Life Drawing
Life drawing is an amazing way to learn how to draw, because when it’s wrong even the students can see it! However the lesson is not just about making a correct anatomical drawing, it must work as a piece; (it might end up illustrating the tension in the body, or be a caricature) it is extremely important that the students learn to be selective with their mark- making, and see it through to the end. They must see their life drawing not as exercises, but as completed works in their own right. In order not to become predictable and boring, the size of paper, the materials, the length of the poses, the models, the perspective etc. are different every week, this way students are never able to create a comfort zone and will hopefully have more opportunities to have a breakthrough. Students must also be encouraged to learn to analyze paintings using the correct terminology. Some of the lessons will begin by looking at a particular painting/artist who is relevant to that lesson’s perspective. All lessons will end with a 5 min look/talk at everyone’s work, so that we can learn from each other’s style, and also become less shy about our work.



Fashion & Textiles
Fashion & Textiles offers the students the chance to learn and master various techniques such as printing, painting, weaving, felting and sewing textiles. How to create garments, patterns and installations from scratch using multiple methods and materials. Learning about designers, illustrators and artists that have been innovative and cutting edge to the history of fashion and how trends have been ‘manipulating’ our lifestyle and the world we live in. Students create individual briefs based on their given projects so they can focus and explore their chosen ideas and really present a very interesting and imaginative outcome.



Creative Writing
It is very important for young artists to get into the habit of reading up on their contemporaries and understanding how people are affected by the world around them. Most students enrolling in an art course are not expecting to write much!!! Like most diploma courses all students do write an essay eventually. This however is not as daunting as it may seem because students are eased into it, starting with small lectures to illustrate the importance of contextualizing a work of art and then presenting a variety of works from a particular angle. They are also taught to analyze and evaluate their own and others’ work, and that by putting it down in words we become more aware of why an image ‘works’ and ultimately understand the ‘recipe’ for creating challenging art.



Glass
Students will be informed about the processes relating to stained and painted glass: how to cut coloured glass and translate their idea whether traditional or modern into stained glass. This could either be fused together in a kiln, or leaded together as traditional architectural stained glass so often is. Students will be taught the technique of glass painting and silver staining. Referring to the art and craft of eras such as the medieval and Renaissance eras up to the modern day, students will become aware of how they could translate their idea(s) in a personal way and taught how to fix their pieces of glass together with lead, solder and putty cement so that the panel can be viewed as a whole.

Ceramics
Soft clay can be pinched, coiled, slabbed, worked within a mould, folded, modelled, wrapped…. pushed to its limits. It can be transformed into unending possibilities from delicate jewelry, functional domestic ware through to sculptural forms and architectural features. Throughout the Art and Design Foundation Diploma course students will have the opportunity to discover clay through hands on experimentation. They will be taught making techniques, surface decoration, glaze application and methods of firing. They will develop skills which will enable them to realize their ideas in clay or in combination with other materials such as metal and glass. Their practice will be informed by research, museum and gallery visits.

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Photography 
One of the main aims of the photography class, is to teach the students to look through the lens. Help them think before taking a picture, compose, frame, select, realise that a photograph is not just a “click”. Make them appreciate the medium and its role in art history, beyond any preconceptions they might have. During classes basic photographic techniques will be introduced to the students so that they can familiarise themselves with the notion of analogue and digital photography and the photograph as an object. In addition to the above basic studio photography will be taught in order to produce great quality photographs of the their artwork for their portfolios. 

 

 

Film & Animation

The aim of this class is to familiarise our students with the notion of moving image as a means of expression. The students learn the basic steps of filmmaking: writing a scenario, making a storyboard, organising a production and editing using the professional software Final Cut Pro. They are also introduced to 2D and 3D basic animation techniques, stop-motion and rotoscoping. Finally students are encouraged to research and experiment with less conventional uses of the moving image, such as video art and video installation.

