to suit the level of experience. Beginners courses are for students with no prior knowledge or may have done this subject in the past but feel very rusty. Improvers are students who have completed a year in our beginners course and are now ready to move onto the next level, or for new students who may have had recent subject experience at another organisation. Advanced students are students who have been attending for more than 2 years and have increased their skill and knowledge but wish to focus on personal development through longer negotiated projects.
If you need further information on what course would suit you please contact us on 01825 761820 or visit our website www.acreslearning.org.uk for a course information sheet which provides useful details and clarification for each course
Craft courses on offer this year
Stained Glass
Kiln Fused Glass Jewellery Workshop
Jewellery Making
Beaded Jewellery
Machine Embroidery
Creative Machine Embroidery workshop
Wood and Willow Sculpture for the Garden
Woodwork
Soft Furnishing and Upholstery Workshops
Ceramics
Floristry
Embroidery Workshop
Contemporary Stained Glass
We are offering a variety of courses in stained glass this year. Two day Saturday courses will enable you to produce a stained glass panel or mirror frame using traditional leading techniques from a beautiful selection of coloured glass.
Stained Glass Copper Foiling
On this one day workshop students will learn the copper foiling technique famously developed by Tiffany. You will be able to choose from a selection of projects provided by the tutor. Some experience of glass cutting would be helpful, however there is time provided in the day to refresh your glass cutting skills before you begin your project.
Stained Glass for beginners
This a new course at Uplands College where students will learn the skills and traditional techniques in stained glass, resulting in the creation of an individually designed leaded panel and a sun catcher using the copper foiling techniques.
Kiln Fused Glass Jewellery
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Kiln fused glass is a popular method used when creating brightly coloured jewellery. Students will be taught how to cut and assemble glass pieces that can then be fused in a kiln to create distinctive highly coloured pendants, earrings, brooches, cufflinks and rings.
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Jewellery Making
This is a popular course at ACRES which runs throughout the year in two 15 week blocks. This year we have created two levels; beginners and improvers. In the beginners’ course during the first 15 weeks students will learn the skills and techniques to make silver jewellery. In the following 15 weeks, students will consolidate the techniques learnt and pursue negotiated personalised projects with tutor guidance. In the improvers course there will be more emphasis on individual projects and extending skills with more complex pieces of jewellery. The tutor will encourage the use of workbooks on both courses for ideas, research and experimentation to help you achieve good quality designed jewellery. We also have programmed a 4 week introduction course for students that have never tried Jewellery before. This course will give you a taster of what is involved in making jewellery and should you decide you wish to take this further, then we have a longer beginners course in both the daytime and evening at the college.
Beaded Jewellery
This is an intensive, but creative one day workshop where students will work with a variety of good quality glass beads. Students will make a chained linked necklace or a bracelet and earrings depending on experience.
Machine Embroidery
This course introduces students to the world of machine embroidery where the cotton threads and the sewing machine work together to create 2D and 3D unique embroidered items. This course is designed to cater for students with experience and those who are new to this craft.
Creative Machine Embroidery
This 2 day workshop is designed to enable the students to use the sewing machine creatively, using not only the threads and stitching from the machines, but also using paper, paint, and recycled paper and embroidered cords, all combined in a beautiful embroidered book.
Wood and Willow Sculpture Workshops
We are running three workshops this year either working in willow or wood or both. Please see the course title for clarification as to the medium. Students will learn the techniques and skills to create individualised wood and willow sculptures for an interior or an outside space, with plenty of support and guidance from our specialist tutor.
Woodwork
ACRES has expanded these courses this year to include new venues and levels, from beginners to advanced, all delivered in specialist technical rooms at Uplands, Heathfield and Hailsham Colleges. Our experienced tutors will enable students to develop the skills to complete a project every 10 weeks from a rough idea on paper to a functional piece of furniture or object.
Soft Furnishing and Upholstery Workshops
Our tutor will enable each student to transform their furniture using both modern and traditional methods. On some Upholstery courses the tutor also provides a Soft Furnishing course where students are taught how to make curtains, blinds, lampshades and cushion covers. The tutor also teaches the skills and techniques to create cane and rush seating.
Ceramics for Beginners
Students will learn the basic skills to create pinch pots, coil and slab mould construction with decorative techniques and glazes. The college provides a specialist studio with a kiln and 3 potters’ wheels. Improvers will be guided by the tutor to embark on extended longer projects with a greater emphasis on workbooks for design and research.
Ceramics for improvers
This course is designed to aid students who have completed a beginners’ pottery or ceramic course at ACRES or another organisation but now wish to extend their skills and knowledge of glazes and techniques further while working on longer negotiated personalised projects.
Floristry
All floristry courses will allow students to learn about the care and conditioning of flowers and foliage, basics of colour, form and texture and balance, as well as floristry techniques and mechanics. We run 4 week seasonal workshops and 1 day workshops with a Christmas and Wedding themes.
Embroidery Workshop
This is an untutored group of like-minded people coming together each week to sew, share ideas, with a optional termly project coordinated by Bridget Barber.
