Recent News

SQA Submission 2014

Well done to all 88 N5, Int.2 and Higher pupils who submitted folio work to SQA this session for external assessment- we met our 30/4/14 deadline by the skin of our teeth!

Mounting, labelling and parcelling up to 6 A2 sheets per candidate for central marking…….!!!!

The Department organises the return of these folios. The SQA charges £11.80 per candidate, please let us know as soon as possible if you want your work ……deadline for requests is September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highland Decorative & Fine Art Society

15/5/14 HDFAS Advanced Higher Folio Show Smithton Church Hall

Annually we link with this community group to show our students folio work. This year the event coincided with a very interesting lecture on ceramics by Lars Thorpe of Antique Road Show fame. He spent some time chatting with our students about their work and their future plans.

Student’s work arrives in school mini bus!

Mall Gallery Competition – A PowerPoint of Expressive work by senior students was shown to society members to identify the most popular work for submission to this competition……It was decided to forward the work of Lewis R shown below, though all the work was much admired.

Lewis R

 

At the same event Clare B and Eleanor M delivered a vote of thanks to the society for sponsorship of the Life Drawing workshop run by Dean Melville in December and the Printmaking Workshop at Highland Print Studios in February. Both girls have accepted unconditional offers from Gray’s School of Art, RGU in Aberdeen to study Fashion and Textiles and feel that this experience outside school helped them secure their places. Eleanor has deferred her entry to participate in a Project Trust adventure in Ghana first.

18/7/14

American Impressionism Exhibition

NADFAS have also sponsored (by funding transport costs) 8 senior students to attend a preview talk about this show which opens on 19^th July in Edinburgh and the new Picasso acquisition in The National Gallery of Modern Art. Worth a visit if you’re in the capital this summer.

We would like to thank HDFAS for their continued support.

Further recognition in Textiles Discipline

The Scottish Textiles Skills Partnership has decided to use Lucia D’s work from S3 on the front cover of their research document into linking Education with the Textile Industry. Lucia was delighted by this!

She had been working on a textiles based piece which used the rich and diverse textural surfaces of the Scottish shoreline as inspiration. Initially, Lucia made detailed drawn studies using mixed media. The focus for Lucia was to then interpret her drawings of the rich textural surfaces of the shoreline in fibre. Lucia used all kinds of techniques to create her piece including bonding, applique, embroidery and embellishment with beads and found items.  This work is part of our new S3 course – we also cover Ceramics, Printmaking and Art as Voice an Expressive Art project. Students are enjoying building these skills essential to progress to the new qualifications at National and Higher level.

Lucia D

ADVANCED HIGHER SUCCESS

Taking textiles into the Expressive Arts has also worked well for Kirsty M. Kirsty’s folio so impressed SQA assessors that it has been selected as part of an event showcasing outstanding Advanced Higher work in the Tramway Visual Art’s Studio in November. This venue has been described as a “hub of creative energy” in Glasgow…..a real privilege! Well done Kirsty.

Kirsty M

 

NATIONAL AWARD – design a Maggie Centre

Winner: Gerry R

Upon receipt of the Maggie’s Architecture competition brief, several students at Culloden Academy were keen to take part in what is the perfect opportunity to move as close to a practising architect’s experience as possible. This is a hugely beneficial project for school students to undertake as it really challenges them to achieve excellence.  Led by Mr Airey, the students visited the Maggie’s centre in Inverness to undertake research and explore the building. Mr Airey was keen to conduct the project in as professional a way as possible and meeting the client in order to further explore the brief was central to giving the students a genuine experience of professional life. Gerry shone from early on and we knew that she had something special. With the guidance of Mr Airey, Maggie’s Centre, Inverness and with her own high level of commitment and natural ability, Gerry has achieved this wonderful success. We are all immensely proud.

Gerry with her winning Design

Here is a video of Gerry being interviewed about her winning submission:

Leading Architect Richard Murphy and Scottish journalist and television presenter Kirsty Wark selected the winning design. Gerry wins a week work experience with Richard Murphy Architects. Gerry receives her award at the Lighthouse in Glasgow where her work will be on shown along with other shortlisted entries. The department would like to thank our local Maggie Centre for enabling visits and dialogue as the students’ projects developed.

Learning in the Outdoors

Looking to nature for inspiration – certificate classes start research drawing for their expressive unit work.

 

S1 Totems

3-D construction resulted in a great group piece. New Qualifications now require that students look to the Art & Design of non-western cultures and look historically before 1750………so we start early!

“Be Creative” Our new doors….see if you can spot your bit!!

24/6/14 Gray’s School of Art, RGU

A good day was had by all on our annual Degree Show adventure. This year 44 students visited Gray’s:

“The art there was fantastic – especially the sculptures” “….it has given me inspiration for my own design and expressive work”  “Absolutely fabulous! I want to go now, if possible…….most of my time was spent in the Product Design and Architecture rooms” “My favourite parts were the Communication Design and Textiles” “ The Architecture was awesome” “Fashion and Digital Media was inspiring” “Very interesting to see what we might do in the future”

18/6/14 Further links with community Groups:

IOTA organised a recent event at Velocity Cafe in the city centre. the event invited many people and groups involved int he many different forms creative arts in Inverness. The event was in order to form links and discuss the encouragement and development of the creative arts in Inverness. Discussion was focused around the creation of a communicative and nurturing hub in Inverness such as exists in several other Scottish cities and towns. Guest speakers including David Cook of WASPS were invited. WASPS is an organisation which has affordable studio space and showing space throughout Scotland for artists – and none as yet in Inverness. Many would like to see more affordable artists’ space in Inverness such as WASPS provides.

Robert M holds his own discussing the need for a “creative hub” in Inverness – see Inverness Old Town Arts on web for more detail.

 

……and finally our end of year show! 1/7/14

Advanced Higher students

Robert M with former pupils and Sandra Dingwall retired Art teacher from Culloden Academy blethering!

A busy and very productive year….have a great summer, be inspired visit some galleries or get in touch with your creative side by drawing, painting, making, look at our BLOG…………..and we look forward to what next year brings!