 

Portfolio Preparation
At Doukas Art School we recognize the importance of a good portfolio as one of the most vital steps towards admission to a University. As a portfolio tutor I always emphasize to my students that their portfolio is the image of their creativity and talent for the universities and must not be taken lightly or as something to do at the very last-minute. A portfolio is an on-going creative record that evolves, combining all other projects, forming a final product that is actually the visual representation of all the student’s work and effort.  We start at week 1 by teaching our students the basic steps of creating a portfolio and emphasizing that the admission requirements differ between Universities or even Courses. It is essential for students to understand that by producing the right volume of work they increase their portfolios’ flexibility and strengthen their statement, increasing their chances for successful entry to the University of their choice. Universities usually require a portfolio of 15 to 25 pages, in digital form, which either has to be sent by email or uploaded on the web. Students, through many hours of proper guidance and hard work, learn how to convert work from their workbooks into various digital formats by the use of appropriate software. Through the portfolio preparation sessions, students learn how to select, edit, compile and present their work in a professional manner. During the one-to-one tutorial sessions students are assessed on their progress and receive feedback and advice for their on-going projects.

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Graphic Design & Illustration

Graphic Design combines text and image to create a concept. The course is taught by merging each student’s artistic flair and individual style with technology to create digital art & graphics their purpose of which is to communicate certain messages to the spectators. Students learn basic typography & layout principals, how to vectorize images, how to manipulate photographs, illustrate in digital form as well as how to enrich their ideas and transform hand drawn designs using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign programs. Through course projects and specialist techniques sessions, students are opened up to the possibilities the graphic world brings to their work.

 

Creative Computing

The most effective way to take computing a step further is through creative minds which think out of the box and are able to explore, exploit and reinvent the usage of computing. And, this is what we are achieving with our new Creative Computing Department at the Doukas BTEC Foundation in Art & Design. There are several sectors in our Creative Computing Department, most of them entwined: We explore the use of social media and its integral part in today’s communication, while our students learn the vital role of exhibiting themselves online in the most effective method which best suits their style of work. We explore net.art which today is correctly considered a sector of Public Art. Through net.art our students learn to consider their online platform as a studio and learn to create for it or within it. We also explore the ultimate creative use of the iPad which is currently one of the best computing tools for the roaming and mobile artist. We use iPads and their never ending creative apps in the most unconventional ways, making them valuable tools, not the beginning and the end of our creative journey 



Metal
Students will be introduced to metallurgy and to the basic metal techniques focusing on copper and its alloys. Ancient and modern techniques will be taught and artists and designers who have inspired and made a difference in the Jewelry and metal sector will be presented and analyzed accordingly.

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Architecture & 3D Design
We all experience architecture without thinking about it. The space that surrounds us, our homes, our schools, the built environment, even our memories are linked in one way or another to architectural experiences. When designing a building the architect has an important goal, to cater to the needs and wants of the inhabitant, and to create a space that is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Through this course you will begin to comprehend the essence of space, form, function, and materiality. As well as how our experience of space is determined by architecture and design.



Historical and Contextual Studies
The Historical and Contextual Studies Lectures take place at the beginning of each new project, providing the students with a research  grounding  and a source of inspiration to launch their projects from. I also organize the Visiting Lecturers talks which take place monthly, as well as the series of Skype talks we organize with creatives from abroad.

 

Public Art

Through the Public Art lesson our students are introduced to the concept of creating work destined for the Public domain, whether that be through self-initiated projects or commissions. They are challenged to imagine artwork created for specific locations, which study incorporates the practice of research in to history, activity and life of location, natural elements and impacts on wear and tear, as well as health and safety. Most importantly they learn to think in a site-specific manner, whereby which, they start to view a more complicated set to aesthetics and possible sources of inspiration and restrictions than that of a gallery space. In addition to this they are also taught to create Public Art proposals and to learn to set in visuals and presentations their planned ideas, as well as to learn to budget and research costings. Last, they are given the opportunity to work in teams which exercises their ability to communicate and collaborate with other creatives, as well as to navigate and respect theirs and others ideas. On the whole, students leave with a fantastic grounding in the field of Public Art, which intricacies will prove beneficial to any future creative studies. 

 

Mixed Media Lab
Mixed Media Labs form brainstorm and experimentation workshops in which students are offered the opportunity to link and combine their fields of study within the course. Mixing media is the key element in these sessions, whereby which students experiment with projection, lighting, mixing traditional media with digital media, shadow sculpture and large scale installations, all with unconventional media combinations. The aim of the labs is to emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary practice both on a theoretical and on a practical level. Textiles are projected on to, while toy assemblies form shadow sculptures and projections of animations play with on the spot life drawing forming performance pieces... The possibilities and combinations are endless just like their imagination.