So maybe your still in school or perhaps thinking about changing career. I often thought before doing a foundation year, is there any point?
Will this be beneficial...?
My conclusion from the experience is yes in the most part it is, I feel that It provides you with the opportunity to develop as an artist and discover practices you otherwise might not have tried. Such as collage or painting, I had previously stuck to my favorite medium pencil and barely ever explored outside it. Having done an Art Foundation Course I feel more prepared when approaching a project to think about what is the right medium for the project and how it best communicates the idea rather than sticking in the "safe zone". It gives you a good solid period of doing art every single day and there is nothing like practice to improve and hone ones skills.
Being surrounded by other creative individuals.
Surely this is an obvious point to make, however by being surrounded by said individuals and being in a close proximity to them it makes you think about how you could approach a project. For instance you might be sitting near someone using foam, and they create a sculpture from it, you are then able to discern some of their process and apply it your own work. If you choose a larger course then you will be able to draw on that knowledge from across different specialisms.
Yes But I know what I want to do!
I thought I did, I have for a long time now gone, I want to create set and props and I dislike making costumes and sewing in general. Well if there is one thing that this course has taught me yes you should try costuming too. This is what I ended up doing for my final project. Prior to the course I thought I never wanted to go into costumery, that is now a possible avenue for me. Obviously this wont happen with everyone. In other cases their were a lot of people on my course who didn't know what they wanted to do with their art skills. Now many of them are going on high profile universities in the country.
Foundation is of course not the right path for everyone however it is valued by future employees and universities, and gives you a good basis and skill set across different mediums. I think as a whole I am now better prepared to tackle the future and am able to appreciate and understand different approaches to art which I previously would have skimmed over. Hope this helps anyone who is considering that possibility!