At the beginning of the course I wasn’t sure what to expect or how far I could take my ideas. Now, after my first year it is clear to me that this course has no limits. If you have an idea and you want to see it become a reality the tutors and technicians will do all that they can to help you get there. My art career so far has been very set in stone. Secondary education was there to meet the numbers and it was similar at a-level and college. There wasn’t much room for my personal ideas and skills development. It wasn’t until I got on to my foundation course that I really started to develop into a designer.
My foundation course was based in Hereford at the Hereford college of arts. This was the starting point for me becoming more design orientated. I went in to my foundation year looking to do illustration or photography, however once I got into the workshops and realised how much I liked working with my hands it was clear to me that I had the wrong idea about what I wanted to do. With the encouragement of my tutors I got on to the courses I wanted to and started to produce work that was more personal and inspired. However even then I still couldn’t completely realise the full extent of my ideas. The resources just weren’t available due to the demand of all the students. Still it put me on the right path and got me thinking about the design process.
I felt that my foundation course gave me a strong base to start on this course. I had a basic introduction to some of the machines in the workshops and so it was just a case of increasing my confidence and skill with the techniques. The support that you get on this course to do what you aspire to if fantastic. Aided with the expansive facilities I truly believe that this course will help me to achieve my goals of become a furniture designer. This was made clear to me when I presented my idea to create my table; we all knew that it was going to be a lot of work and quite substantial in cost. Even though I didn’t receive financial aid in the sourcing of the materials, the space that I needed to create it was provided as well as advice on which materials to use and how to use them to their full advantage.
I plan to only get more ambitious with my work and so it is good to know that I can get the help I need when I am not sure how to complete it myself. However, it is not just a case of “they will do it for me”, it is a strong guidance so that you gain the skills that you need. This was not the case for some of the institutions that I have attended. My first year has been amazing and I can’t wait to see what the next two years has install for me.