periwinkle Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 No one in my circle of family and friends has experience with this, so I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. This is middle ds, who is currently a sophomore; this year he has taken drawing lessons and worked on his drawing skills at home using Artistic Pursuits Vol. 1 and Keys to Drawing. He will earn a credit for drawing. I am thinking during his junior year he needs to take painting lessons and either pottery or ceramics at the local art center. Perhaps I can hire an art teacher to help him pull together his portfolio (required at most of the colleges for admission) during the fall of his senior year. Are we missing anything? Does anyone know the job outlook for art teachers? It has been difficult finding information about this on the web. And one more thing-how talented do you need to be to be an art teacher? He is definitely better than average:001_smile: but not spectacular. His artwork has improved leaps and bounds since he practices constantly, but it is hard for me to be objective without any comparisons to peers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 No one in my circle of family and friends has experience with this, so I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. This is middle ds, who is currently a sophomore; this year he has taken drawing lessons and worked on his drawing skills at home using Artistic Pursuits Vol. 1 and Keys to Drawing. He will earn a credit for drawing. I am thinking during his junior year he needs to take painting lessons and either pottery or ceramics at the local art center. