New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design (Level 4)

Tessa Wilson - Applied Arts

“I have a friend who suffers from depression. She painted to express herself and I used to go around and paint with her. I loved it and I could see how much better she felt through the painting process. I also worked at a primary school helping kids with disabilities to form alphabet letters.”

“I had friends at NorthTec and seeing their social media posts made me want to go into art teaching, so I came on board this course. I love that the tutors are really laid back but still give us lots of guidance and info. They are more like friends, and they make allowances if you’re sick or need to catch-up. Everyone here supports each other. The students are great but when I’m around people I get along with, I tend to talk - so I like to take my work home to do it.”

“The stand-out of the course for me is simply creating and what comes out of us. We cover general core subjects but my chosen option here is print-making. At some point we had to paint a self-portrait, and I can’t paint, let alone do a self-portrait. But I did it - and I was really happy with the result.”

“It’s great being able to do what you love and get a degree out of it. I want to be an art teacher and this qualification will give me a lot more options for the scope and context of that. After the degree, I want to do a post-grad diploma in teaching and I’ll see what unfolds from there.”

Brody Laurenson - Applied Arts

Budding artist Brody Laurenson was able to sign up for a degree programme after successfully completing the level 4 certificate in arts and design.

The six-month programme, which was launched at NorthTec in 2017, gave him both the skills and the confidence to go on to the degree. The certificate programme can be a stepping stone for people who want to gain a good grounding in the arts, or test out their creativity before committing to three years of study.

Brody, 23, who is now studying for the Bachelor of Applied Arts, is aiming to realise his dream of becoming a comic-book writer and creator.

He said: “The comic industry usually has an author and a computer artist as well. I want to create comic book stories but I don’t just want to draw them, I want to do the computer artwork as well.”

Brody is from Whangarei but spent nine years living in Canada, where his parents live and where he went to high school. He looked into studying at tertiary level in Canada, but found the cost was prohibitive.

He was not ready to go straight onto a degree programme, but having completed the New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design, at NCEA level 4, was able to qualify to study at bachelor’s level. 

Brody said: “I came here to broaden my creativity. It’s so hands-on here at NorthTec, you create your own stuff all the time. There is a lot more support here than at uni, where it’s more competition-based. Everybody is really supportive, and if you struggle with something they will help you.

“The teachers really help you even if you think you can’t get it done. The staff help you and support you the whole time, there is a lot of one-on-one learning and all the students help each other too. I’m confident about doing the degree now because I’ve done the certificate, and it has made me a lot stronger.”

Emma Snell - Visual Arts

“I love the idea of Whangarei becoming a creative community so I want to encourage all of us to invest our skills here and to help that grow. The Hundertwasser centre can serve as a catalyst for our new and expanded city identity.”

“During my last year of school I did an art course here at NorthTec once a week – and I was hooked. Now I get to do something I love every day, and even if I’m doing aspects I don’t enjoy, I can see their necessity. I didn’t have a plan before whereas now I know applied art is my future.”

“Here I’ve been exposed to sculpture, print-making and lots of different media which can be a challenge because they are all new but it’s also what I’m yearning and learning for.”

“The diversity of people here brings life and pride - whether they’re covered in te moko or from overseas. We’re all exploring who we can become and the tutors are skilled at getting the most out of each of us. They feel more like colleagues that tutors – wise colleagues.”

“This course will get me qualified for jobs and industries I may want to be part of. In these early days of exploring, I’m so far drawn to art therapy or to getting some experience at Weta workshop.”

Ricci Lang - Visual Arts

“I loved art at school and I wanted to broaden my skills but I didn’t want to go to uni. I came here to check out the course and just loved the campus and the atmosphere. It has a real artsy vibe.”

“I was into painting but I’m now loving sculpture and print-making. I’m discovering a whole world of different media and you never know what you’ll like until you try it.”

“Photography and the computer stuff are new to me too and I’m enjoying learning the more technical aspects of them even though they are less natural skills for me.”

“The tutors are very cool and are really involved with what we are doing. They all have a different approach so it helps us to develop the way we think. I’m also learning a lot from the other students because we critique each other’s work and discuss ideas. I’m one of the youngest so I’m aware that there’s a lot of wisdom within the class.”

“Art graduates come in and talk to us so we get to see how far they have gone and realise that NorthTec art qualifications are well recognised out there.”

“I like the idea of being self-employed and self-expressed in some way when I graduate. There is so much you can do with applied arts. I’m so glad I decided to do further study straight after high school – even though I didn’t want to go to uni.”