Fine Art at Crawford School of art!!!

hey hey!

Hey hey!!
i'm thinking about doing fine art at crawford school of art and i'm just wondering what its like...any good?? i would be gratefull with any info and advice from anypne who is doing or has done this course.

Cheers:P

calviesmalvie

what would you like to know?

its been a year or so since i have been in there as a student but ask me questions and id be more than happy to answer then,

as i said above its kind of a home away from home where everyone gets to know one another really nice that way!!

hey hey!

well i'm doing a portfolio course at the moment and plan on doing a degree in fine art in painting. i hear crawford is the best for painting, do u agree?:p i might give ncad and limerick a try aswell but just confussed whether crawford should be my number one choice!! whats the tutors like? is it really intense?(intense is good in my opinion lol, the more intense the better!:cool:) Cork is 8 hours from where i'm from so its nice that u say its a home away from home.... thats reassuring:)

iliketeaandcake

I'm in my last year in crawford. Im a painter but do a lot of 3d stuff and printmaking too. The good thing about Crawford is you don't have to restrict yourself to any one medium, the more open minded you are and willing to try new things the more you will thrive in the college. It really is like one big family though, its so small and everyone knows each other. The tutors are good, some better than others, but if you're into painting and work hard they'll pay you more attention and really help you. I have friends in ncad and lsad, from the sound of things ccad is a lot more chilled out and a less pressurised environment. The only bad thing is the lack of studio space at the moment, especially with increase in intake, and the slashing of tutors. some classes have been cancelled, library hours cut, and workshops closed.. sad state of affairs but its like that everywhere i guess.
Anyway... apart from all that it really is a great place, right in the city centre so at the heart of everything going on in the city.

Sophisticated6y

Thank you! I'm all googled out looking for info on Crawford, specifically the Fine Art course. I was just about to give up searching on Boards till I found this post! There's not much written about the place from a student's point of view. All i've seen is one facebook group and this post. Everything else i've seen just mentions Crawford in passing while discussing the main CIT building. Bit releved seeing the positive feedback here about the college, I don't know any of the current students as I live quite far from Cork. So I don't have anyone to question about the place!

iliketeaandcake

best thing to do is visit the college itself. Apart from the open day, (in oct/nov possibly??) there is the degree show exhibition opening on the 18th of june which runs for a week, open every day 10-6. Students will be invigilating the exhibition and would answer any q's you would have about the college. Its an excellent opportunity to see the students work and the building. There is also the portfolio preparation course during the summer in crawford. As far as I know there are about three crawford facebook pages, one is for graduates and nobody posts anything on it, another is for a crawford society (art in the making) and the other one is the official site and has a lot of posts and links to some v. good student blogs, info on upcoming events etc. If you post on that site ppl will be quick to get back to you, even the principal of the college is on it! I will post a link to that when I get a chance!

Shellygoose

If you do get a place in Crawford I would highly recommend purchasing some extremely WARM jumpers cos the place is freezing during winter!!!!:)

iliketeaandcake

and some very skimpy clothing for summer cos the heating is on full blast for some retarded reason!

Deliverance

Not sure if you have seen this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055927889

Third floor of the tax office (next to FAS). Well worth a visit to see what kind of work that students have produced.

Kold

I second the skimpy clothing if you are female...

If you want to come to Crawford, just be aware of how much the course focuses on concept. The skills you pick up will be down to you and nobody is going to teach you how to paint or draw. There are workshops in the first 2 years which you should avail of as much as you can. Facility wise the place is ok, we've a very good print room with technicians, foundry, metalwork, ceramics and glass work area.

The course is undergoing some major overhaul because of trouble adapting to new standards set by CIT, personally I think it's taken a turn for the worse but I suppose they should find the right balance soon.

The really great thing about the college though is the students. You will meet friends for life here. I've noticed that people care less about competing and more about aiding eachother's practices and it's always been the way that students group together to get what's best for them.

Bores.ie

The Crawford School of Art and Design houses some of the finest pieces in this country. Take a look at this exceptional example from a talanted, and indeed dedicated, CIT student:

samanthac

hi i just had an interview in the college Tuesday past, it went really well and i had a good look around the college and i really liked it, my question is about the tutors, are they any good? and is the workload intense? (intense is good in my opinion) i am interested in sculpture and photography mainly. also, in the first year do you do all subjects or do you choose what you specialize in? i see ceramics is on the agenda and i really hate ceramics, am hoping i wont have to endure a full year of it.

thequarefellow

My daughter has applied to study fine art at Crawford College of Art and Design in Cork. She has a particular interest in printmaking and photography. Are there any past or current pupils out there who can vouch for the quality of teaching at this college? Their website has very little, if any, information on the staff. This, I fear, does not bode well for a third level institution. My daughter is also considering going abroad and I can find much better information on teaching staff at for example Slade, London or Edinburgh College of Art

thequarefellow

Hi. Did you go to Crawford in the end? Any thoughts on the quality of the course/staff/facilities there? Many thanks. My daughter is considering this college as an option in September.

thequarefellow

Hi. Any updated information regarding this topic? i.e. quality of teaching/staff/facilities at Crawford Art College? My daughter is considering this September. Many thanks

mesagiulia3

Kold wrote: »

I second the skimpy clothing if you are female...

If you want to come to Crawford, just be aware of how much the course focuses on concept. The skills you pick up will be down to you and nobody is going to teach you how to paint or draw. There are workshops in the first 2 years which you should avail of as much as you can. Facility wise the place is ok, we've a very good print room with technicians, foundry, metalwork, ceramics and glass work area.

The course is undergoing some major overhaul because of trouble adapting to new standards set by CIT, personally I think it's taken a turn for the worse but I suppose they should find the right balance soon.

The really great thing about the college though is the students. You will meet friends for life here. I've noticed that people care less about competing and more about aiding eachother's practices and it's always been the way that students group together to get what's best for them.

The skimpy clothing will certainly help with your results if certain male members of staff happen to be marking you. Take said skimpy items off for some 'performance art' and watch your grades go sky high - we girls had it easy:) The college has certainly taken a turn for the worst. Teaching staff (in the main, and excluding the ceramics department) are high on conceptual thinking and low on skills. Even if they are skilled they will not pass on these skills to students. This fact has been explicitly spelled out to students. If you want to know what you might be able to learn there, check out the calibre of the technicians. They are the guys that do all the instruction these days. Better still, avoid fine-art courses altogether. Complete waste of time and money in this society. Be creative by all means but do it through architecture, graphic design, illustration, fashion, textiles etc. I studied at here and got a 1st in my degree but its absolutely worthless. I was young and had great fun but oh to have those four years back to channel into something more useful!