Full Time Courses

Pat Taylor, Michael Brennand-Wood, Heather Belcher and Carole Waller: Four of the country’s leading textile practitioners/tutors headline the new Tapestry and Textile Art programme at West Dean.

Integrating technique, visual research design and contextual studies, at West Dean College you will develop advanced skills in making as you study historical and contemporary work. A variety of programmes are available:

• 1 calendar year MA Visual Arts awarded by the University of Sussex
• 1 academic year Postgraduate Diploma awarded by the University of Sussex
• 1 academic year Graduate Diploma awarded by the University of Sussex
• 1 academic year Professional Development Diploma awarded by West Dean College
• Six-week Tapestry and Textile Art Study programme

awarded by the University of Sussex

The first six weeks of the autumn term will introduce you to four key textile media taught by leading practitioners in these fields. The Materials and Techniques unit will form the basis for exploration of the creative possibilities of textiles and tracks a way forward for innovative individual work. Throughout the remainder of the year, a combination of taught units in contextual studies, drawing and professional practice will be offered alongside technical instruction and the time and space for imaginative individual work.

awarded by West Dean College

Create your own programme with our flexible professional development diploma. This West Dean award gives you the opportunity to focus on a personal project guided by experienced tutors in a supportive and well-equipped environment.

awarded by the University of Sussex

Extend your Postgraduate Diploma through additional taught units and an individual project to the MA in Visual Arts. Work for the MA in Visual Arts continues directly on from the postgraduate diploma.

awarded by the Univesity of Sussex

The Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts is an University of Sussex interdisciplinary one year programme which provides a route into postgraduate study. You can choose to specialise in Painting and Drawing, Sculpture or Tapestry and Textile Art.

The first six weeks of the autumn term as outlined under Postgraduate Diploma can be studied as a non-qualification study programme.

The introduction to tapestry weaving through practical workshops and related contextual study is taught by Pat Taylor.

Pat Taylor exhibits internationally and recently showed new work at Collect 2008, V&A, London. Her work hangs in institutions such as the Palace of Westminster and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and Chicago University in the USA. Pat joined West Dean College in 1988 and has been a visiting lecturer at The Royal College of Art, an external examiner at the University of Middlesex and a course advisor at Winchester College of Art. As well as teaching at West Dean, Pat is the Director of the West Dean Professional Tapestry Studio which accepts both public and private commissions and she is a member of the Index of Selected Makers with the British Crafts Council. In 2006 she joined the staff on the MA Visual Arts programme at West Dean.

Paper stencils, monoprinting, photo stencils and print on fabric will be covered in this introductory unit taught by Carole Waller.

Carole Waller is an internationally renowned textile artist. She makes painted clothes, and paintings on veils of cloth which become installations in three- dimensional space. Carole's work is concerned with sense of place and our relationship with our surroundings and context. She works with a variety of media and has been exhibiting her painted clothing along with the paintings and installations in galleries internationally for the past fifteen years.

Using a variety of materials – threads, cords, sticks, wire – you will develop the essential components for the exploration of stitch, depth, translucency, illusion and structure, taught by Michael Brennand-Wood.

Michael Brennand-Wood, visual artist, curator, lecturer, arts consultant, is internationally regarded as one of the most innovative and inspiring artists working in textiles. Examples of Michael’s work can be seen in major public, corporate and private collections worldwide including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. He won The Creative Concept Award in 1987 and The Fine Art Award in 1989 at the International Textile Competition in Kyoto, followed by the first RSA Art for Architecture Award 1990.

The use of felt in contemporary contexts provides the basis for work in this introductory unit. Making solid balls, tubes and seamless structures will be all be taught by Heather Belcher.

Heather Belcher studied textiles at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She is a member of the Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery in London and a member of the 62 Group of textile artists. She shows her work regularly throughout the UK and internationally. She is on the Crafts Council of Great Britain Selected Index of Makers and has work in the Crafts Council Collection.