Have a look at this link to a website by Jack Beech (ASFC Art foundation) which shows the fantastic wearable structures project , students took part in recently. 

https://asfcartf1718.wixsite.com/wearablestructures

CONGRATULATIONS !

Congratulations to all art students and especially Graphics students on a set of wonderful A'level and AS level results. So many of you will have achieved the results to gain your Uni places & will be prepping now for September. If you didn't gain the A2 grades you needed & it would help to have some advice, staff are in college to help -OR email me & we can talk your options through.There are many opportunities via clearing so don't give up !

Here are the exam grade boundaries that I have taken from the Eduqas website. It's very frustrating if you were only a few marks off the next grade but please remember that there are no resits / re-marks in the Art subjects.

Best of luck if you are off to Uni - can all A2 students please remember to collect sketchbooks by emailing Dan Riley on dpr@asfc.ac.uk AFTER the start of Sept. Best of luck too if you are looking for an apprenticeship - let us know if we can help. AS students - hope your summer work is coming along well - see you in Sept !

Create your own typeface !

A quick & creative way to create your own design of font - from digital or hand rendered method - register free at the website below & download the template - digitally or print a hard copy.

Add your own character in your font to each box & upload - then "build" your font & upload for use on photoshop, Word etc.


https://www.calligraphr.com/

The Art Department staff in their splendour for World Book Day

(The Mad Hatter, Lewis Carol, THe Cheshire Cat#1, The Cheshire Cat #2, The Red Queen & The White Rabbit.

Results news

Congratulations on all the results in art - & in graphics this year . Good Luck to all students who are off to pastures new at University & those who have already begun work or an apprencticeship . If you are still looking , check out clearing at Unis & keep an eye out on out twitter as we always try to post opportunities that are useful.

Special mentions to A2s Callan, Jessica & Josh (amongst other successes) with A*s & As & -
to AS students Simon, Abu-Bakr, Mo, Sam, Amy & Leah for A grades.

The AS results were a little surprising as the Grade Boundaries have been moved by Eduqas & other exam boards . We had been given grade boundaries of :
A 80 B 70 C 60 D 50 E 40
The 2016 grade boundaries have now been set at :
A 87 B 77 C 67 D 57 E 48

Staff will look at marks & grades fully with students in the new term - remember that no marks from AS go towards A'level so its a clean slate if you didn't do as well as you'd hoped.
Finally, please continue to have a good break & look at the work given to you over the holiday (don't leave it til last minute !!).
Please email us if you have queries - see you in September.

Don't panic !!!!

We're almost there ! Only 2 days until Results day - remember that you will need your college account password to log in to get your results. If you are heading into college for results, please take your student Id with you.

If you have a Uni query - please be aware that clearing doesn't usually get started until Friday 19th & most Unis are reviewing results themselves on 18th - so don't expect to be able to get a definitive answer about your Uni place. If you have any queries for an Art qualification ,please contact your subject teacher or Helen on hps@asfc.ac.uk. Staff will get back to you asap.

Good Luck - & don't panic !

Huddersfield Uni event

A2 students - applied to Huddesrfield Uni ? Why not pop to see their latest exhibition ? 

ARTS AWARD STUDENTS ...

ARTS AWARD STUDENTS : 

If at all possible, please can you get sections 1 & 2 complete & then I can assess these on Weds afternoon . Remember that
SECTION A Take part in the Arts (ie practical work) 
- Explore & list different arts that you may try
- Plan where / when the activity will take place & what it will entail
- Describe what happened in the activity & show images
- Evaluate & say what was enjoyable / what you learned

SECTION B: Experience the Arts : (ie visit an Art event) 
- Explore & list different arts events that you may visit
- Plan how you will get to the activity OR evidence some information about the activity
- Show images and evidence items like leaflets / bus tickets etc
- Evaluate & say what was enjoyable / what you felt about the experience - & whether you would recommend the event to others.

Section C : Research the Arts : 

See the link below for a list of questions for section 3. 
Section 3 question sheet

Begin to think about the next sections : SECTION C (research an artist / genre) & SECTION D - Skill share .

If you still need to do section A or simpky want to extend your skill, have a look at the link below which is a FREE workshop in ceramics at Manchester Craft Centre over the Easter Break.

Ceramic Workshop link

The Design process plus CHECKLISTS -updated versions!

This next week , the AS students are continuing with the design process. Having started initial ideas & layouts , we will be looking at further experiments & media - pushing & exploring skills. The design process (as shown in the image) is a cyclical one - one "round" of creativity & experimentation should propel you to the next.

The A2 students will be concluding the Research phase & moving swiftly on to the design & create stage by the end of this week.

Click the links below to find the updated checklists - update yours in your sketchbook please !

A2 Unit 4 checklist

AS Checklist

New worksheet on how to evaluate your practical work

The bit with all the drawing .....

AS Students - you should be reaching the end of the research phase now & the design phase is beginning. 

