NCAT CREATE PORTFOLIO REVIEWS

As a requirement of their course, the NCAT Create students present their portfolios at mid and final reviews. Portfolio presentations give students an opportunity to display their art work and look at it as a body of work.

Often a lack of space stifles the ability to look at all the work a student creates and therefore they miss out on seeing an overview of their emerging style, plus identifying strengths and areas for improvement. At mid and final portfolio review, Create students are able to lay out all their work in an allotted area and examine it as a body of work.


Portfolio review also allows students to be actively involved in group critiques. Critiquing each other's portfolios helps students to explore the creative process and their experience as a developing artist. The process of group critiquing is about finding a balance between compliment & constructive criticism. Students learn that the criticism is never personal – It is about the portfolio of artworks not the artist. Critiquing should always be balanced, neutral and constructive. Group critiques enable students to build skills by being exposed to different styles, options and approaches. It also assists students to push their responses to art beyond the initial "I like it" to questions of why and how, articulated using art based language.

The Portfolio review whilst initially potentially challenging to some, is an excellent opportunity to build creative confidence.

The review process brings together the artworks produced in students' Studio, Digital and Life Drawing classes.

Accompanying their portfolio is a written Artist's Statement and in the final review, a creative resume.

All images ©NCAT Create

NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION | CREATE INFORMATION EVENING

It is that time of the year, when prospective students begin to think about their creative future.

If you are thinking about applying to NCAT Folio Preparation or NCAT Create in 2015, we recommend that you come along to our information session on Monday 13th October, 6 - 7pm at NCAT.

Our staff will show you around the facilities and explain how our courses work. They will talk you through the advantages our courses will give you and the elective options on offer.

NCAT Folio Preparation offers: 

CUV40111 Certificate IV in Visual Arts

CUV40311 Certificate IV in Design

VCAL Senior Extension - Folio Enhancement

NCAT Create offers:

CUV30111 Certificate III in Visual Arts

VCAL Senior Extension - Folio Enhancement

Both courses offer students an opportunity to build creative skills and confidence. All students have access to industry standard equipment and facilities, including apple computers and ipads, the Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign), purpose built drawing studio, and a stimulating creative environment.

In the meantime, you can complete an application form and email it to us at NCATfoliopreparation@gmail.com 

Application forms are available 

here: 

http://ncat.vic.edu.au/applications 

or here: http://ncatfoliopreparation.blogspot.com.au/p/how-do-i-apply-to-nds.html 

NCAT CREATE COLLAGE WORKSHOP WITH LOCAL ARTIST ANNE WARREN

We have been very lucky to have the opportunity to team up with Anne Warren, a local Melbourne artist who helped us take our NCAT Create students through the finer intricacies of collage. Anne is a highly skilled Dada inspired Collage artist with an extraordinary ability to cut the finest of details with a tiny pair of embroidery scissors! 

"From a photo I have taken or from a found image in a book, I respond to the visual images that are around me. I will juxtapose an image or part of into a new environment to allow the viewer to interpret as they wish".

- Anne Warren

Kindly reproduced from her excellent wordpress blog: http://annewarren.wordpress.com/

Anne has a Diploma in Visual Art as well as a Bachelor in Fine Art (Drawing) from RMIT University (2009). She is currently exhibiting, is an active member of Alphington Open Studios, the Out of the Box group of artists and is teaching mixed media, digital, collage, assemblage, drawing workshops from her studio.

Anne worked with our students to create small collages on water-coloured backgrounds which were all about placement and finding the right image. The workshop coincided with a copyright unit and as a result, the students sourced their images from appropriate copyright free books and magazines, found in op shops and dusty bookshelves!

The Create students got so much out of Anne's workshop. The following week many came in with new collages and began to branch into varying styles. We went on to do mixed media with a big conceptual push based on birds and memory as themes and they just blossomed. The Create students went on to make a piece based on tags, taking ideas in all sorts of directions. We have seen a real change in confidence and output through the collage workshops which has been wonderful to watch. Anne's introductory workshop was a real turning point. There is nothing like some success to ignite a creative spark!

*All NCAT Create images are © Northern College of the Arts & Technology 2014. All Create student artworks are reproduced with permission.

Anne (right) demonstrating collage techniques in the Create Studio above

All images ©NCAT Create

Our friends at PIC currently showing at Brunswick Street Gallery

PIC photographic imaging college is now located at NCAT. They are a pretty cool bunch and we are loving having them in the NCAT mix!

The PIC Photographic Imaging College Diploma students are currently showing in an exhibition of their first semester’s work at the Brunswick Street Gallery. Called “Younger than Yesterday” the exhibition opened on Friday 20th June and runs until 3 July.

The students organised the whole event as part of their course, including the hire of the venue, mounting and display of the works, opening night, promotions etc. Some of the work is available for sale. We went to the opening and was most impressed with the calibre and professionalism of the works on display. There were a diversity of techniques, style and themes reflecting the interest and focus of the various students. 

Like them on Facebook: PIC on Facebook 
Check them out on Flickr: PIC Flickr
Follow them on Twitter @picphoto
Keep up with their Tumblr: photo-imaging-college

More info can be found at: pic diploma exhibition Brunswick Street Gallery— at Brunswick Street Gallery

NCAT FAREWELLS AMANDA CROATTO

NCAT Folio Preparation has recently farewelled valued staff member Amanda Croatto.

