Weather the Weather at CSN - Quality Arts Courses

In these times of unpredictable financial circumstances, it is a good time to explore the arts.  An    individual can call up information from his or her memories, visual stimulation by looking at new

objects and experiencing the world of arts through studying the appreciation of art.  Courses at CSN provide multi-faceted experiences by exposing the students to many different media - including drawing, painting, design, printmaking, graphic design, ceramics, photography, sculpture, collage, art appreciation - among others.

Bronwyn Carpenter, Combined Materials and Art Appreciation

The variety of courses will suit everyone from the school leaver, who may want to produce a refined portfolio to achieve entrance into 3rd level Art or Design college/university, to the mature adult who may want to start a new area of learning after raising a family or having been in the world of work.  The nurturing and professional studio-and workshop-based education at CSN, with teachers who are  practicing artists and designers themselves, enhances communication with the world of the arts in Cork and beyond.

Rebecca Munnelly, Screen Print, 2012.

Two major exhibitions are organised for the Art and Design Department by another specialist course at CSN, Arts Administration.  The first off-site exhibition is the equivalent of a theatre course putting on their first production or a music course performing their first off-site gig.  This experience is one that emphasises management skills, organisational skills, team working, aesthetic and design judgement, health and safety and continuous educational programming for the public.  The course allows for the post-Art College student or the individual who is returning to education  to participate in arts management without the "making" side, as an "art form" in its own right.  professionally designed exhibitions are both theatrical and beautiful as entities.  Inviting the public in to see the quality of work produced by CSN students maximises the experience for children with their families.

Ian Buckley, Lino print, 2012

For further information on CSN courses, see this BLOG and further, fill out on-line application for an interview in the autumn.  Give yourself all the options available.

Sophie Gough, Joiner, Photography and Art App.

For further information, see www.csn.ie - Art and Design Department offerings.

c.white@csn.ie - Arts Administration, Course Director

    



Art and Design Students "Creating a Scene" with Professionalism

Students after the opening, happy with their evening at CSN's, "Creating a Scene".  L-R Leah Corbett with Robert Magillacuddy and David McDonald. (Art, Craft and Design )

"Creating a Scene" is a beautiful exhibition of student work.  It sits on the ground floor of the main building of CSN, with 10 courses from the college's Art and Design Department; Furniture Design and costumes from Theatre Production (for the first time) this year. The show exemplifies the standard of temporary exhibition that can be achieved when there is a course in ARTS ADMINISTRATION at the helm.  The quality of student work, from all courses at CSN, is outstanding.  We offer a nurturing environment for students of school leaving age up to retirees and individuals who have decided to retrain after a lifetime in he world of work.

Project Managers, Students of Arts Administration, Lucia Creedon and

                                       Michelle Twomey, after the opening night event.

Courses off something special at CSN.  Whether it is a portfolio course to get into 3rd Level Fine Art, Design or many other specialist areas of 3rd Level study, the caring teachers at CSN, all of whom are practicing professionals in the own right, add a level of uniqueness to the process of creativity.

The exhibition was structured by students of Arts Administration to add an "umbrella" of the3meing around the show, with their studies being fulfilled "hands-on".  The title of the show was selected from approximately 50 choices gathered by this course.  Bearing in mind the scope and breadth of the work being included, the title had to have appeal on many levels.  Summer exhibitions are a culmination of a year's work.  This event at CSN is a tribute to all the hard work, which was evidenced at the opening, where we merged art, design with the beautiful weather, our landscaped central atrium garden in the college, where a proscenium stage allows for a live music performance by students of CSN's Music, Management and Sound - who have already performed their graduation gig.

The artwork and design work on view includes: Art, Craft and Design (portfolio course, Level 5); Graphic Design (Level 5); Digital Media (BTEC; & FETAC Level 6); Arts Administration (Level 6); Creative Ceramics (Level 6); Creative Textiles (Level 6); Furniture Design (FETAC Levels 5 & 6 and City and Guilds) plus Access to Design studies (a 2 year course, Levels 5 & 6).

The exhibition installation design was implemented and put in place by students of Arts Administration with Graphic Designer, Paul Delaney (a former student of both CIT and CSN's Arts Administration course).  Consistency in colour, label copy and overall airiness are part of the beauty of working in a college that has all the amenities and is fully accessible to the Cork Community. 

A new addition this year is the use of Plasma Screens showing video work by Graphic Design and Arts Administration - 2 courses where the creative process is almost invisible - but which have a huge impact visually.  Opening speaker for the evening was Michelle Whooley, of Mayfield Community Arts Centre, Cork.

Furniture Design is of the highest standard and the installation allows for a flow of visitors through the purpose-built installation.

For further information about CSN courses, revisit the website: www.csn.ie
Carol White, Course Director, Arts Administration

Graphic Design Field Trip

Recently the Graphic Design students went on a successful field trip to Dublin. The main focus was a visit to QMP Publicis, one of Ireland’s largest advertising agencies. QMP Publicis are an award winning agency that boast many big brand clients including Meteor, No Nonsence Insurance, Spar, FBD, VHI, Cadbury, RTE, TG4 and many more. The agency delivers content for a range of media including TV, radio, print and digital.

QMP Publicis occupies three floors of office space and employs over a hundred and fifty people. The graphic design students were taken on a tour of the digital graphic’s department and were able to see first hand, design work in progress at the agency. This involved talking to designers about their work, where the students identified with the software and techniques used including the use of sketchbooks and storyboards to develop ideas and how Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign are vital to the implementation of professional designs. The designers explained how CGI played an important part in developing the Cadbury ad campaign and how new developments in Matt painting techniques in Photoshop helped create amazing effects for a Tiger Beer billboard campaign.

The students also visited the National Gallery of Ireland to see the European and Irish Masters exhibition and really enjoyed this experience. I would like to thank all the students who went on the trip and helped make it a memorable experience.

Saturdays at Mind's Eye Exhibition: Communicating with Children and Parents

In a world that is oftentimes moving too fast, we Arts Administrators from CSN take the time, during the month of February, to run FREE Saturday Community Workshops in conjunction with our exhibition at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's. This year, we have themed the weekends on the title of the show "Mind's Eye". Emphasis is on creativity and the genuinely wonderful work that can be produced, by art students and our young visitors alike, by taking quality time to sit down on the floor, with "free and found" materials, to see what happens.

Music is also a part of the themed sessions to create an atmosphere where the arts can thrive. Musicians from CSN's Music Management and Sound course graced the workshops with the lilt of a guitar - when Colin Deady played songs and even sang with his young son, Benjamin during the first workshop "There's no Space Like my P{lace". The Mandola's created a surreal and even medieval backdrop for the Portraiture workshop "Facing You and Me!" 11.2.12 where young children and their families had a tour of the exhibition, a story "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and took inspiration from the paintings and drawings, textile design and ceramics. One project involved little muslin aprons that the girls and boys wore while working with glue, then decorated in their own way at the point where the portraiture was finished. Zuzana Tabacikova's green silk apron and Liela Donerty's 4 domestic paintings ("Cinderella", one child said, about Leila's work ) provided inspiration.

The 3rd workshop is called "Ground Floor Explorers", happening Saturday 18th February 2012, 11 AM - 1 PM, with music by Colin Deady. The children will look at the many works of art that have been influenced by looking at nature: "Giant Conkers", by Nicolaas Bester; flowers and a natural landscape made from wire and embroidery thread by both Fiona Cotter and Zuzana Tacacikova; crochet by Karin Kempf and Angela Jordan. Colour, simple materials and the youthful enthusiasm of the children merge for a magical experience, giving Arts Administration students a hands-on" teaching and learning experience" in city centre. Planning and Organisation are imperitive in running a successful project for a "Walk-in" audience.

CSN has supported the off-site exhibition for 11 years now - making it 11 years of Saturday workshops organised by students on the Arts Administration course at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's, N. Main Street. Many former students have gone off into the world of work, in arts organisations, taking this valuable experience with them to the UK, Italy the United States and all over the country in Ireland. Tour Guiding skills are taught (by an AAM trained tour guide) on this hands-on practical course.

The success of this exhibition, as with all quality endeavours in arts event management, is down to fine team working within the class. Mind's Eye Project Managers: Christine Shinkwin and Anthony Kelly; PR and Marketing: Lucia Creedon and Michelle Twomey; Interpretive Planning and Education: Aoife Murphy; Holly Darragh-Hickey and Mairéad Finnegan.

On-line applications are welcome. Places on the courses are determined by interview and overall course numbers.

