The boys....

So, you have kind of met me, Deborah, and you will, when I can get a shot, meet Liz (the very lovely annoyingly slim one). We are collectively textiles - however we live in the art block, with the art teachers, I found today that both Mark and Ivan (Mr Bicknell) not only paint and sculpt, but make very sweet music together.....

Well, in theory anyway - lucky you couldn't hear it!

Another guest blogger...

Remember Ruth from before? Well, she was just pipped at the post by Jess as my first guest blogger, but here's her take on the clothes show.....

On Friday 25th June, both Art and Textile students made their way up to Earls Court in London to visit the annual London Clothes show.When we first got there, we had just under an hour to have a look round the different stalls before we made our way in to the fashion show. The show started off with prizes being given for the best beauty products, and this was followed by a performance from boy band, The Wanted. After this the catwalk began, a collection of weird and wonderful clothes mixed with music and amazing dance routines. As it came to an end everyone was left buzzing about how good the experience had been. In the afternoon, we had several hours to go shopping and managed to pick up some bargains as a lot of the clothes, accessories and make-up were even cheaper than on the high street. Overall, everyone enjoyed the day and I personally found the whole experience inspirational to further my studies in textiles.

Away from the garden and back to work.....

Sarah is still sunning herself somewhere in Greece so it is up to me to dismantle her show - me and a drill don't really go, but I've done it and it's down, sad really to see all the work go, but watch this space as a mini A level show goes up soon and you'll be able to see what sort of things they can magic up!

Bye Sarah....

So what do I do when I'm not working hard at Alton College?

Gardening - yep 'fraid so - must be getting old or something, I wish it would rain a bit though...

Praise for The life of a textiles teacher...

O.K. so it's from Sam - whose amazing work you can see on previous posts, but good for the ego none the less! Check out his blog www.samtowner.blogspot.com - in fact you should follow it religiously as this boy will go far! What are we like huh?!

THURSDAY, 24 JUNE 2010

The Life of a Textiles teacher

Ever wondered what it must be like to have to put up with all those students squeezing the life out of you on a daily basis? Now you can read all the gossip that is passed around the staff room... from teenage pregnancies to what students they really despise... You can gain access to it all by following the link below...

Only joking!

Our wonderful textile teacher, Gayle, has put together a blog for anyone who takes an interest in textiles/fashion/art and design in general, and enter Gayle's world as a teacher/lecturer/practitioner. You have to turn yourself into a sponge now, because everything this lady says is valuable.

It's been such a privilege to have Gayle as a teacher for the last year. I really have learnt so much beyond what the world of education is expected to teach you, and no doubt, you will learn a lot too just by regularly checking her page. 

He is absolutely right though!

First guest blogger - hooray!

Jess is a first year at Alton studying the BTEC National Diploma - this is what she had to say about the clothes show.....

The Clothes Show Hype

On Friday June 25^th a sea of females flooded Earls Court to see topless, 6 packed models and rinse their bank accounts on the latest summer fashions. With most stalls selling dresses and skirts with floral patterns and lace edging, there was little variety although I thought it summed up this season well. The theme of the main show was effective as it explored all fashion capitals and combined culture with couture, including reflective dance. An enjoyable day overall and I’m sure the highlight for most was ‘Max’ the models body with high pitched shrieking every time he strutted down the runway.

And here she is, avoiding having her photo taken, unlike Ivan (Mr Bicknell) her tutor!

The clothes show - better than expected!

The live show.... Mental note to get the students to watch this on you tube before next year's show - maybe they can adopt some of the same moves.... No pressure guys!

An excited Ruth - who is actually going to be my fist guest blogger....

.

Deborah NOT panicking that we have lost someone already!

Yesterday Deborah and I took a bunch of girls to the clothes show in London - not an event I can ever find myself getting terribly excited about - you know, the usual stuff, "oh my god why are all the clothes so small?" "why do I have to get old?" "How come Caryn Franklin still looks so good when I don't?!", but it really wasn't so bad, the live show was the best I've ever seen it, it wasn't super packed and I even picked up a bargain from Tatty Divine! The girls loved it and seemed to have parted with quite a bit of cash, so maybe I could brave the Birmingham one again.....

The textile's department - not such a tidy one.....

Now that all the exams are over I have no excuse any more to avoid tackling the disaster that is my desk....I will let you see the transformation when it happens, it may be sometime......

Although just to prove that I am not the only messy one in the department check out Liz and Deborah's desks - no pressure to tidy them up now girls!

Even more from our show.....

The lovely Steph Li - sister to Geri - just as lovely!

Vanessa - how I will miss those clothes....

So, it wasn't just a textiles and fashion show of course, we also have some very fine painters, sculptors, illustrators and graphic designers - here are a few from fine art.... so to start, Amy Tapuska

I had to include this page from Sam's sketchbook - we are big on sketchbooks here at Alton, and encourage students to use them as a means of documenting ideas, working things out and evaluating what they do all the time - they should be guide books to their projects if you like - nicely presented for sure, but not just replicas of coffee table books....

I had to return to Aston's work because it is so fresh and I think she may well be one to watch......

Rachel Park - restoration.

Hanna Reilly - BEDLAM! But thankfully she and her show are fab!

So it is actually over now, the show is pretty much down, all very sad, but here are a few more pictures of this year's textile work and a little bit of the fine art...

More from the 2010 Alton College BTEC and Foundation show......

There will be more to come, when my camera is charged (Sorry guys, don't take it personally if some of you are missing)! But for now, here they all are, and where it all started!

And then there was Sam - we will all miss him....

Izzy C - Her show was deadly!

Izzy M - She'd make a packet at the festivals this year....

Rosi - our fine feathered friend!

Nat - listen time passes.

Emily - all this knitting practice should come in handy when she needs something warm to wear on the farm!

Geri - a bit of a boudoir babe?

Georgie - giving women a voice and a lot of presence.....

Charlotte - super cute show!

Aston, still far too tanned from Cuba - is also going to be going to uni close by, which I am also really pleased about, so hopefully she will guest blog every so often too!

Arati Subba - A VERY clever girl, and I am very glad that she is staying close by so that I can really keep up with her progress!

So, continuing on from yesterday in my bid to show you what Alton College has to offer in the way of fashion and textiles, I shall continue to show you around our studio show.....