Has anyone homeschooled a student who wishes to major in Studio Arts/Fine Arts in college?

[songsparrow]

If so, I'm wondering if you would share how you handled Studio Arts - did your child attend a lot of art classes?  What other resources did you use for lessons?

 

Art lessons around here are extremely expensive - our local art museum offers 10 weeks of 1-1/2 hour classes at around $300, and a local artist offers 1-1/2 to 2 hour classes for 12 weeks for $450.  Both sets of classes are wonderful, and maybe these rates are typical, but I have sticker shock.  

 

I haven't had luck with other resources - techniques are hard to pick up from descriptions in books, and the videos we've tried have been very hit-and-miss.

 

[G5052]

Keep in mind that there are a variety of paths.

 

A friend of ours was largely self-taught via books, videos, and an occasional workshop.  She went to community college and got her 2-year degree with a focus in art.  Before starting there, she contacted the 4-year school she wanted about what kind of portfolio they wanted and she kept in touch with them.  She really worked hard, got good grades and cultivated her references.  Then getting into the 4-year school (limited slots) went very smoothly and she got her BFA in May.  She's got a live-in job in eldercare, but has a variety of contract work in progress.  She's doing very well for not being long after graduation.

 

One of mine has an artistic bent.  For many years we bartered for piano lessons, but eventually switched to a higher-level teacher that is affordable for us.  She charges far less than most for that level of instruction, and we had to go on a waiting list and audition.  Of late the same kid becoming interested in visual arts, and again, I was able to barter for lessons.  I'm not sure where that will go, but I think that the arrangement is doable for now.  The teacher has an MFA and is a working artist.

 

Going straight to art school without professional instruction is supposedly very difficult, but perhaps this gives you ideas.

[Martha in GA]

My dd is just starting her freshman year as a fine arts major. We live in what I would call a culturally deficit area! Since we've been here, a local armory was turned into an "art center" and a couple of the local artists taught small classes for homeschoolers. I enrolled my daughter in a few of these classes -- there wasn't a lot of direction/instruction, but the teacher would help you if you needed guidance. When she hit 8th grade, I asked the teacher, whom I had gotten to know reasonably well, if my daughter could join her evening classes for adults. So, once a week, my daughter went to the art center and drew/painted with the teacher and other adults. These classes ran about $15 per week, which is a bargain. My daughter brought her own supplies and worked on whatever she wanted to work on --she basically just got the expertise of the teacher and the encouragement of the teacher/adults in the class (although that encouragement has been truly invaluable because, of course, Mom just says her art is great because she is Mom!) I think just setting aside time every week to do her art was good for her. She took an AP Art/Drawing class from PA Homeschoolers her junior year, and I think she learned a great deal that year. It was pretty intensive! What I am most excited about with her going to college is being around other artists and teachers who are really going to teach her about the different aspects of art! 

 

What is the takeaway from all this? I guess that, if your daughter (son?) is very motivated, she can do a lot by just experimenting on her own. My dd often finds interesting pictures from magazines and the internet that she replicates. Maybe she could take a class and one of the teachers could become a mentor? Someone to whom she could show her work and get feedback? Certainly, finding a group of people to do art with would be ideal, though.

 

Martha

[TechWife]

Yes, my son will likely major in graphic design or industrial design. I wrote a blog post about how we have "done art" over the years. To update the post, these are some of the things that he is involved in:

 

Right now he is still taking lessons from the local artist I mentioned in the post.

He has also branched out a bit and learned some manga as well as another style of Japanese painting.

He received a DSLR for his birthday and has spent considerable time learning photography through reading books, watching videos and a lot of hands-on trial and error.

He attended Design Camp at NCSU the summer before his junior year in high school. 

He entered a work in the state fair competition last year. 

He is saving everything he is drawing for his portfolio. 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

If so, I'm wondering if you would share how you handled Studio Arts - did your child attend a lot of art classes? What other resources did you use for lessons?

 

Art lessons around here are extremely expensive - our local art museum offers 10 weeks of 1-1/2 hour classes at around $300, and a local artist offers 1-1/2 to 2 hour classes for 12 weeks for $450. Both sets of classes are wonderful, and maybe these rates are typical, but I have sticker shock.

 

I haven't had luck with other resources - techniques are hard to pick up from descriptions in books, and the videos we've tried have been very hit-and-miss.

Are there continuing education or rec center classes? Maybe something at a senior center? Could she offer to volunteer at a class in exchange for a discount in another?