For further information, contact: Carol White, Arts Administration, Course Director. (021) 4961020 or c.white@csn.ie www.csn.ie

*photo by Arts Administration student, Lucia Creedon. Photo Releases were signed by all parents of children who appear in the newspaper and on this BLOG.

Open Studio Week in the Art Department at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa is being run in conjunction with our exhibition Mind’s Eye, at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter’s, which showcases work from last year’s students, set in exhibition format by CSN students of Arts Administration.

The combining of these events gives your students the opportunity to see the work that our students have produced, check out our facilities, chat to our present students and ask questions about our courses.

Further information about our art and design courses we can be found in the CSN website's Art Department pages. Make sure to have a look at other posts here in our blog to get a good overview of what goes on at CSN in the Art and Design Department.

The open studio week will run at CSN, Tramore Road, Cork - from 6th – 10th February from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 3.30pm each day. Mind’s Eye will run from 3rd to 23rd February at The Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter’s, North Main St., Cork, Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 – 5 PM. Family workshops will run in conjunction with Mind’s Eye on Saturdays (4th; 11th and 18th Feb.) 11 AM – 1 PM – all ages invited; arts workshops; live music and childrens creative writing workshops.
If you have any questions please contact me at l.phelan@csn.ie

All Art and Design Courses are Represented Intuitively in Mind's Eye

Providing a showcase for excellent work, created by students on specialist courses at CSN, is an important aspect of marketing the Art and Design Department. A comprehensive exhibition, entitled Mind's Eye, will put on view the work of the following courses: Art, Craft and Design; Access with Design; Creative Textiles; Creative Ceramics; Furniture Design; Multimedia/Screen-based Digital Media and Arts Administration .

The show debuts Thursday 2nd February, 6-8 PM, at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's, N. Main Street, with Nicki Ffrench-Davis, Administrator of Civic Trust House, doing the honours of officially opening the show to the public. The exhibition has been organised and styled, educationally interpreted, minded for framing and matting, maintenance of plinths, new exhibition design elements and following an exhibition design schema.map by students of Arts Administration CSN.

The month of February will be an opportunity for the general public to enjoy the multi-faceted exhibition, invigilated by students of Arts Administration Tuesday through Saturdays, 10 AM - 5 PM), providing Guided Tours for groups with worksheets; special writing workshops for children and adults - to be announced (afternoons); Multimedia/Digital workshop sessions as drop-in after school interaction; Family Arts Saturdays - (with art activities, music and writing workshops 4th; 11th and 18th 11 AM - 1 PM).

The month of February is a "classroom in city-centre" where Arts Administration students put theory into practice and expand their work placement experiences with hands-on, practical work with the general public. Digital photography; Arts and the Community; Writing for the Arts Sector; Arts Event Management - some important modules on the course, all come into play when the human factor is added to sound educational preparation.

Exceptional finished work, created for May 2011 by students from the specialist courses, featured in the new installation, have been picked by their Course Directors. The variety of work includes fine finished furniture design by Jordi Esqueda, among others; Textile design by Fiona Cotter, Karin Kempf and Marika O'Sullivan (among others); portraiture- colour and light finished paintings by Access with Design students Tanya McMahon, Catherine O'Sullivan and Olwyn Grant show the introspective element of studying "oneself" as a model. Ceramic sculptures and vessels by Nicolaas Bester feature in the mezzanine installation, as well as architectural studies by Pat Galvin, among others. Art, Craft and Design, Fine Art students, show their versatility from Jennifer Ahern's gigantic squid-like ceramic whorl with tentacles to her mysterious sculpture, hanging in space like "the mind's eye".

Fine printmaking, drawing, painting, design in all areas and whimsical collages keep the show moving as a testimony to the good teaching exacted and creative nurturing enabled at CSN. The excellent student work produced over time, is proof-positive why so many of these individuals seek and go on to success at 3rd level education or pursue individual practice after leaving CSN.

The exhibition runs for 3 weeks at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's, N. Main Street, closing Thursday 23rd February, for take-down on Friday 24th. For further information, contact:
Carol White, c.white@csn.ie; www.csn.ie 353 (021) 4961020
and www.corkvisioncentre.com 353 - 021 - 4279925

CSN is a City of Cork Vocational Education Committee College of Further Education
353 -21 4273377

Graphic Design - Paul Delaney pauldelaneyartdesign@gmail.com