We are pleased to introduce Rick De La Espriella, First Year BA (Hons) Conservation: Stone, Wood & Decorative Surfaces, as the newest recipient of the BASET and City & Guilds of London Art School Endeavour Award.
This award from BASET (The Britain-Australia Society Education Trust) and City & Guilds of London Art School offers financial support to a talented and deserving person with a passion for conservation. The funding is open to an Australian national to study on one the Art School’s three-year undergraduate conservation programmes.
Rick is now a few weeks into his first term at City & Guilds of London Art School. We visited him for a chat in the Conservation studios and asked a few questions about his experience so far.
How is the course going so far?
It’s great! It’s super exciting, it’s the first thing that I’ve ever done where I’m interested in every single aspect of it. There’s not a single subject that I dread or that I don’t like. There are things which are challenging, but the tutors are just so helpful and friendly. It’s not intimidating at all, which is really nice. I’m really enjoying it – I’m just getting adjusted to the weather!
How did you find out about the course?
In the past, I have worked in instrument making and as an electrical technician in Germany and Australia, so I’ve worked with my hands quite a lot. I spoke to an English bookmaker who lives in Germany, and he told me about the Conservation courses in England. I started looking into it, and I found this specific one. It really interested me, as it has small classes and is very hands-on. It was important to me to not get lost in book work and theory, and to still be really tangibly connected to the work that I was doing. I then decided to go for it.
What does it mean to have the support from BASET?
It is a massive help and relief. The opportunity with BASET has given me the ability to really focus on my studies, and make sure that that’s the priority. And it’s exciting to know that you’re connected with a group of people who are connected to the place that you’re from. It feels like a privilege.
You are learning joinery at the moment, what’s coming up next?
We are doing drawing for the next few weeks, which will cover figuration and drapery. We also have science, architecture – there are a lot of projects coming up and the amount we cover is really cool. We have cross-over classes with BA (Hons) Conservation: Books and Paper and BA (Hons) Carving. There are a lot of different avenues, it’s very exciting.
Keep an eye on our Conservation blog for updates on Rick’s work.
To find out more about our BA (Hons) Conservation and MA Conservation courses, visit us at one of our upcoming Open Days for 2024/25 study.
BASET (The Britain Australia Society Education Trust) is a UK based charity which runs a range of educational awards to enable talented young people from Britain and Australia to study abroad, furthering their education and career skills. For more information about BASET (registered charity no. 803505) please visit the charity’s website.