NEWS IN DETAIL...
Summer school draws aspiring artists from all over region
Cornwall College Camborne has recently held a creative arts summer school which has been run by tutors and professional artists.
The course has only run for a week but been full for every class and included courses in a variety of artistic disciplines such as Printmaking, Painting, Textiles and Drawing. The painting classes have been taught by tutor and professional artist Marie-Claire Hamon, who said: "I have loved this week teaching at Cornwall College, the facilities here are second-to-none for aspiring artists. Each individual student gets their own work space but it is still open-plan enough to have a creative atmosphere and for them to share ideas. The standard of work they have created in just four days is really wonderful."
Over the course of the week students have been able to be creative and plan some work and then put it into real-life design when printing various pieces and painting large and small collections. Krista Taylor, from Falmouth, signed up for the painting workshops with Marie-Claire and although an artist already she wanted to attend a class that was being run by a reputable artist. She said: "I found out about the course through another class I was taking with Marie-Claire and thought it would be a very good opportunity to learn from her again. It has been a very useful course for me and I have found the entire experience valuable. I will definitely be signing up to future courses like this at Cornwall College!"
Students have come from a variety of locations across Cornwall as well as some of Cornwall College's own members of staff taking part in the course, as learners rather than tutors. The facilities are of such a high standard that staff like to try out ‘mini-courses' such as this.
However, it is not only artists or aspiring artists that have taken part in the courses on offer, Dr Carole Corcoran PhD, originally from Syria but now living in Penzance, signed up to the Printmaking course as art has always been a passion of hers. Pieces of work created by Carole include a selection of work that will be exhibited at the Penzance School of Art at the end of July.
Although having grown up in the United States, Carole's work also has a political element to it to reflect the current situation in Syria and her concern for the people of her home country. Regarding the poster she has designed and printed, she said: "I have made this a little bit political because I want it to be noticed and for people to be aware of it. It's hard for me to not know how people really are coping in Syria because it's difficult to speak to people still there. I hope to start selling some art and raise some money for Syria very soon." Carole added: "I am a trained Psychologist and that was my career in the States but now I only do consultancy work around the UK."
Lisa Mortensen, Curriculum Area Manager for Art & Design at Cornwall College, said: "I am really pleased this course has been a success and the students have had such a great time and enjoyed working and creating pieces in our facilities. Hopefully we will be able to run more of these week-long courses if the demand is there for them again."
