21.05.07
From body armour to balderdash: all of creative life is here!

A barbershop quartet, the Ancient Mariner, a Boeing 747 floor plan, ducks, corsets, horses, swimmers, body armour, chocolate coffee mugs, beards, necklaces of tumble drier fluff, toast, a harpist, turkey feathers, human wings, glitter bombs, a banjo player, an ice-cream cone chandelier, aliens, balderdash, musical dresses, distorted dolls, metallic fruit, world interrogation, woven sea and sand, and senior citizens have all played a part in the creative life of Falmouth's Foundation Studies in Art & Design Diploma this year.

For decades, the artists and designers of the future have been pushing their artistic boundaries as part of this year long, intensive Art & Design Foundation Diploma at University College Falmouth. This hothouse of visual creativity unveils some rare and unique ideas. This year's cohort - from Cornwall, the West Country, the rest of the UK and overseas - amazed visitors at their End of Year Show with their skill, originality and particular take on the world around them.

Joe Sparrow, a choral scholar at Truro Cathedral, is honing his illustrative skills on the Foundation course, which covers the whole spectrum of art and design disciplines. "It's been great getting inspiration from other people," says Joe. "The Foundation course has a lively atmosphere because it involves experimenting with everything from fashion design to fine art, and then deciding what to specialise in at degree level." Joe is currently drawing aerial views of the imagined naturalisation of a derelict town. A career in illustration beckons.

Katie Hendra is a World Championship Fencer and is developing her talent for design on the Foundation course. Katie is very interested in recycling and reusing, and her quirky alternative uses for everyday objects confirm her as a lateral thinker.

"The environment in which we work allows you to see what everyone else is doing," explains Katie. "This creates a dynamic atmosphere in which developing your own ideas becomes second nature." The course has presented Katie with opportunities she wouldn't have dreamed of six months ago, and now she is building a creative future for herself which will underline her Olympic ambitions for 2012.

As we enter the final weeks of this academic year, the public has been able to enjoy the work of Joe, Katie and many more aspiring artists and designers at The 2007 Foundation End of Year Show, at The Poly in Church Street and the Wellington Terrace annexe, from Friday 25 to Thursday 31 May 2007, 10am and 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

For further information about the Foundation Studies in Art & Design Diploma at University College Falmouth, please visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/foundation, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or contact Admissions on 01326 214350 for the full-time option or 214351 for the part-time option.

For further information please contact the Jilly Easterby, Head of Public Affairs, on 01326 213792 or email jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) project, both Phase 1 and Phase 2, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). University College Falmouth is a partner of the CUC.

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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