FREE Saturday Worshops draw huge attention from an adoring public Arts Administration Students "inspire" with Creative Art Activities

Families from all over the Cork area joined together this morning for the second of 3 amazing workshops designed for children and their parents. The experience included a guided tour, story-telling, hands-on workshops - 3 age-specific activities, plus a poetry word-play activity high-lighted by LIVE music by the Music, Management and Sound students form the ensemble, "Nelson's Mandola".

The theme this week was "Under the Sea", drawing inspiration from several works in the show that incorporate sea imagery - jellyfish (by Fiona Cotter); photographs of Youghal Lighthouse (by Eimear Kelleher); Fabric and ribbon stitched net by Nuala O'Reilly-Teegan as well as a mono print by Grace O'Leary. Colour and varied materials gave the 30 strong group of young people a happy experience that allowed for perceptual and cognitive connections.

A third workshop will be held Saturday 19th February at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's, 11-1 PM. The theme will be "The Emperor's New Clothes" and will incorporate wearable art, fashion and giving identities and clothing to some special lonely wooden visitors at Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's - waiting for "attire".

Join us for the fun. The exhibition closes on Friday 25th February at noon. For further information contact Arts Administration @ csnartsadmin@gmail.com or c.white@csn.ie

Drawing Inspiration opens to 500 people at Cork Vision Centre

drawing inspiration the 10th anniversary exhibition of art and design from CSN at Cork Vision Centre, opened to a huge crowd on Thursday evening 3rd February, 6-8 PM. Student work from CSN has been on view in a unique partnership with Cork Vision Centre, since 2001. Courses on view are: Art, Craft and Design; Arts Administration (event organisers. exhibition installation and weekend events specialists); Furniture Design 1 & 2; Creative Textiles; Creative Ceramics;

Access with Design 1 and 2; Multimedia 1 & 2 and Higher Diploma, Professional Arts - FD. Work was framed by students of arts administration to suit the Lynch System in Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's.

Trish Brennan, Head of Fine Art (Acting), CIT's Crawford College of Art and Design officially opened the show to the Cork public. Speaking on behalf of CSN was Principal, Tim Kelleher and on behalf of Cork Vision Centre, emcee for the evening, John X. Miller - Director Cork Civic Trust and Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's.

Artists, designers and their families, friends and colleagues enjoyed new and humorous exhibition techniques, the ambiance of the Cork Vision Centre @ St. Peter's amplified by music by ALL BLUES from Music, Management and Sound at CSN. The map of the exhibition, handed out to every visitor, made the show fall together as "one" - not isolating any course - showing the unity of the college courses as a "whole". CSN is well known for quality tuition in a nurturing environment for the pursuit of all the arts.

Weekend workshops began Saturday 5th February - with Origami and Haiku - story-telling and hands-on activities. The swans and whales, boats and fish were all put on the River Lee on the map of Cork to add to the colour and effect of the exhibition when one walks through the front doors. Next weekend 12th - the theme of the workshops from 11AM -1 PM will be "Under the Sea" and on the 19th Feb - "The Emperor's New Clothes" - ALL FREE to visitors - children and adults alike.

For further information, contact Arts Administration CSN, Carol White - c.white@csn.ie

(021) 4961020

Creative Textiles Level 6 at CSN - "a cut above"

The 2009-2010 year saw amazing work produced in the areas of fashion, jewellery, interior design and surface manipulation in Creative Textiles.

Congratulations are due to student, Laura Vaughan, who completed an internship with designer Liz Nilson, in Dublin.

We welcome new students to the course this autumn, including CSN students from ACCESS with Design and Art, Craft and Design. Returning to CSN, to complete the City and Guilds Higher Diploma in Professional Arts, is Textiles student, Carmel Creaner.

We would like to wish past students the best of luck in their further studies in Crawford College of Art and Design and Sherkin Island/DIT Degree in Art.

Above photographs include (L) finished work by Hilda de Lacey (2009-2010) and (R) Luisa Cardoso, (2009-2010).

For further information on the course, contact: j.hickson@csn.ie (021) 4961020

NEWS Update from ACCESS with Design 2010-2011

This year we are launching a new and 'approved' Access with Design course. Learners will now complete our programme over five mornings per week in one full year. Students will further experience a range of exciting design-based techniques and projects. We will offer more time in core subjects, such as drawing and colour work, in a supported learning environment. Please refer to our CSN website main page for details: Access with Design; Department of Art and Design.

We are pleased to see that applications are high this year. Classes will begin on September 20th 2010.

Watch for us at Cork Art Trail's "road rolling" project (in November 2010) when printmaking students will collaborate with Cork Printmakers on a "large scale lino project".

We will also be 'out and about' in the city, documenting our 'impressions' of urban life, collecting material and imagery for our design projects.

A big congratulations to all this year's outgoing design students. Results were fantastic. Best of luck to those who are continuing in artistic studies at Crawford College of Art and Design and returning to CSN in Level 6 Textiles and Ceramics.



For further information, contact: Jenny Monks. Course Director, j.monks@csn.ie

Creative Ceramics 2009/2010, a review

We are looking back at an exciting year in ceramic practice at CSN, where students have explored their potential in the area of sculpture, vessel and ceramic surfaces. Two students, Judy Fisher and Christopher O’Reagan have focussed in particular on experimental firing techniques, producing burnished and smoke fired pieces and building a paper kiln. Further extra curriculum activities included two Raku firings, a field trip to Kilkenny and Thomastown and a participation at the Ceramic Workshop and Visiting Lecturer Day at the Crawford Art College. While some students continue their own professional practice, others will study at third level Colleges in Ireland and abroad. We wish everyone the Very Best for the future and a continuous enjoyment of being creative. To view more images click here.

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.