Fleur Fradgely

Fleur Fradgely completed the Foundation Diploma in Art & Design course in 2023.

Plans for next year?

I’m continuing at Manchester School of Art because I’ve come to really love the city and my time at Manchester Met on my foundation course. It made me want to stay and continue on to develop my art practice and learn more on the Illustration with Animation degree!

How has the Foundation Diploma influenced your work?

Foundation really helped improve my skills and techniques with processes that I love and new ones that I have never done or known of before. Utilising a studio space of my own, freedom of materials and varied professional workshops with knowledgeable and super kind and helpful technicians really pushed my art in new ways! As well as really developing my contextual research, that inspires my own work to find more diverse, local or worldwide creatives. In both areas of the art sector that I’ve never looked at to artists closer to what I want to do with my own work. However, an unexpected but really rewarding change that foundation brought was regular and for me often daily written reflections that I did in a journal really focused and evolved my creative practice that I really enjoyed doing, getting my ideas and thoughts on paper to look back at and improve my work in ways I didn’t in the past.

Any advice for new students on the Foundation Diploma?

Explore the city if you’re not from there like me, talk to people! I’ve made some great friends that share similar interest and make such inspiring and cool artwork! Not just in your own pathway but in the others so you can go snoop round and look at the awesome work of your peers! I was pretty shy but booking yourself onto workshops and going to the technicians yourself even if it’s not suited to your pathway is so fun - learning new skills and maybe finding something you come to love!

What techniques or facilities have you used to create your work?

As I mentioned, the workshops and technicians really are the coolest. And in my time on the foundation I mainly used the bookbinding workshop and printmaking workshop as they helped in my projects I did. Especially printmaking, etching, letterpress, bookbinding, and Risograph (My fave). A facility that I really enjoyed only later in my year so I suggest you go as soon as you can, is the library! It had really interesting and cool art and other collections of books, especially the poetry library!

Can you share some highlights from your time at Manchester School of Art?

My tutors have been awesome. The varied and well-equipped workshops and my peers who are very inspiring, even those in the diverse degrees I’m not a part of are amazing. Especially seeing their work in studio X, degree shows and exhibitions that students on themselves that I become exposed to due to the community!

My first tutor Rachel was super friendly and very helpful as all our tutors are! Then Louise and Ben who are my tutors in the Graphics and Illustration pathway where really encouraging and supportive, Louise especially as my tutor till the end of the year was a really insightful source of knowledge into illustration. They both livened up our studios everyday!

As a Scouser it’s amazing to explore a new city and especially such a cool one. My friends I’ve met on the course showing me around the art and music scene from new art galleries to local bands and queer art markets and all the in between and that which I haven’t got to see yet! All which is a whole new set of inspiration to influence my work!