[wendybern]

My dd got into her first choice college (Flagler College in St. Augustine) and received her BFA last year. In middle school she took drawing classes at a local art school. In high school she was able to intern there (helped at front desk and in art supply store) in exchange for painting classes. Because of the relationships she built volunteering, they later hired her for pay to teach summer art camp, and they gave her a great reference that helped her get a gallery job in college. I'd highly recommend volunteering!

 

She also took painting via dual enrollment at our community college.

[jpinAL]

My daughter attends the Univesity of Montevallo on an art scholarship. She is completely self taught but did do a class in Art History. She also entered as many drawing contests and shows as she could. She received recognition from places as diverse as the US Duck stamp competition to the front cover of our local PBS station callender. Most art schools required a portfolio  so start early compiling any work.

 

Susan

[MariaT]

My 15 yo son is also looking to go to art school. Like the others, he has been taking lessons at the local art school. For a while he was intensely interested in graphic design, so we asked at the art school for a reference for someone who could mentor and have private lessons. They found a wonderful man who gave him assignments out of his college text, as well as practical advice for the business side of art. While he was in 8th grade he started a journal for kids in our group to submit art, poems, essays and short stories. He uses his graphic design skills in designing the journal.

 

This year he is self-studying for AP Art History-- I put together a curriculum based on the syllabi samples from the AP Board. (I knew nothing about art history). When I first started researching it, I remember thinking, "Holy cow, this is a lot of stuff to learn". But in the process I learned enough to teach a couple Renaissance art history coop classes. Last year one of the coops we belong to offered a class on Modern art, which he loved, and a course on ancient art, which was not really up his alley. Still, he had some preview of art history before self studying for this year. He is also doing AP World History online, because the two courses will follow parallel tracks through the same material.

 

I was very sad to learn that PA Homeschoolers is no longer offering AP Art Studio, because we could really use that. I have not been able to find any other online option, or a local teacher willing take that on. So he is tackling that on his own, and has read all the course material and teacher information from the AP Board for AP Art Studio 3D. There is no test, but he has to submit a portfolio at the end of the year. He takes a weekly open studio course at our local art school and has turned part of the basement into his studio.

 

He has also taken summer art programs--Interlochen Arts Camp when he was 12 and Kansas City PreCollege Art Lab. He had wonderful feedback from the instructors at Kansas City this past summer.

 

Last spring his proposal for an installation was accepted by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for their 21 Minus program-- a day for high school students to display their art. This summer he was accepted into the MCA's Teen Creative Agency, which will study and create contemporary art and work with local artists.

 

Like you, I have sticker shock for some of these programs. Art is expensive. The supplies are expensive. Fortunately, what matters is the time the student puts in on his or her own, practicing and creating art.

 

One more thing: National Portfolio Day. Every fall across the country, art schools meet in major cities and will look at the portfolios of any student willing to stand in line for hours to see them. If you go early in the high school years, your dc can get real feedback on the progress of their portfolio.

 

One last thing: your dc needs to keep a sketch journal. At Portfolio Day, the counselors will want to see the sketchbooks to get an idea about how the student comes up with and works through concepts. Drawing skills are great, but they also really want to see concepts. For a long time my son resisted a sketchbook-- he would sketch out his ideas on random pieces of paper that would then end up in the recycling when he was done. After last year's portfolio presentation, he now keeps a sketchbook.

 

Here is the schedule for this fall for National Portfolio Day

http://www.portfolioday.net/2014-15-schedule

 

Good luck!

Maria

 

 

 

 

 

[songsparrow]

I had never heard of National Portfolio Day - thank you!  I looked at the list and I would probably take my daughter into NYC (most likely next year, not this year) as the most geographically convenient, but I noticed that the NYC event is hosted by the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Would that mean that event is best for those interested in fashion-related design, and I should look for another location if that is not her focus?  

[Laurel-in-CA]

I had never heard of National Portfolio Day - thank you!  I looked at the list and I would probably take my daughter into NYC (most likely next year, not this year) as the most geographically convenient, but I noticed that the NYC event is hosted by the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Would that mean that event is best for those interested in fashion-related design, and I should look for another location if that is not her focus?  

 

Different art schools host the portfolio days in their geographic area. We drove down to San Diego from Orange County, but the portfolio day we attended was staffed by a school in Laguna...turns out to be the school where my dd ended up. It doesn't mean the focus is on "their kind" of art. On the other hand, including fashion sketches in a portfolio may indicate to the reviewer that your dd is interested in fashion; they're likely to ask that question.

 

ETA: Wow, a lot of BFA holders/candidates here. DD is a super senior this year, finishing her degree in Dec. What next, we have NOOOOOOO idea. It's stressing me out more than a little bit.