Amanda originally began with us at what was then NDS as a mature age student in 2000. A nurse, Amanda had craved a more creative direction. She excelled in her year with us and went on to study Textile Design at RMIT and then completed her Graduate Diploma of Education.

When we were looking for a replacement teacher in our program in 2007, Amanda was the logical choice. We knew her standard of excellence and breadth of knowledge would be a perfect fit. Over the years she has taught broadly from Experimental Art, Visual Literacy, Life and Studio Drawing, Studio Arts, Textiles to Fashion design.

Amanda is a prolific artist, producing creative work in a broad range of styles and media. Her recent exhibition of work showcased prints and painted babushka dolls. (Left)

And so, after six years with Folio Preparation, Amanda has decided to retire from teaching to pursue her creative interests. She is currently creating beautiful jewellery which she is selling through her Etsy online store (See below). We wish her every success in her new endeavours!

 All images copyright ©Amanda Croatto 2014

NCAT Folio Preparation: 100% success rate for the third year running!

We are thrilled to announce that all of our 2013 Folio Preparation students who successfully completed the VTAC Tertiary/TAFE application process have been given first round offers! This follows the last two year's 100% success rate! Our students will be going on to highly diverse courses from within the Art and Design fields, which is really exciting to see. 

(Some of) the 2013 Folio Preparation students at the Semi-Permanent Conference

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them all on their hard work and persistence. Some students came to us unsure of their direction but they all left us confident, well skilled and really ready for University. Their preparation included intensive work on interview techniques, research on career pathways, a methodical approach to the VTAC preselection process and the production of truly amazing art and design folios. They will confidently head off to university with friends made at Folio Preparation.

We wish them all well on their individual journeys and look forward to seeing them do wonderful things in the future! We will also enjoy seeing them return to NCAT to possibly present to staff and students at forums and Industry days in the coming years.

Here is a run down on the courses they have been accepted into!

2014 TERTIARY OFFERS NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION – DESIGN STREAM:
Communication Design	RMIT University	City
Communication Design	Monash University	Caulfield
Interactive Digital Media	RMIT University	City
Design - Graphic	Swinburne University of Technology	Hawthorn
Graphic Design	Victoria University	City Flinders
Graphic Design	NMIT	Fairfield
Textile Design and Development	RMIT University	Brunswick
NCAT FOLIO PREPARATION – VISUAL ARTS STREAM:
Fine Art (Print Imaging Practice)	RMIT University	City
Fine Arts (Production)	VCA – Melbourne University	Southbank
Visual Art	RMIT University	City
Textile Design	RMIT University	Brunswick
Photography and Photo Imaging	RMIT University	City
Photography-Digital/Analogue/Commercial/Art	Photographic Imaging College	Preston

NCAT Folio Prep's Norwegian student Helene Frøisland to study at VCA

Congratulations to NCAT Folio Preparation 2013 International student, Helene Frøisland, who has been accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) at the prestigious VCA (Victorian College of the Arts) - now part of Melbourne University.  

In VCA's Fine Arts (Production)  "Students major in one of three areas: Performance Technology; Stage Management; or Design Realisation; whilst still being exposed to all aspects of performance production – set, costume, lighting, multimedia and sound technology and design, workshop and costume construction, and stage and production management. Intensive delivery of skills and practice takes place through studio based training and direct application of these skills to rehearsals and productions. The course provides students with the opportunity to participate in productions staged within the VCA - in the School of Performing Arts (collaborations with Dance and Theatre) and Music Theatre projects; and beyond the VCA through projects and secondments with professional companies". (Reproduced with thanks to VCA Fine Arts Production website http://vca.unimelb.edu.au/bfaproduction).

Helene also applied for RMIT University's highly competitive Fashion Design degree as a back up plan. They too were so impressed with her work that they also offered her a place!

Helene (Left) with her parents and sister at our Northern Exposure Exhibition 2013

Helene came to us as an international student all the way from icy Norway. On her day of arrival in Australia she came directly to NCAT to enrol in typical Melbourne 38 degree heat. When she left Norway a couple of days before, it was minus 27 degrees!
Helene threw herself into her studies and immediately forged strong friendships with her peers. 

Her dream on arrival was to study costume design specifically for stage, an extremely competitive field within the creative industries. With a 'can-do' mindset, Helene set about researching her field and setting out a plan for achieving her study goal. Her final folio showed just how far she came with the standard of her work. It was sophisticated and a highly polished folio. 

The application process for an international student is extremely complicated. Helene had to provide translated and certified academic transcripts and fill out many, many forms, both online and in hard copy. Through it all she remained calm - except perhaps when she was faced with the prospect of riding her bicycle to Melbourne University with minutes to spare on an impending deadline! Thankfully she made it on time and the rest is history.

Helene achieved so much in the year that she has spent with us. Her hard work and dedication was a real credit to her! She is currently enjoying a break in Norway with her family before University starts for 2014. Well done Helene. We are going to enjoy watching your career plans blossom!