WELCOME TO THE 2018 NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION STUDENTS!

Welcome to our 2018 Folio Preparation cohort. It is a full house this year! Students have come from all over the place... even Perth! The students are spread over two groups - Design and Visual Arts. We are looking forward to a cracking year of creativity. Apologies to those on the waiting list who missed out on a position. You are welcome to reapply for 2019 but get in early. Applications open in June.

Interested? You can read more about what is in store for the students here

STAFF PROFILE: NCAT CREATE'S TRACY PATERSON

Tracy Paterson, artist and art educator, NCAT. ©Image Tracy Paterson

Tracy Paterson has been heading up the NCAT Create course, a part time visual art course for adults, at The Northern College of the Arts & Technology, since the course's inception in 2014.

For Tracy, designing the Create program came out of a desire to give adults an opportunity to learn to build art into their everyday lives. "Practising art is a discipline and as such needs to be learnt. There are so many people out there who dream of being an artist but simply don't know where to start nor how to make art fit into their life. We work with them to build their creative confidence as emerging artists." she says. Students also build a substantial body of work which can be used as a portfolio for entry into further education.

Tracy, who has been an art educator for over 25 years, is a practising artist herself. Her main discipline is Life Drawing. "I have had an ongoing love affair with life drawing for many years. For me the human form provides constant challenges and is as much about a celebration of difference as a drawing style. Life drawing is about a dialogue between myself and the model; It is collaborative. I love that when I draw I am so totally in the moment. It is about the process and as such, the output is of far less significance to me than the doing."

Life Drawing Pastel on paper ©Tracy Paterson

Life Drawing Charcoal on paper ©Tracy Paterson

Life Drawing Charcoal and Pitt Crayon on Paper
©Tracy Paterson

Life Drawing Charcoal and Pitt Crayon on Paper 
©Tracy Paterson

21 Landscapes Watercolour on individual wood panels
©Tracy Paterson

In addition to life drawing, Tracy is also a painter - previously specialising in portraiture - but now exploring landscape. She grew up in outback New South Wales where the landscape of the flat Hay Plain has a low horizon and huge skies. These brooding and potent skies appear as a regular force in her art. "The landscape of my childhood has informed much of my work and is something I am continually drawn to."

As an art educator, Tracy has built wide ranging skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, illustration, photography and graphic design. She has worked as a freelance photographer and is rarely without a camera in hand. "At NCAT and in my life generally, I am the documenter. I am comfortable behind a camera and I enjoy searching for that elusive moment."

The Create staff skill their students in three broad subjects. Studio, taught by Tracy and Ali McCann, explores art practises such as drawing, painting, mixed media and printmaking, and pushes students to think conceptually and thematically. Digital Media, taught by Mark Russell and Bei Janetzki, focusses on digital photography and the Adobe Suite's Photoshop and Illustrator. Life Drawing, tutored by Tracy, gives the students valuable underpinning drawing and observation skills. Students also explore the creative arts industries, delving into social media and possible future creative pathways. They also learn how to write an effective artist's statement and art based resume.

5 fast Life Drawings. Willow Charcoal on Paper
©Tracy Paterson

Over the years Tracy has supported many ex Folio Preparation students as they have transitioned into the creative industries. An avid social networker, she has enjoyed helping them build and publicise businesses, find jobs, advertise exhibitions and welcome new websites. Tracy sees herself as having a responsibility to support these upcoming generations of talent long after their time at NCAT is over.

More recently, the Create students have gone on to Fine Art, Visual Arts, Illustration, Textile Design, Creative Arts Industries and Graphic Design courses (Post Graduate, Degree and Diploma). Others have moved into studio spaces together, applied for and attained arts grants, exhibited and built freelance businesses. For Tracy and her staff it is thrilling to see their dreams begin to take shape. 

The popular NCAT Create course runs on Thursdays and Fridays with a single intake per year. Applications are now open for next year.

All images: 

© Copyright Tracy Paterson

@lacontrapposto

NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION LAUNCHES NCAT CREATE!

We are very excited to launch our latest offering in NCAT's suite of courses in the creative arts: NCAT Create, a unique course designed to unlock mature aged students skills, through drawing, digital imaging, art studio practices and new media.

Over the years, we have taken more and more mature aged students into the Folio Preparation course. Some of these students have found it difficult to dedicate 4 days a week to course work due to the classic time demands of work, parenthood etc, that are an inevitable part of adulthood. Many of these students are seeking career changes and have studied previously in other fields but the high costs of tertiary education make further study difficult. And so, based on our experience of these students' unique set of needs it seems a logical thing to design a course especially for them!

What would such a course look like? 2 days per week. Civilised, family friendly hours: 9:30am - 3pm. An opportunity to work with like minded adults in a supportive environment. Mac based Adobe Suite training, Tutored Life Drawing classes. An opportunity to learn about new media. A chance to begin to plan for a career in the creative arts industry. And all this with NO tuition fees and a only a minimal materials charge.

It is no surprise that we have been inundated with interest and enquiries about NCAT Create. So, if you are interested send in your application form ASAP.

LIFE DRAWING AT NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION WITH TRACY PATERSON

Life Drawing is an integral part of our portfolio building course. Students use a wide variety of media and techniques in their weekly Life Drawing classes. Life Drawing is a core subject in the program. The students are tutored by Tracy Paterson, a hugely experienced Life drawing practitioner and passionate tutor. NCAT Folio Preparation is a long time supporter of  Melbourne's Life Models Society and their highly professional models.

In this session, the students are learning the finer art of drawing foreshortened poses. The students first measure the model's height versus width and then draw in blind contour, where they draw the model without looking at their drawing (Except to replace their pen). This technique rapidly increases observation skills whilst also loosening up the student's drawing style. Students are able to read foreshortening without really thinking about it. Tracy calls it drawing with your eyes. Drawing the figure from life is a time honoured tradition in Art & Design education.

*All Images Copyright NCAT. Click image to enlarge.

Read on for more images

Life Drawers... THis is what it is all about. Thankyou to Robert Hughes for putting it so eloquently

Life Drawing in the drawing studio at NCAT when the model is a no-show... stuck drawing the teacher!

Every now and then the life model can not make it. Sometimes when this happens, we draw hands and feet, but every now ad then, the students ask to draw their tutor Tracy Paterson. Tracy is a fairly reluctant model but it makes a change!

Life drawing is an integral part of the portfolio building course, acting as the scaffolding for the students drawing experience. Life drawing classes are held once a week and run through the year.

Below our students are critiquing their drawings during a break