BA (Hons) Textiles and Surface Pattern with Foundation Year

Module: 3VA001

Credits: 60

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

In this module you will work on a series of short projects that aim to introduce you to the core art and design skills that will support your development as an artist or designer at degree level and beyond. In semester 1 you will explore a range of approaches to drawing as a fundamental art and design tool for thinking through and communicating your ideas. Increasingly drawing will be seen as a basis for exploring 2d, 3d and media solutions to art and design problems. Alongside these practical workshops you will begin to explore how research, reflection and documentation can inform your ideas and support studio practice by creating a studio journal containing a series of structured tasks. In semester 2 you will have extended opportunity to work with specialist staff from the different art and design subjects taught in the school and develop projects responding to more defined areas of practice appropriate to your interests and ambitions for degree level study. You will be expected to develop a more focused and independent approach to research through your journal responses and studio practice. Increasingly you will be expected to take greater control and direction of your learning. In semester 1 the workshops, studio projects, research tasks and study visits will be clearly structured and you will be expected to attend regularly and participate in a range of learning activities within and outside of taught sessions. As the course develops and you start to define your subject and contextual interests you will necessarily need to become more independent in accessing appropriate resources for your personal development as an artist/designer. The studios, workshops and other resources are open 5 days a week and you are increasingly expected to manage your taught and independent studio/study time effectively to complete work well and on time.

Module: 3VA002

Credits: 60

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

In this module you will be introduced to the range of art and design subject specialisms taught in the School of Art. Academic and technical teams from across the school will introduce you to specialist workshops and provide a range of short project briefs to enable you to explore and test your ideas out in different mediums and contexts. This will be accompanied by contextual visits, lectures and seminars that will explore how the different artists and designers address genres and issues pertinent to their practice. Assessment reviews and tutorials will be used to support you to reflect on these experiences and begin to consider some areas for extended experience in Semester 2. In semester 2 you will work in subject groupings and propose an individually negotiated project aligned to a broad subject area in the school. You will work with Foundation and degree level tutors to develop your ideas and work towards degree level entry standard. You will need to demonstrate some ability to work and learn independently and reflect on your work to progress your ideas. Alongside practical work you will undertake a portfolio of contextual research which will underpin your core knowledge of your chosen area of study and learn the basic research and writing skills that you will need to progress to degree level study.

Module: 4VA012

Credits: 60

Period: 2

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to provide you with the time and space to develop more independently driven responses to project briefs and to 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: 4VA009

Credits: 60

Period: 2

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: 5VA011

Credits: 60

Period: 3

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This hands-on skills focussed module aims to advance your experience and knowledge of specialist making and material skills, providing you with the opportunity to explore and investigate a range of professional methods and creative techniques. You will be predominantly based in dedicated studios and workshops engaging with a broad range of practical demonstrations, workshops, master classes, seminars and group crits. You will expand on previous knowledge and work across a range of techniques from hand to digital production. Thorough research, experimentation, reflection and evaluation will inform and shape your advanced skills and develop into increasingly independent work that continues to reflect your design focus. You will develop a range of pertinent and effective communication strategies in relation to your advanced design practice in order to fully connect with external audiences and the wider context. Conceptual ideas, extensive market intelligence and product awareness will help to drive your practice.

Module: 5VA016

Credits: 60

Period: 3

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This design focused module aims to establish firm understanding of your subject through a series of projects with emphasis on your developing specialism. Creative research with an historical and global context will help to inform design decision making alongside extensive development of design methodologies in relation to the textiles/surface pattern subject and the broader context of Art and Design. You will be encouraged to explore a variety of approaches, risk take and adopt more speculative approaches in the development of projects whilst developing more in-depth knowledge of design for specific product outcomes. Opportunities for collaboration, live briefs and competitions are encouraged as you challenge design perameters and consider the requirements of your chosen specialist area . Your evolving practice within textiles/ and surface pattern design and its product translation will be supported by a range of opportunities to test and evaluate its effectiveness within a subject specific context and the wider arena of relevant industry. .

Module: 6VA018

Credits: 60

Period: 4

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This outward facing module equips you with the creative and academic skills required to pursue a career in the creative industries through a series of projects that are focused towards your design aspirations. It will provide you with a framework to identify, develop, resolve and refine original, creative and relevant practice outcomes and to investigate individual employment and enterprise opportunities and goals from your personal research. There will be focus on contextualisation of not only your own practice but in depth investigation of critical and contextual practitioners and theorists relevant to the fashion and textile arena and wider social contexts. You will explore and demonstrate thorough knowledge of a range of specific design concepts, contexts, methodologies and opportunities; embrace critical and creative thinking, experimentation and risk taking; evidence thorough reflection, evaluation, decision making and an informed understanding of your practice; and, develop fully considered, well documented and presented, creative responses to your self-initiated project proposal. Professionalism is essential in terms of gaining a key understanding of the market sector in response to live briefs and specific industry knowledge. This knowledge and information will guide you to collate professional presentation materials, develop effective communication strategies, identify and document valuable information and carefully plan your approach pertinent to your personal career ambitions.

Module: 6VA017

Credits: 60

Period: 4

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

.

This self-negotiated or externally generated based module encompasses research, design and production with emphasis on independence and professional expertise