Coco Powell The Dartington Stick Chair 1

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Art & Design student selected to exhibit their work at Origins Creatives in London

Pre-Degree student Coco Powell chosen to exhibit her work at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch from 22 to 24 July 2022
<p dir="ltr"> Arts University Plymouth <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/pre-degree">Pre-Degree</a> student Coco Powell, from Torquay, has been selected to exhibit her work at Origins Creatives, taking place at London’s Truman Brewery in July.</p> <p dir="ltr">19-year-old Coco’s submission, titled ‘The Dartington Stick Chair’, caught the attention of UAL Awarding Body’s curator amongst nearly 500 national submissions. The curator said: “The chair is built in honour of Dartington. Its clean lines and structure are heavily influenced by William Lescaze and the Bauhaus style to emphasise an architectural relevance. The chair evidenced a pleasing balance of a contrasting contemporary design with natural materials, ambitiously challenging the ability to retain an organic feel without it looking rustic.”<br /></p>
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<p dir="ltr">The chair’s base was woven with hand dyed cord, and the whole chair was crafted in Dartington using local, sustainable resources from broken branches in the nearby forest. This was made in the centre of the village alongside Stick Gornal, a local legend who taught the initiative building process. Crafted with joints that slot together, the back can lift apart to enable the choice of a chair with a back or a simple stool.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Coco recently completed her <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/pre-degree/ual-level-3-extended-diploma-in-art-design">Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Practice: Art &amp; Design</a> at Arts University Plymouth, a course equivalent to A-Levels that gives students flexible opportunities to develop their individual creative voice and experience a diverse range of pathways, including fine art, painting, drawing, printmaking and 3D design.<br /></p>
"The world needs creativity, now more than ever, and our students are bursting with it!”
Ross Anderson, Director, UAL Awarding Body
Coco Powell The Dartington Stick Chair 4
<p dir="ltr">Bryan Parsons said: “Coco has shown the highest level of dedication and commitment throughout her two years studying with us. She is always on hand to support her fellow students and has played an active role in the course and wider community. Coco has developed her practice by exploring a broad range of disciplines and continually looking to synthesise these into her interests. In recent projects this has meant a focus on architecture, which has prepared her to progress to study the subject at university.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">“Coco has managed to use her research into materials and their properties to translate studies in ceramics to architectural forms as well as furniture design, illustration, photography and a keen eye for interior design. Coco has developed these ideas with a strong focus on sustainability, ethical practice and the promotion of wellbeing. I’m very happy that Coco’s hard work and ingenuity is being celebrated in a national exhibition.”<br /></p>
Coco Powell The Dartington Stick Chair 1
<p dir="ltr">Origins Creatives is organised by UAL Awarding Body and provides art lovers, critics and industry professionals from the creative sector the chance to discover original creative talent from across the UK and celebrate students’ creativity and hard work.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">The free exhibition showcases work from some of the UK’s most talented students in Further Education institutions studying across the UAL subject areas of Art and Design, Fashion Business and Retail, Creative Media, Music Performance and Production and Performing Arts.</p> <p dir="ltr">This year, Origins Creatives will be a physical exhibition at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. The exhibition will open with an invite-only private view on 21 July at 6pm. It will be open to the public from the 22 – 24 July, alongside an online showcase.<br /></p>
Coco Powell The Dartington Stick Chair 2
<p dir="ltr">The exhibition will showcase selected work created by students from Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 across all subject areas. You can expect to see a diverse range of painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, fashion and more. Within the exhibition, a Soundcloud music playlist and showreel of moving images comprised of student work will be played.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Ross Anderson, Director, UAL Awarding Body said: “The UAL Awarding Body Origins Creatives show is my favourite moment of the year, and I’m so pleased that we’re able to return to a physical space this summer. Origins provides our awarding body community with the opportunity to come together and celebrate the wonderful work and amazing achievements of all our students, and recognise the remarkable efforts of the tutors and teachers who have supported them. The world needs creativity, now more than ever, and our students are bursting with it!”<br /></p>