BA (Hons) Glass and Ceramics

Module: 4VA005

Credits: 60

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to introduce you to the range of workshops, resources and staff working across the School of Art and to provide you with specialist making and media instruction. It is an intensive studio and workshop based module and throughout the year you will undertake a series of studio, workshop, software and material based projects that will provide a foundation for your developing independent work. As a Level 4 student in the School of Art you will be supported to make the leap between your prior educational experiences and full time art, craft and design practice. You will develop time management skills through structured tasks and increasingly you will be expected to make use of independent study hours to further test and progress your work in the studios and workshops. In this module you will also learn to document and record your work effectively and gain confidence in reflecting on your work in sketchbooks, journals, blogs, group reviews and tutorials in relation to a range of contextual ideas, artists, craftspeople and designers associated with project briefs and self-initiated work.

Module: 4VA006

Credits: 60

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to provide you with the time and space to develop increasing ownership of project briefs. These will be tutor led or negotiated in order to help you build skills, and support you to become more experimental and speculative in the production of your work. The emphasis, in this module, is on process and practice rather than end product. Throughout the module you will be encouraged to test new approaches and ideas and to reflect on the successes and importantly, the failures of your work. In tutorials and group reviews you will be asked to reflect on these experiences and to consider how you might learn from speculation and the feedback of potential audiences to re-think and re-work your ideas. This module also aims to introduce you to a range of models of practice and contextual knowledge that will help you understand contemporary art, craft and design practice and its relationship to society more fully. You will engage in subject specialist lectures and seminars and produce a range of creative and academic contextual assignments. Again the module aims to encourage you to organise your time effectively, work more independently and demonstrate the personal curiosity to find and evaluate contextual ideas alongside art, craft and design work that has a specific value for you and your work.

Module: 5VA005

Credits: 60

Period: 2

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to extend your experience and knowledge of specialist making, media, art and design methodologies and research methods, providing you with the opportunity to explore and investigate conceptual development, and to research practice techniques and methods. You will be predominantly based in the studios, computer and material workshops and through a mixture of demonstrations, workshops, group critiques and material experimentation, alongside contextual research, you will develop work that gives you the opportunity to evaluate your methods, discuss initial concepts and develop appropriate practice proposals. You will also begin to consider in more depth an engagement with wider contexts and audiences, developing and communicating your material and creative art, craft and design vocabulary through increasingly independent work. While this will be within a structure of contextual research, materials experimentation and design development, it will be important to develop your own methodologies. You will do this through undertaking primary research, investigating a range of material, textual, digital and media-based resources, develop appropriate creative responses and be able to communication visually and verbally in a comprehensive record of your studies and a reflective engagement with your subject.

Module: 5VA010

Credits: 60

Period: 2

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to establish firm understanding of your subject and its relationship to related practice in Art and Design and other external contexts. You will be encouraged to indulge your curiosity and adopt more speculative approaches in the development of projects. You will engage with your peer group and tutors through various forums in the process of informing your decision making. Your evolving work and understanding of the motivations and contexts that inform its making will be supported by a range of opportunities to test its effectiveness for your community of practice.

Module: 6VA010

Credits: 60

Period: 3

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to support a project, negotiated with your tutors, through which you will develop a body of subject specialist work that draws together your own conceptual ideas, advanced material production and an understanding of audience. You will negotiate, plan and develop this project and, though supported, will be expected to maintain a working practice that is independent and professional. The work you produce should reach a professional standard informed by research, material experimentation and an understanding of relevant contexts for your subject area. You will maintain an ongoing reflective approach to the development of your work and be able to communicate this verbally, visually and in written form.

Module: 6VA005

Credits: 60

Period: 3

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module further develops your independent professional practice and personal creative journey, supporting the projects you undertake in your other module. You will increase your awareness and understanding of the environment in which an independent artist, craftsperson and designer might operate, researching relevant subject specific contexts and professional models of presentation that will establish relevant and informed positions for your practice. You will also have the opportunity to undertake the University Employability Award. These varied activites will provide you with a framework through which to develop your practice in readiness for the degree show and other external opportunities. In order to achieve this, throughout the module, you will be supported to develop a portfolio of practice that emerges from personally generated research interests or in response to appropriate externally set projects with companies, organisations and entrepreneurs. During the module, you will place your own work into the broader creative industries and will be exploring key issues relevant to, and directly driven by, your practice. The module develops and prepares you to utilise a substantial piece of written work, alongside verbal and visual presentation techniques in order to evaluate and to express an informed opinion. Ultimately this module aims will develop methods and materials that will assist your professional launch.

The BA (Hons) Glass and Ceramics course in particular is distinctive in its approach due to:

• The emphasis of ‘thinking though making’ is key to establishing innovative approaches and responding to the rich history of material practice within ceramics and glass.
• Students being encouraged to play, think, make and thus innovate in a responsive approach to speculative making.
• Some of the best ceramics and glass workshops in Europe, with knowledgeable practice led staff teams and excellent industry links.
• Interdisciplinary projects with other specialist courses within the school of Art help to support diverse practice and an understanding of the wider material culture through digital print, rapid prototyping, and more established material practice.
• The course is designed to provide you with the best possible creative education centred on employability and student support. At each level two year-long modules allow you to experience and engage with projects of increasing complexity and varied timescales that reflect the breadth and flexibility of the commercial design world.
• A carefully structured approach that encourages independent learning supported by an integrated delivery of the contextual, theoretical, technical and practical skills.

The School of Art houses a range of purpose built studio spaces and workshops with an extensive range of professional equipment not available in schools and colleges. Students at the School of Art are taught by practicing artists and designers working in academic and technical roles. These specialist practitioners teach both fundamental skills, support experimental and speculative practice and ensure practice is underpinned by knowledge and awareness of contemporary contexts.

In addition the School of Art provides many opportunities throughout the year for students to join study visits to UK and European destinations. These visits underpin student learning by providing an opportunity for students to see professional practice in their field, engage with new ideas, materials, sites and scale, consider display and presentation strategies and explore other roles associated with art and design such as curation, marketing, education. The visits also provide opportunities for students to spend time in an expanded community of their own peers to support interdisciplinary and cross year support and collaboration.

The member of academic staff who leads this course is Paul McAllister

This course will give you the necessary skills to pursue the huge range of exciting career opportunities associated with Contemporary Visual Arts Practice. For many Glass and Ceramics graduates the ultimate ambition is to become a successful artist, designer or maker. The Glass and Ceramics course is designed to support students in achieving this goal and indeed, graduates from the University of Wolverhampton are now exhibiting and selling their work and designs nationally and internationally on a regular basis. The next step towards achieving this ambition is to undertake a post graduate or Masters qualification and students from this course are very successful in making applications at this level. The course aims to provide students with the practical, theoretical and promotional skills to support such career choices.

The Glass and Ceramics course also aims to support and develop students’ vocational awareness and provides opportunities for educational placements and professional practice. As a result, a number of students each year successfully apply to postgraduate teaching courses and many School of Art and Design graduates are now teaching in the regions’ schools and colleges. Glass and Ceramics graduates are also working in museums and galleries as curators, educationalists, workshop facilitators, archivists and technicians, having taken specialist postgraduate courses in these fields.

Location Mode Fee Year Home/EU Full-time £9250 per year 2020-21 Home/EU Part-time £3050 per year# 2020-21 Home Full-time £9250 per year 2021-22 Home Part-time £3100 per year# 2021-22