Welcome to Sevenoaks School ’ s IB Art Exhibition 2024
Reflections on the Art department
The Art department at Sevenoaks was for me , like many others , an idyll of fun and creative freedom . Away from the structure of study and class , here we congregated , spending hours upon hours learning and playing within its walls . With everything a young creative mind could wish for , there was a sense of freedom , of endless possibility within its labyrinth of walls . Never particularly good at drawing or painting myself , I used to raid the nooks and crannies of hidden cupboards and experiment with whatever materials I could find , creating ambitious and sometimes ridiculous sculptures , through which I developed a keen passion for space and form .
However , art was more of hobby for me at this age and I had never considered pursuing a career in the creative world . While briefly looking into architecture ( an idea I quickly dropped due my perceptions of the sector and apathy to office blocks ) I decided to instead study History at university , a subject that satisfied my fascination with people and society . It was only in my third year of my degree , when exploring future career paths , that I realised my love for the physical manipulation of space and form was unlike anything else I was passionate about . Instead of regretting my earlier decision I started to reinvestigate architecture and realised that , unlike my naive perspective at 16 , it was not just about learning to build buildings . It is instead about learning to creatively problem-solve .
Now studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture I learn how to utilise drawing , animation , sculpture and design to confront real-world issues and dilemmas . It combines my interest in both people and form and is providing me with a plethora of skills that do not necessarily have to be applied to the built environment but could take me wherever in the creative world I wish to go , whether installation , set design or even furniture design . While I took an unconventional way to get where I am now , I do not regret it . I loved studying History and it has provided me with a unique lens and skillset that is invaluable . If anything , this experience has taught me that it ’ s not about choosing a pathway that seems to suit you best , but creating one .
Nell Rudd-Jones ( OS 2019 )