No.1 Best selling book on Amazon “Creative Careers: Unlocking Art School Admissions” was published on 24th Sept. 2024. Grab this parent’s toolkit to help your young person get into their dream art college.
In this book Julie Read offers a practical and insightful guide to demystifying the complex application process for art and design courses.
“The contents of this book quite literally turned my life around.” Lily Burgess, student
“The book is brilliant, an amazing resource. This book will be a lifeline to so many students and their supporters.” Bridget Frost, parent
Study flexibly, online with 5 Zoom or face to face tutorials. Master sketchbooks, ideas, UCAS statement and digital portfolio all in one.
Clear guidance with bi-weekly meetings to assist with a personalised plan for more specialised applications such as Performance Costume or Post Graduate applications.
Get your digital portfolio nailed with a fresh pair of eyes on your work, feedback and assistance with selection making you good to go.
A free no obligation coaching call or Zoom video call, to discuss what you are trying to achieve and how I can assist you.
We commence work in 1 of 2 ways to explore your creativity and get massive CLARITY on your portfolio, digital portfolio and UCAS statement submission.
We work together over several months in person or by video/Zoom until we achieve the result you want with your portfolio.
The 3 C’s are a unique process to Portfolio Oomph that engage you in an essential process that must be embraced for success. Miss out any one of these and your ideas, portfolio, and ultimately your success will suffer.
CURIOSITY – Exploring and investigating – How willing are you to try out new and different materials and techniques – exploring the world and your subject?
COURAGE – Tolerating uncertainty – How easy do you find it not to be sure about something you do?
CLARITY – Towards your goals – How clear are you on what you want to achieve and when?
I am a leading educator in the Creative Industries, as featured in The Guardian newspaper, on a mission to create a legacy to ‘unlock your creative genius’.
My passion and mission is your art portfolio, to help to get you that place at college or university. CLARITY, in particular around the creative process, sketchbooks, and what the Colleges actually want to see are the founding principles.
Over the last 10 years, I have become known as the “go-to” when it comes to bespoke 1:2:1 support for art applicants (and artists) to start exploring your creativity in a different way for success at art school or personal fulfilment.
I have now worked with 111 students who have gained over 230 places for art and design courses at 66 institutions around the UK and abroad.
I taught also assessed portfolios and interviewed applicants for 10 years at Edinburgh College of Art. 17 years of teaching in Further Education Colleges on Foundation, HNC, and HND courses gave me a comprehensive understanding of post-school education in the visual arts.
I was a finalist in the UK Blog Awards for Best Individual/Freelance Education and a proud Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday Winner.
AND I was also a student who didn’t get a place at art college many years ago!
As an artist, I have exhibited my own artwork extensively, both nationally and internationally.
I work with creative people worldwide, who want to prepare their art school portfolio in the best way possible so that they don’t miss out on their first choice college.
My studio is in a small mining village just outside Edinburgh – we can work in person or by Zoom.
If this is you, we’ll work together closely to grow your confidence, explore your creativity, and gain great clarity to produce that killer portfolio for success at art school.
A successful portfolio is not about how well you can draw or how high your grades at school are. It’s about ideas, the way you think and create.
Competition is fierce, for example at Edinburgh College of Art there are in the region of 6000 applicants for approximately 280 places (1:22).
Therefore being successful with your portfolio is about the speed of implementation and the sooner you start, the more advanced your portfolio is likely to be.
Portfolio Oomph will put an end to the confusion you will be feeling. This will buy you the competitive edge that is essential for success. And some previous students have received 11 offers for their dream courses worldwide.
…………starting right now!
After 9 years as a lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art assessing entrance portfolios including interviewing students and after helping over 80 students get into their preferred uni/top art universities, I’ve rattled down the 10 most common things students/applicants do that have a devastatingly negative impact on their applications.
What’s critical for you to resolve right NOW? What’s going to happen if you don’t get that handled?
My services are available only to a VERY limited number of students.
Please complete the contact form below and tell me about your biggest challenges right now.
I’ll contact you to discuss this further.