What do you want/need to gain from higher education?

The main reason for doing this Open Foundation course is to gain an undergraduate degree to then progress into becoming an art teacher, however, my love for the subject is what pulled me in. I’ve had a gap year recently leaving Sixth Form so I want to get back into the routine of studying. In order to successfully fulfil this, I need to develop my skills in some areas such as flexible learning and finding out which style of art I progress in the most and develop this further. I am excited to get back in touch with my creative side and hopefully this course can assist me in doing so.

Analysing and Reflecting

This is a piece of work by Clare Allen called ‘All’s Right with the World’. It contains a beautiful scenery overlooking a valley in Derbyshire with a reservoir in the distance. The sky is a light shade of blue with planes soaring and the birds enjoying the fresh air. To the right hand side, two people and their dogs are taking in the sunshine across the peak of the hills. At the top of this cliff lies a large rock with peoples initials carved into it, some from 100 years ago.

When I first saw the artwork, I was instantly intrigued. I loved the detail in every part from the dog walkers to the tiny birds in the sky. These combined with her use of colours created a stunningly beautiful piece of work. More so, the initial scenery within the artwork caught my eye. Nature is beautiful and peaceful, I feel calm when viewing this piece of work.

Self Reflect

I felt this task was easy for me as I analysed a lot of artwork during my time in Sixth Form. It helped me get back into the mindset of studying.

Managing your time

This Foundation Course requires around 400 hours learning, this can be broken down further by allocating 80 hours for each part of the course. Within each part, this can be further subdivided into 16 hours per exercise/topic. I figured out if I study roughly 8 hours a week, I should complete this course within 12 months.

Study Space

I have access to a desk with a computer and room to work in notebooks or sketchpads. I believe a workspace is very important to get into that mindset of working without any distractions.