Writing for The Leaders Council, International School of Creative Arts [ISCA] executive director, Colin Kerrigan, explains why combining traditional skills with the ability to use cutting-edge technology holds the key to excellence in Art and Design.
Excellence in art and design education stems from blending the teaching of traditional skills with cutting edge technologies. This principal lies at the heart of the curriculum at International School of Creative Arts [ISCA] and is the reason why the school has developed a strong reputation for preparing students for the rigours of university courses.
Addressing traditional skills first and foremost, I am going to start by talking about drawing, which is a fundamental skill for all artists and designers. As a tool of visual and creative exploration, it is vital that students are exposed to as many opportunities to draw as possible. At ISCA, the teaching of drawing underpins all art and design subjects, thereby providing a strong foundation of skills to enable the development of concepts. An essential part of the curriculum, drawing is an investigative and sophisticated process, which can be observational but involves thinking and enquiry. Understanding how to draw really equips students with the skills required to drive creativity.
Learning how to draw also has lifelong benefits. As a working sculptor myself, I have always used drawings to develop my ideas. As an international school, I also believe that it promotes communication across cultural, linguistic and geographical barriers.
We teach drawing at ISCA by having our students regularly take part in life-drawing classes, still-life sessions and experimentation with different materials. They are encouraged to keep a visual journal to record the environment around them. Students also respond well to different drawing exercises and by completing these challenges they begin to understand how drawing links into the different art and design disciplines from Fashion Textiles and Fine Art, to Graphic Communication and 3D Design. It is fascinating to observe how we all experience different ways of looking and drawing.
Other traditional skills we cover at ISCA might be more subject specific such as pattern cutting or typography, but it is the skill of drawing that feeds into all these areas.
Of course, this begs the question as to how technology fits into the curriculum. As a school, we are committed to introducing students to the latest technologies. We recognise that we need to prepare students for a career in the creative arts. As a small school we can be very nimble when it comes to deciding which new technologies might be most useful. We are currently updating our 3D printing equipment by investing in Rhino, the latest 3D computer graphics software.
The ability to represent different forms in computer graphics is an exciting step and means that those students interested in architecture, product design or jewellery will be able to realise their work to a high standard. It is also an opportunity for the specialist art and design tutors to develop their own professional skills. Furthermore, investment in laser-cutting means that students can produce dynamic and sophisticated work for their portfolios.
We are very much looking forward to seeing the creative possibilities with Rhino. It will be a journey for us all, staff and students alike.