• Revisit your brief & the research , looking at which parts you feel are strongest. 
• You need to begin to sketch out your initial ideas - see the images here to help - & don't forget to allow ideas to develop, 
• Don't be tempted to rub out a sketch as soon as you draw it - let ideas DEVELOP. Sometimes the worst sketch & idea can turn on its head ,given time & work. 
• Click on the link below to see some examples of designers' sketching for Poster design, packaging, logos, book covers etc. The videos give an look at logo design - you can see how a designer refines & develops the idea over & over again ....no rubbing out !! The films also show how the ideas are then taken to photoshop - this is the next stage . 
• REMEMBER that the design process applies to all the graphic outcomes - whether a lable for a beer bottle, a book cover or a character design.
• Start with drawing ! ....in pencil ! 

LINK :
Examples of design sketching

That spring feeling....

It could have been the sudden sunshine that filled the studio today but there is some excellent exploration work happening in the Graphics department just now - with A2 students enthusiastically researching the new ideas for the Unit 4. Students have been marbling paper, screenprinting & trapping items in waxed teabags in the pursuit of a direction for the Art exam themes. Ellisa has been creating stunning intricate  paper cuts (& yes, she cut these by hand !!) whilst Josh has been looking at the theme of "Encased" and using colour psychology to convey emotions. Josh filled 5 pots with coloured inks that represented anxiety, anger, joy, truth & serenity. The large vase represented the dominant emotion. Thought provoking & beautiful. 

Jess's mood board of initial ideas for Unit 4

PROUD POST ALERT !

It must be something in the air as the University offers keep rolling in for our A2 Graphics students ! So far all students who have had interviews have gained offers with Congratulations going to Tom & Lewis both being given unconditional offers for 3D design at MMU & Animation at Salford Uni. 

York St John & Huddersfield Uni have offered places on their Graphic Design degree whilst Games Design offers have been given from Salford, Future Works & Sheffield Hallam . 

Many more students are in the process of prepping portfolios for interviews with a staggering 22 interviews in the calendar over the next few week ! 

Many of the students will continue their journey here before moving to Uni & have applied to the Art foundation course at Ashton Sixth Form College .

The AS Art students will get lots of advice in the summer term when we visit the degree shows but it's never too early to think about University choices so please speak to staff if you need advice.

Congratulations to all those who have gained offers so far & good luck to those awaiting interviews. 

Express yourself !



Starts Jan 25th 4-5pm in A1.1 - enjoy producing the Art you like AND gain a qualification for it ! 



Class of 2015 - we salute you !

We couldn't be prouder of our Class of 2015 A2 students who achieved wonderful results again this year for Graphic Design. Joe Casey, Liam Rogers, Charlotte Kearney & Karolina Gliwa all gained A* grades in Graphics with Jessie May Roberts, Dimitris Solomou, & Aidan Robinson all achieving A Grades. Well deserved. 

There were many students who achieved brilliant results & will now progress onto their choice of University degree or career path. Thanks for all your hard work folks - you have been a great year.

Not to be outdone, the grades followed a similar pattern of success with 100% pass rate on both AS & A2 graphics design courses - once again , with good numbers across As & B grades ! 

Congratulations to all students - on both class of 2015 & class of 2016 on a very impressive set of results. Have a Big Summer Blowout to celebrate ! 

A taste of things to come ...

Visitors to the Graphics department had a taste of the type of work they will be trying in September by taking part in a workshop based around abstract typography. Using photoshop skills, Year 10 & Year 11 students took a basic font style & manipulated it with colour, reflection tools & invert tools to create a pattern / branding for "Size?" shoe retailer. They then applied the design to shoe boxes with some great results. Well done all - here are a few examples produced on the day. 

Making an IMPACT !

Many thanks to all who helped set up our leavers' celebration & exhibition yesterday - the work certainly made an impact & looked very professional. Students and staff had worked so hard over the past week to showcase the work from the past year from all our courses. If you missed the opening evening , why not give us a ring & pop down to view the work. Telephone us on 0161 330 2330 . 

Principal Dr Janet Nevin & Councillor Bill Fairfoull looking at the work. 

Alex Langton, Charotte Kearney, Alex Wood & Tim Abrams of the A2 year. 

What on earth have we been doing all year ?

Want to see what we've been upto all year ? have a look at this short film !

On the road ....

It's that time of year again , when the Graphics & the Art department head out to the degree shows. Next week looks like its going to be pretty busy and the calendar for trips, visits & workshops in the Art department is pretty jam packed. We start out with a whole department visit to the shows at MMU - looking forward to seeing the Graphics & illustration as well as their fantastic facilities. After we've got a taste for that , we're heading up the M6 to Preston to UCLAN to see their exhibition & campus and very excited to see their Fashion Promotion course at the same time.
Once we've drawn breath , we're off to Huddersfield Uni to see their sparkly new facilities in Graphics & photography - as if that wasn't enough , we , of course won't forget out lovely friends st Stockport college either & will pop up the road to check out the work from many of our own ex students. After that, we 're not resting - we have our own End of year exhibition - details shortly - look out for your invite !

Josh at last year's MMU show