Examiner BACK PAGE is Beautiful Proof of a quality exhibition

Every year CSN's art and design students, including Furniture Design and the Higher Diploma in Professional Arts, raise the bar on the quality of work produced at Further Education level.

There is a broadening of vocabulary for materials. New sensitivities and responses are cultivated and put on view in a showcase of work in May each year that goes from strength-to-strength.

Best practice is exemplified by the entries from the visiting the public in our guest book and the extraordinary media response to Beautiful Proof.

Consistency, quality and the integrity of students working towards a future goal of individual practice or 3rd level education are here to see with 8 courses selected down from a year's work with the assistance of students of CSN Arts Administration who style the show, work on the PR and marketing, design the route of the exhibit for health and safety.

The first outing, for most of our art and design students, in the public world of visual and applied arts, is handled by students studying professional practices in Customer Service; Arts Event Management; Writing for the Arts Sector; Exhibition Techniques; Arts and the Community and Digital Photography.

For further information, as well as "the 10 characteristics of a good exhibition", contact:

Carol White, exhibitionscsnprojmanag@hotmail.com (021) 4961020

Art, Craft and Design Students have sights on 3rd Level Colleges and Sketchbook Summers

54 happy, talentetd students from Art, Craft and Design at CSN were among the 150 students on view at Beautiful Proof, Summer Exhibition 28th May through 3rd June 2010.

The highlight of the exhibition, in this course area, were the 10 sketchbooks on display. The sketchbook process captures the imagination of the public as the genesis of work - from concept, to improvement in drawing over time, to the production of paintings, collages, printmaking and sculpture have their roots in the thumbnail drawings and developmental musings from the sketchbook.

Finished work representing Art, Craft and Design, (the first course in the Art and Design department, dating back to 1988) - maintains a high standard year after year, making this one of the prime national portfolio-preparation one-year courses. Word of mouth keeps this course growing from strength-to-strength.

Students said, at the opening, that this was the best year of their education - and being able, for mature students, to come back and retrain in a field they had pined for their entire careers makes the exhibition of the work so rewarding and spectacular for the environment of creativity created at CSN by staff and students together.

A visiting art educator from America was amazed at the standard of drawing and remarked at how well the exhibition represents the student work in a "gallery-like setting". "The themed element of the show is absolutely beautiful - it represents the entire department's work well, but I am particularly fascinated by the standard of drawing, the sketchbooks and good old-fashioned collage in the Art, Craft and Design course".

One parent, visiting from Aberdeen, Scotland said, "there's a great buzz about the place". The "standard of work is amazing for this level", said another visitor from Bantry.

For further information, contact Art, Craft and Design course director, Lucy Phelan: l.phelan@csn.ie or (021) 4961020. On-line applications are still being taken for late-August interviews. See the CSN website more much more information.