New

Year

New
Yo u
 You will receive fully illustrated
course materials and support
booklets that will guide and equip
you with essential techniques and
methods to help develop your
artistic potential.
Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you
You will be supported and
The OCA website provides you
mentored by one of our tutors
with lively student forums for
who are themselves practising
artistic discussion, portfolios
artists. Contact is typically by
to showcase your body of
Email.
work and additional resources
to assist you in your studies.
Your OCA student card
will give you valuable
discounts on software
and equipment.
 The Open College of the Arts (OCA) is well known for providing high quality
degree level courses. But what is equally important is that many of our
courses provide a unique opportunity for people to find their own path into
the world of the Creative Arts, whether or not they have ambitions to obtain
a qualification.
All our courses are highly practical and will help you develop both technically
and artistically as you explore your chosen subject. Just as important, they
will help you create a personal voice and give you the confidence to express
your creative ideas.
In this booklet you’ll find a brief introduction to a small sample of nearly
50 courses we offer. Whether your interest is in Painting, Photography,
Creative Writing, Composing Music, Drawing, Textiles Design, Sculpture,
Illustration, Printmaking or Art History, the OCA has a course for you. For
more information go to our website: www.oca-uk.com or ring one of our
advisers on 0800 731 2116. We look forward to welcoming you onto one
of our courses very soon.
Gareth Dent
OCA Chief Executive

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you

Did you know that...?
• With the OCA you can study at your own pace
• The OCA does not set any fixed entry qualifications
• You can study from your own home or place of work
anywhere in the world
• You can start your course when it’s convenient for you - there
are no fixed enrolment points
• OCA tutors are practicing artists (or writers, photographers
or composers), as well as experienced educators
• OCA courses are quality assured and externally validated
• There is a small bursary fund which has been set up to help
those with genuine hardship
• The OCA was established by Michael Young, who also
founded the Open University and the Consumers’
Association
• The OCA is an arts education charity, with a Board of
independent Trustees
• The OCA organises occasional practical workshops at
selected venues across the country
OCA tutor James Willis

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you

 Start Drawing
Our philosophy is that (nearly!) anyone can learn to draw. This
course will give you a structured introduction, using a wide range of
media and methods. For example, you will learn about observation,
mark making and tone – and produce a contrasting set of drawings,
including outdoors and the human figure. Whilst this course is aimed
primarily at beginners, many experienced artists and designers find
it an excellent way of improving their drawing skills.

Christine Gregory

Starting to Paint
This course will develop your skills as a painter and
your knowledge of painting. You will learn how
to analyse and select from the visual world and
translate what you see into paintings. The course
also covers the main approaches to painting over
the last hundred years so that you will be able to
see your own work in a broader context. You will
be using acrylics and/or oils and also developing
your drawing skills. The course can be taken by a
complete beginner or by someone with experience
looking for a new approach to their work.
Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you
 Art of Photography
There are millions of photographers in the world, all clamouring to
be seen and heard; but very few of them are able to stand out from
the crowd. To be noticed in photography you need to be creative,
experimental and daring; in short, you need to be an artist. With
this course, you will not only begin to see the world through a
photographer’s eyes, but also via the unquenchable vision of an
artist. You’ll quickly find there’s more to photography than shutter
speeds and F-stops!

People and Place (Photography)

As well as having creative flair, in photography you also need the
confidence to approach people in public and take their photograph
without feeling intrusive. It is a skill that can be learnt; this course
will get you out into the crowds with your camera, capturing what is
by far the photographer’s most intriguing subject - you and me - in
the many vibrant, diverse and exciting habitats in which we live.

Judith Bach
Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you
 Starting to Write
Our creative writing courses are designed to inspire you and make you believe
in yourself as a writer. Starting to Write provides a basis for imaginative
writing and the expression of personal experience. It will help you to
practise writing in various genres, develop critical models, acquire
primary skills in drafting, editing and presentation, and respond to
constructive suggestions and criticism. It is for beginners or those
seeking a fresh approach for their writing.

Poetry
Have you ever wanted to have a more informed appreciation of other
people’s poetry or write better poems yourself? This course will help
you to achieve both! Whilst it is firmly structured, it will leave
you space to be creative as you write poems on a wide range of
subjects, and practise different styles and techniques. You will
also develop a vocabulary for analysing and evaluating poems
through studying the work of other poets.

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you

Introduction to Printmaking
This course has been specially designed to enable you
to explore printmaking techniques at home without
the requirement to buy complicated and expensive
equipment. For more details on what you’ll need, please
visit our website. You will carry out a series of projects
and experiments (eg monoprinting, relief printing,
collage prints), turning your ideas into printed images.
The course also covers the history of printmaking and
explores the work of other printmakers.

Textiles: A Creative Approach

Our courses in textiles are particularly popular as they
build on creative craft skills which many people already
have – and because textile design can be a way into the
world of art and design for people who don’t think of
themselves as ‘artists’. This is a highly practical course
in which you will learn how to translate drawings
into stitching, practise basic design skills, paint and
print on fabric, and create two and three dimensional
shapes and forms.

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you

 Watercolour
This course explores the many ways in which watercolour can be
used. It introduces the qualities and potential of the medium, covers
basic methods and concepts and helps you to use tone and colour
effectively. You will be encouraged to experiment and to look at a
wide range of source materials. You will also increase your knowledge
of the history of watercolour painting through studying the work of
other watercolour artists.
Heather Withers

Understanding Western Art

This is an excellent introduction to the development of western art,
starting with Ancient Greece and coming right up to the present day.
It is not just a theoretical course: you will be encouraged to respond
to art not only by looking, reflecting and writing, but also be means of
sketches, diagrams or photographs. You will develop confidence and
ability in analysing works of art, understand the cultural and historical
context and learn about accepted theories and practices in art.

Rembrandt, The Painter in his Studio

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you
 Start Composing Music
Many of us who enjoy playing and listening to music have an ambition
to start composing ourselves. This course provides you with the tools
to do just that. Provided you have a basic grasp of music theory you
will learn how to translate your ideas into scores that you and others
can play, covering techniques such as harmony, melodic development,
counterpoint and use of different scales. Whether you come from
a ‘classical’, jazz or folk background, this course will be of equal
interest.

Other courses include:

• Digital Photographic Practice • Lifelines: Autobiographical Writing
• Digital Arts: A Creative Approach • Looking and Seeing (Visual Studies)
• Sculpture • Ilustration (coming soon)

Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you

 “I knew from
the start the
OCA was just
what I needed.
The flexibility
afforded by
OCA courses has
allowed me to set
my own pace and
I have been able
to complete in my
own time.”
Angela Denyer

Irina Butusina Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you
 Open College of the Arts
Michael Young Arts Centre
Redbrook Business Park
Wilthorpe Road
Barnsley S75 1JN
0800 731 2116
www.oca-uk.com

OCA is a company limited by guarantee,

registered in England no.2125674,
a registered charity no.327446 Front and back cover image © Emily Jane Scott, OCA Photography student
Visit www.oca-uk.com to choose the right course for you