Sophie Sweeney was one for the lucky 1st year students to be awarded the Sunderland Robson Art and Design scholarship. These funds are to help new full time students undertaking courses within the School of Art and Design to unleash their potential. Not only that but to help alleviate any financial worries and to have a positive start to university life.
Sophie, who studies Glass and Ceramics, has a passion for drawing and creating works that tell a narrative. She particular inspired by folklore, the environment, everyday life as well as her own imagination, “I have been drawn to glass blowing and how challenging of a material it can be to work with and one of my favourite techniques is currently drawing images on glass to tell stories on the vessels that I hand blow”, said Sophie.
The funding has hugely supported her glass and ceramic practice this year and has enabled Sophie to buy some high-quality tools and protective equipment for glass blowing and working in the studios. Sophie went on to say, “I have been able to buy a range of ceramic glazes, underglazes, stains, glaze crayons and glaze pencils that have elevated the work I have created and allowed me to experiment with surface designs on my ceramics. With my ceramics, I also bought some glaze recipe books that were especially useful for my assessment work and making specific glazes for my final project”,
“I have used some of the funding to set up my own ceramic workspace at home. I was able to buy a drawing desk (for creating my designs and hand building my ceramic sculptures) and storage for all of my tools and clay. I am very passionate about drawing and illustration, and I was able to invest in some excellent quality paints, pastels, and sketchbooks for a drawing design module in my first semester”.
Sophie was asked what the scholarship meant for her and what it allowed her to achieve, she said, “This scholarship has added so much value to my learning this year, the high-quality materials, equipment, and books have been integral to the works I have been able to create. At home, the ceramic workspace that I was able to set up will help me complete my ceramics for the rest of my degree and has also made me feel more optimistic and confident about my future pursuing ceramics and one day setting up my own business. It was due to this workspace that I was able to create the ceramics for my final project at university that I achieved 85% for, the funding has given me and my work an extra push. I would like to say a massive thank you to the Robson art and design scholarship for supporting me this year and for enriching my learning experience”