Students fired up by new glass kiln

Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) has invested £5,000 in a new glass kiln further strengthening the College’s reputation as a leading provider for Art and Design in Staffordshire.

The investment in the specialist glass kiln allows the College to extend the opportunities available within the existing curriculum for current full-time students and also opens up new markets and opportunities in part-time recreational courses for adult learners.

Deb Hilditch, Curriculum Manager for Art and Design, said: “A number of art and design Higher Education institutions have some form of glass facility; in offering our pre-degree students the opportunity to encounter this material we will be helping them to strengthen their portfolios and increase their progression options.”

Deb added: “Glass is a material that fascinates, intrigues and captivates and there is demand for recreational courses and qualifications that allow people to develop skills with it.”

“Working with kiln glass is relatively simple and inexpensive, and it’s something that is increasingly readily seen within commercial art and design outlets from coasters and Christmas decorations to platters and jewellery to large scale wall installation pieces.”

The kiln will next be in use during the College’s new CREATE Glass course which starts on Wednesday 17 April.  The part-time recreational course runs for five weeks from 6.30pm – 8.30pm and is designed to offer adults of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to explore their creativity and will provide an introduction into fused glass, whereby learners will be taught how to cut and assemble glass for fusing and create a number of items to take away with them at the end of the course.

To find out more about the new CREATE – Glass course visit www.nulc.ac.uk or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or info@nulc.ac.uk.

Student's contribute to Chelsea Flower Show

Students from the Foundation degree (Fd) in Contemporary Art Practice have been making ceramic flowers as part of the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB).

The first year students worked with Rita Floyd making flowers to be part of the Chelsea Flower Show, the work created within College will go in to the final installation at Chelsea.

The students have learned traditional flower making techniques from Rita who has worked in the industry for 40 years.  Ceramic flowers are being made by Rita Ford and Jeanette Seabridge, and are formed by hand to create the different shapes and structures for the garden. BCB is aiming to highlight these traditional flower-making skills by finding alternative uses for the flowers,which were once widespread in Stoke but are now manufactured by a single factory, Aynsley China.

The Contemporary Art Practice students will also be using the theme as the starting point for their next project and hope to visit the show in Chelsea to see some of their work in-situ.

The students’ flowers will sit alongside 800 other flowers that Rita and Jeanette have made especially for the installation.

The British Ceramics Biennial is collaborating with The Stoke-on-Trent Garden Partnership garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.   BCB is responsible for creating 800 bone china ‘flower-bricks’, coping-stones, and kerb-stones for the garden, called Transformation, together with a dramatic, two metre swag of ceramic flowers.

To find out more about studying the Foundation degree in Contemporary Art Practice at Newcastle-under-Lyme College's University Centre click here or contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk.