Open Studio — Portfolio Preparation Course,
Creative Practices 2020–2021

We Lost You For A Moment There

It gives us great pleasure to share the work of this year’s students who have studied with us on our Portfolio Preparation Course – Creative Practices. All have shown a prodigious amount of dedication to their studies during very challenging times and have embraced working online with us, establishing remote working spaces, with continued enthusiasm and commitment. They have all been remarkably abundant in their making and created portfolios of work that are diverse and engrossing; whilst supporting each other in their learning, being extraordinarily good natured and kind throughout.

Our primary focus is the creation of a unique and distinctive fine art, design or architecture portfolios of work, for both ‘Digital ‘and ‘Full’ Portfolio submissions for Further and Higher Education Courses and other directions. Students studying on the Portfolio Preparation Course work in a Studio Environment this year online, within which every student is supported in developing their creative skills, through the application of a wide-range of imaginative, technical and practical processes. The diverse online studio-based learning and teaching activities, have been and are designed to assist students in simultaneously developing experimental and innovative work as well as acquiring a strong work ethic.

This year being online has given the students this opportunity to showcase their work via the GSA Website at the end of their studies, self-selecting and curating their own work and promotional material, providing a professional experience where the emphasis is on learning and thinking through doing, and the site will be available for the public to view for a year.

The majority of our students go on to study Undergraduate Degrees, plus some Postgraduate Degrees in either Fine Art, Design or Architecture, at institutions across Scotland, the UK and Europe. Other trajectories include being self-employed, running their own creative businesses and undertaking internships.

This year’s students are all currently being invited for interviews and receiving offers, considering other and all their options and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for choosing to study with us and we wish them all the very best for their futures.

Deborah Holland + Joanie Jack

Joint Course Leaders

Portfolio Preparation Course – Creative Practices
Open Studio

Continue Reading

Beth Fagan

untitled

3D models made using blender

Flamingo & Friends

A2 Still life, graphite pencil

untitled

Work from sketchbooks and my room

Memory sketchbook

A4 pages, mixed media

Lux

50mm

Open Desktop

Digital work made in photoshop and Blender

untitled

Developed pieces from the 20 drawings projects. The main focus being a flail.

monochrome

Work from the 2D/3D project.

untitled

Work from the typography and bookbinding workshops

untitled

Sketchbook work.

Stills

Images from my ‘Dolls’ video

Dolls

A short film featuring an old slide projector and the dolls.

untitled

Development pieces from my dolls project

Projections

10x10cm acetate slides projected onto a wall

untitled

Resolved work from the dolls project

Lilium orientalis

50mm

Life drawings (i)

Charcoal, varying sizes

Life Drawings (ii)

Charcoal, Acrylic paint, varying sizes

untitled

Stop motion animation using parts of dismantled dolls.