At the beginning of this year, I started an MA in Fine Art at Falmouth University.
Although my art business has grown steadily for a few years, I've always wanted to further my studies and deepen my practice.
So I was elated to discover that Falmouth, one of the UK's leading art schools, had started an online MFA course. The course came across my path (through the power of Instagram advertising) last summer, and it took me a few months to decide whether I would go for it and when.
Falmouth Harbour, Credit: Nigel Brown, CC BY 3.0
For those who don't know, Falmouth University, previously Falmouth School of Art, has been in the business of teaching art since 1902. It has a long and well-respected heritage and pedigree in arts education. Comedy legend Dawn French is the current Chancellor (and gives out the certificates at graduation!) Falmouth in Cornwall is right down the bottom end of the UK on the West side, about an hour's drive from Lands End). So it's a pretty inspiring place, especially as the Tate has a gallery up the road at St Ives. Sadly, as I was doing this online, so I wouldn't get to study on campus. Though I do hope to visit at some point this year (more on that later).
The application process involved a couple of written submissions: about why I wanted to do it, what we hoped to do with the MA, what art education we had done, and any relevant experience. I studied a BA (Hons) in History of Art, Design & Film at Middlesex University, which finished in 1998 (gulp!). And I needed to find the certificate. After some searching, I concluded that the critical piece of paper (which I swear had been required for some job or another over the years) had been lost several house moves ago. Or it had slipped inside something else, but god knows where. Panic ensued. But as it turns out, most UK universities will send you a new one, which can be done online. It's easier if you have your student number, which I found on some old Student Loans paperwork. It arrived in time for me to scan it and add it to my application. Thanks Middlesex!
The Student Advisor team at Falmouth have been really helpful, both in the application process and since. I had a long phone call with the MA Fine Art course advisor before applying, as I had a lot of questions. I also attended a couple of the online Q&A webinars that Falmouth hosts for most of its courses.
I was elated when I found out I had been offered a place on the course. I honestly thought an MA in Fine Art was a pipe dream. I've always had work or other commitments that would make spending a few days a week on campus in a studio or lecture hall impossible. Even if I could find one that was evening or weekends, it would likely not be commutable and I don't drive, so that has always been a barrier as well.
But it is all possible with the Falmouth MFA online. I get to work in my home studio. Everything is modular. There are weekly practical and written tasks, reading, video lectures, and a live webinar with other students, but everything is recorded and can be done at your own pace throughout the week – so you can fit it around your life.
That's not to say it's easy. You do need to find the time to do it, so there's been a constant state of calendar juggling and negotiation around work and other things. But as it's online, I've got into a groove of doing some things on the go – I can access all the course content from a laptop, iPad, or phone. I've been watching lectures while cooking or on a train, which I certainly couldn't do on an in-person MA!
It's challenged my studio practice and what I want my art to be. Which at times has been exciting and nerve-wracking. And there is the written work. I've just submitted my first assignment – a proposal for a potential body of work – and I think all of us in my cohort found it challenged us in one way or another. But I wanted a challenge – to be pushed out of my comfort zone and to move and evolve my practice into its next phase.
Above and below are a few pieces of work I've been creating this term. As you'll see, it's not all painting! I've been experimenting with new materials like clay and textiles, particularly silk, which is key to the local heritage in Macclesfield, where my studio is based.
Much of my assignment research has been around silk production, the history of the Silk Road and looking at the lifecycle of a Silk Moth. I won't go deep into this here – I'll save that for another time. I will share this blog about my trip to the Silk Museum in Macclesfield, which was crucial for my proposal's early thinking.
But the whole research process, studio experimentation, and being open to new working methods have been amazing. So, what does this mean for my art practice?
I will always be interested in and fascinated by colour, but I am exploring it in new ways. Working with fabric has been interesting. I've seen how paint responds to different fabrics and figured out what I like and don't like. I've also started using fabric 'like paint', which has felt very in line with my 'colour in motion' theme, so expect to see more pieces like that. I am very new to sculpture and still learning there, but hopefully some things will see the light later this year. In time for Manchester Art Fair? Let's see.
So all very exciting. Watch this space!
Oh and as for my trip to Cornwall, that'll be happening in September. There's an optional residential in September each year, sometimes at Falmouth or another location. I've never been to Falmouth so I'll be taking myself on a little art trip there with a visit to Lands End, Truro and to maybe visit few of the galleries I follow down there. Look forward to sharing more about that nearer the time.
For more on this and Falmouth's online Courses, head over here: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/study/online