Postgraduate Course: Thinking through Glass (DESI11111)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | You can't understand how wine is made simply by drinking lots of it (Sennett, 2009). The same can be said of glass making, through this course you will experience first-hand the sensory power of this heritage craft. You will be encouraged to allow the medium to lead your thinking and to know glass for yourself. Working with leading artists and designers in the field, a series of practical workshops (located at ECA) will introduce you to a range of glass making processes. This will be supported by group seminars and tutorials and a lecture-based programme which will explore and contextualise the field of Craft thinking through materiality and making. You will be asked to examine your creative practice through the lens of glass, the final outcome of the course will be to develop and realise a self-directed research project. |
| Course description |
¿Thinking through making¿ is an essential part of the creative process and is based on the theory that creativity emerges from an ongoing, improvisational process between makers, materials, tools and their environment. The first half of the course will introduce you to glass making through a series of practical workshops which will allow you to fully experience the discipline through a mix of studio demonstrations and practical taught exercises. The workshops will cover the following glass techniques including glass blowing, plaster mould making and glass coldworking. The second half of the course will form a self-directed research project, in which you will explore how these new skill-sets can be integrated into your practice. The outcome of this course will be in the form of a self-critical blog and portfolio documenting the journey and final artefact(s) of the process. Delivered within a critical environment driven by staff and peer review, group seminars and tutorials will be held to further discuss key issues of the themed lecture programme. You will be introduced to the field of craft through materiality and making, specially focused on the field of Narrative Glass; a movement that examines the art of storytelling, personal experiences and social commentary through works in glass. This course is aimed at students who are interested in making tangible practical works in glass, students from disciplines out with ECA are encouraged to apply.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | If students wish to work in coloured glass this will need to be purchased independently, all other course materials will be provided within reason. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- To critically analyse and engage with a range of textual and non-textual discourses concerning craft thinking, making and materiality related to the discipline of glass.
- To communicate and present, using appropriate methods, a diverse understanding of creative glass processes and realised practical outcomes.
- To use autonomy and judgement, to critically compose a constructed, original and personal narrative related to a self-directed glass research project.
|
Reading List
Primary
Adamson, G. (2016) Thinking through Craft, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London
Adamson, G. (2009) The Craft Reader, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London
Dormer, P. (1997) The Culture of Craft, Manchester University Press, Manchester
Ingold, T. (2013) Making Routledge Press
Rissatti, H. (2013) A theory of Craft: function and aesthetic expression, University North Carolina Press
Schmidt, E. (1998) Beginning Glassblowing, Glass Mountain Press
¿ Sennett, R. (2009) The Craftsman, Penguin, London
Secondary
¿ Cheasley Paterson, E & Surette, S. (2015) Sloppy Craft, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London
¿ Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Harper Perennial
¿ Polanyi, M. (1967) The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday, New York
¿ Pye, D. (2008) The Nature and Art of Workmanship, Herbert Press |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course fosters the following graduate attributes through engagement with practical workshops, lectures, group seminars and tutorials which responds to the course theme of ¿Thinking through making¿ based in the field of craft thinking, materiality and making. The aim is to help students develop skills in critical inquiry, analysis and reflection, in order to help ascertain the value and role of their creative practice within and beyond the discipline of glass. On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Work in a group with staff and peers to engage in a series of creative exercises within a glass studio environment (Work alongside and with peers, senior colleagues and specialists in the field).
Work independently with glass fabrication processes, through the experience of glassblowing, plaster mould making and glass cold-working techniques (Exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in professional and equivalent activities).
Work independently on a self-directed research project within a glass studio environment (Exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in professional and equivalent activities).
Critically compose a constructed, original and personal narrative related to a self-directed glass project (Critically analyze forefront issues and developments in the subject/discipline/sector).
Critically analyse the field of craft materiality and making, directed through groups seminars and tutorials (Critically analyze forefront issues and developments in the subject/discipline/sector).
Communicate and present the outcome of their creative exercises and self-directed projects to peers (Communicate, using appropriate methods, to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge/expertise).
|
| Keywords | glass,materiality,making,thinking through making,craft,practical workshops,glassblowing,narrative |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jessamy Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)51 5816
Email: Jessamy.Kelly@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Jane Thomson
Tel: (0131 6)51 5713
Email: jane.thomson@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage