Royal College of Art: Work in Progress Exhibition

Visiting the Royal College of Art's School of Material open day with a fellow student was a very enjoyable experience. I am interested in applying to the RCA for my masters degree in the near future after visiting lecturer Fiona Curran recently presented the possibilities of studying at the RCA in our weekly meeting. The Work in Progress exhibition featured work from a combination of faculties: textiles, ceramics, glass, fashion. It was enjoyable to see how the different faculties were able to fit together.

"Without the formality of the Graduate Show or the pressure to conform to the protocol of the catwalk, the Work-in-Progress Show offers a freedom to experiment with modes of display that challenge convention"

It was interesting to see the work of the textiles faculty, especially with the standards ultimately the next stage of education. I was attracted to the presentation of the work, a lot of the students opting for large scale mood boards pinned to the walls: allowing spectators to engage with the thought processes of the units. Being such a small course, I realised quite quickly that the mixed media textile world featured a lot of embroidery work, using similar machinery to those that I have been using over the duration of my own course. This really excited me as I could imagine myself fitting well into the course.

RCA Work in Progress Open Day Exhibition: own photography http://www.rca.ac.uk/

The glass piece (above left photograph) was my favourite piece in the exhibition. The scale of the piece, minuscule, using similar patterns to those that I have been creating in my drawings and that I am trying to replicate through my own glasswork. The technique used by this student I think, was lamp-working; I am going to ask in my glass tutorial next week to see whether I am able to produce these patterns in my own samples.