This year our BTEC L2 Art and Design Skills students have worked in a diverse range of projects, exploring creative disciplines such as photography, textiles, ceramics, print making and 3D. Learners have also had the opportunity to take part in live competitions and events, including Dudley Remembers and The Dudley young photographer of the year.
Jo Davis, Level 2 art tutor
This year our BTEC Diploma in Art and Design Practice Level 3 students have worked in a diverse range of projects, exploring creative disciplines such as photography, ceramics, print making and 3D. Learners have also had the opportunity to take part in live competitions and events, including Dudley Remembers and The Dudley young photographer of the year.
Jo Davis, Level 3 art tutor
The work on show here is just a snapshot of some of the work produced over the past two years. While our students are taught digital skills, they also learn traditional art and design skills in order to develop a broad portfolio of art and design for their progression onto higher education.
Some of our recent students have gone on to study at degree level in subject areas such as visual communication or graphic design, but also illustration, animation, fashion illustration, automotive design, architecture, interior architecture, jewellery design, digital media, and many other creative pathways.
Over the past few months all our students who made university applications were accepted (as usual), and generally on their first choice. Some have chosen to begin their studies at degree level, and others have decided to stay on at Dudley College for a Foundation Year. Well done all – it’s been great working with you. Good luck for the future.
Paul Oldnall, graphics tutor
Ashani has recently created his first original typeface, Allen Sans, which you can download here. This was released on the 13th of June 2024 and developed over two weeks as part of an endeavoured college project.
He says: “Allen Sans is my first original typeface inspired by the very illustrious sans-serif forerunners such as Helvetica, Futura, Avant Garde Gothic and Gill Sans.
Allen Sans is open-source, meaning you are free to modify and redistribute the face if you so desire, but please credit this page as the original.
The face is absolutely free for commercial usage – including logo design, editorial design, advertising and all other applications of typography.
I hope you create beautiful pieces of work with this sans face, happy designing!”
Pacific Vizion is a Filipino fashion brand that specialises in graphic representations representing the essence of the Philippines. My designs are inspired by the retro culture and urban landscapes. I aim to create a unique style that resonates with the spirit of the country, both accessible and approachable to a young, youthful audience who want fashion with personality.
Originating in the UK and being inspired by the fun, vibrant culture back home, Pacific Vizion is something I hope can be the canvas and foundation for something bigger and greater in the near future, starting from what was my Final Major Project in college.
Promoting my ethnic culture was a great way for me to differentiate myself from others around me as I was able to hone in on the familiarity and knowledge I had about my own country and its culture. This translated into fun, vibrant graphic outcomes which represents its cultural meaning in a more aesthetic and approachable way, which is through modern streetwear.
Overall I had a lot of fun developing this project from the ground up as it was something that I could easily relate to and something that me and my Filipino friends would be excited to see progress. I was very pleased with how this project turned out.
Check out more of my work here.
This year has seen the return of our exam project (which due to COVID hasn’t been conducted since 2019) and with it, a workload increase for all on A-Level Fine art. The organisational skills and motivation of the students has really been tested, working with given topics presented by the exam board, which at times can often be frustrating. However, all the students have risen to the challenges presented over the year and produced high quality work they should be proud of.
This year we’ve even managed to resume our educational visits, with trips to Liverpool, London and even Berlin. These have inspired and engaged our cohort and provided them with some additional inspiration outside of the classroom.
The students should be extremely proud of their achievements – as am I – and I wish them all the luck for the future.
Gillian Worley, A-Level Fine Art Tutor, Dudley Sixth
I wanted to explore the uniqueness of different encounters and how these experiences vary from person to person; we remember and dwell about our favorite memories, but being able to present the passing moments is just as valuable.
I also created a project that consisted of me recreating dishes and a variety of foods to help elevate the concept of the mundane; foods are recognized to amplify our five senses, so I wanted to see if I could recreate that in my work using colour and different styles.
For my first project, I choose the topic ‘Animals’ where I explore different domestic pets such as dogs, cats and snakes in a range of different media leading up to my final piece centred around the negative stereotypes surrounding dogs, all painted in acrylic paint as I thoroughly enjoyed the harsh and bold colours/look of this material.
For my next project, I choose the exam topic ‘Vivid’ as this spoke to me the most. I knew from the beginning I wanted to continue using acrylic paint as well as exploring coloured pencils and watercolour.
Ultimately, I decided acrylic was the medium I preferred through my experiments around objects and people in bold, monochromatic colours. My final piece encompasses all I learnt throughout this project. Again, I chose acrylic paint as my chosen medium, using it in a monochromatic style that has since become another technique I fell in love with throughout this project.
This project focused on portraits and how you could manipulate and distort the facial features of a person to represent the disconnect between the body and mind in times of severe mental health episodes. I used oil paints and oil pastels to create a smooth flowing texture.
I then explored a project focused on time, and how long movements of a person can be painted into a single image. I used long exposure photography to take my images and dragged the paint to show direction of motion.
In project one I practiced portraiture by looking into the concept of the effects of aging.
For project 2 I explored fish and fears of the deep ocean through printing and painting medias.
I explored the idea of circles in art through printing and painting.
In my second project I investigated animals and the pollution of their habitats.
My first project focused on the beauty and intricacy of insects versus a more negative view and why we fear them, using materials such as watercolour, acrylic, biro and pencil.
My second project stemmed from the word “vivid”, exploring how I can use colours together to get the best visual outcome, while using materials like coloured pencil, oil pastels, acrylic and watercolour.
For my first project, the concept was ‘abstract mind’, which was about seeking and exploring the possibilities of representing anxiety and confusion in portraiture.
For my next project, I focused on the idea of the mundane reality of relationships, looking into the significance of the small moments of life with a significant other.
The work on show here is just a snapshot of some of the work produced over the past two years. While our students are taught digital skills, they also learn traditional art and design skills in order to develop a broad portfolio of art and design for their progression onto higher education.
Some of our recent students have gone on to study at degree level in subject areas such as visual communication or graphic design, but also illustration, animation, fashion illustration, automotive design, architecture, interior architecture, jewellery design, digital media, and many other creative pathways.
Over the past few months all our students who made university applications were accepted (as usual), and generally on their first choice. Some have chosen to begin their studies at degree level, and others have decided to stay on at Dudley College for a Foundation Year. Well done all – it’s been great working with you. Good luck for the future.
Paul Oldnall, graphics tutor