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

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Gaspar Benavente Jaldón

My ideas from creating the sculpture and drawing developed into designs for fashion. The shower space in my flat to draw using charcoal to reduce the debris from the dust and have a larger wall space. Trying to be innovative with the restrictions and not having access to the studio.
Sculptural form, created by trapping shredded paper within netting for a cape/cloak like structure. I shredded all the paper by hand and stitched it into place to form a quilted, padded inflated effect.

Light and shadows

The video I made on my own during lockdown in Glasgow developed from my sculptures, creating movement with the silhouette and photographic images of my sculptures close up to reveal the details, materials and shapes.
Action imagen of me modelling bubble wrap trousers and hoodie, exploring new curved shapes in trousers with upcycled plastics.
Voluminous bubble wrap gown, with an elastic on the bottom edge to make it wearable depending on the climate circumstances and sharp shoulder short jacket with a spherical skirt.
Video of my fashion show garment created out of recycled packaging made during lockdown in Glasgow.
Close up view of the wire embroidery on the raincoat, sketchbook pages and a wearable pair of tin heals inspired by Guo Pei theatrical extravagance.
Video with garments inspired by Rei Kawakubo and Guo Pei, where I explore ways of wearing them to have three different combinations in one look.
Upcycling school uniforms to form multiplies, using, rhythms, repeats, piles, stacking of folded garments to create structural forms. Playing with styling photography, humour and tonal colours to portray inventive ideas.
Ideas and developments through drawing analytically what I see and developing ideas for racket sports illustrating a style in my sketchbooks.
Developing ideas further through drawing and samples of the final pieces.
A Video of the finished fashion design in action, moulaging the existing garment shapes to evolve the structures into new formations and me wearing my upcycled multifunctional object.
Images of a shooting I took to my friends wearing bubble wrap garments, close up of sleeves and corrugated cardboard as corset.
Action image of the voluminous gown and a sharp shoulder short jacket.
Milk bricks turend inside out to expose the inner metallic appearance. This was inspired by Paco Rabanne's metallic dress and responding to its structure I created three-dimensional cubes to add volume.
Metallic appearance bra and pants

Shooting among rubble I

Shooting among rubble II

Final sum up video