Workshops at Kingston School of Art

In my opinion, one of the best things about coming to art school is the sheer amount of facilities you suddenly have at your disposal. It was a big shock for me to come from a sixth form which only had a tiny storeroom kiln to a university which had its own welding bay, but I think I’ve made good use of the KSA workshops so far. Here’s a quick run-down of some of my favourites - and if you’re interested in learning about all the other workshops as well, just click here for some extra info.

3D Workshop
The 3D Workshop is one of the biggest at KSA, and includes a ceramics studio (with a 5ft kiln room), metal working area, plaster room, welding bay, woodworking mill and its own forge and foundry. However, I’ve always found that the best thing about this workshop is the technicians: each area has its own technician (or multiple technicians!) who can give you top tips and guide you through the process of creating whatever wild idea you might have.

The 3D Workshop also allows students to purchase hand-made canvas strainer frames at a heavily subsidised rate – so even if you’re not much of a sculptor yourself, you might find yourself in the 3D Workshop more than you’d expect!

Printmaking Studios
As a Fine Art student, the printmaking facilities are probably the ones I use the most. Whether it’s cyanotype printing, screen-printing or book-binding, the printmaking workshop has tons of resources and is always open to experimenting with new combinations of printmaking techniques.

Personally, I love the A2 risograph printer – it wasn’t a technique I ever got the chance to try out when I was at sixth form, and when I came to Kingston, I quickly appreciated how it could make a large volume of bold, colourful prints in an incredibly short period of time. If you’re a KSA student who hasn’t tried it out yet, I’d definitely recommend booking a quick thirty-minute induction!

Digital Media Workshop
The Digital Media Workshop – or the DMW, as it's commonly known by Kingston students – can sometimes feel like a bit of an overlooked workshop, but it’s also one of the ones I find myself using the most. With over 128 iMac workstations and two wide format poster printers, the DMW is a great place to work on any video editing or design projects, and it’s chilled atmosphere usually helps keep me focused on whatever task I have at hand.

The technicians are also incredibly knowledgeable about computers/printing in general, which is fantastic because I always seem to mess something up! :biggrin: