Seevic

Seevic Art and Design student Emmie Hubbard has been working with professional artist Damien Robinson as part of a project called ‘Artists of the Future’, which gives young adults who wish to pursue a career as an artist an opportunity to find out more about working in the industry. Damien has been mentoring Emmie as part of this project, and helping her to create a piece of artwork, to display at the Olympic ‘Journey to the Podium’ exhibition.

'Journey to the Podium' is a collaborative project between artists and top tier Essex based athletes aiming to encapsulate the essence of an athlete in training, in the lead up to the London 2012 Games. Damien has been able to mentor Emmie through this project alongside collaborating with Disability Sailor Hannah Stodel and creating her own piece of art for the ‘Journey to the Podium’ exhibition.

Emmie, 18, from Thundersley, said: “Working with the sound artist Damien Robinson was a great experience with her supporting me fully with any designs or with any problems I had. She gave me the chance to explore any art medium I would like with her cheering me on to push my boundaries and try something new.”

Damien, who specialises in collaborative projects involving new media, was able to show Emmie how her work translates recordings into tactile soundscapes. She said: “The mentoring aims to give young artists insights into professional working life; I have been impressed with Emmie's dedicated approach and hard work, which has lead to such a successful outcome. Although I was able to provide a sounding board through our discussions and work together, the final work developed from her own creative concepts and it has been great to see her develop that idea from a small sketch to a 1.5 metre painting.”

Emmie comments that: “My piece shows the journey and movement of a gymnast. Given the title ‘Journey to the Podium’ and the stimuli ‘Olympics’, I was inspired to look at the movement or journey of an athlete. I focused on gymnasts, as the body movements and shapes created during the sporting event are interesting and beautiful, with unusual forms made with the body through various curves, bends and stretches.”

The work is currently being displayed at the Gibberd Gallery in Harlow alongside professional and other students’ artwork. It will also be touring civic sites around Essex, including Hadleigh Fire Station, to celebrate the build up to the Olympic Games in 2012.

Emmie is a second year BTEC Extended Diploma Art and Design student and Seevic are proud that one of our talented students is able to display her artwork to such a wide audience and receive such a positive response. Emmie says: “Seevic College have been very supportive throughout this project, helping me with my designs, supplying equipment and allowing me to have the working space needed for this big painting.”

Find out more about Seevic's BTEC Extended Diploma Art and Design course by visiting Seevic's Art and Design course page.

To find out more about Damien Robinson and the work that she does, please visit her website.

To find out more about 'Journey to the Podium' please visit the Essex Legacy website.