Meet: Jamie
We sat down with former Oaklands College student Jamie Ridge, who completed his HND in Art & Design in 2019.
Name: Jamie
Course Studied: HND in Art and Design
We sat down with former Oaklands College student Jamie Ridge, who completed his HND in Art & Design in 2019.
Tell us about your time at Oaklands. What led you to study here and what did you enjoy about your time at the college?
During my time studying at Oaklands College, I have gained a lot of confidence in my own work, especially due to the fact that in the first semester, I participated in a book cover design contest for author Kathryn Rose Newey.
I carried my skills from school in digital art through to this task. My front and back digitally made cover designs for the pre-teen alien story ‘Ilnoblet Elmer and the Alien Water Thieves’ really ‘captured and interpreted the feel of the story well’ according to Newey,  which  won me the competition.
The book was released soon after on Amazon and as an e-book. This was a step in the right direction for me to gain recognition, confidence and a little experience as a published illustrator. I have gained lots of experience and skills in a wide variety of media.
Since then, I have brought more 3D elements into my work, after participating in the year one 3D lessons – working on how to create structures using wood, wire, clay etc.
Before coming to Oaklands College, I Â had close to no experience in printmaking, having only ever been given one or two lessons about the subject during A Level Art. It is a brand new skill that is very important to and prominent in my current project work which has included lino, screen-print, mono-print
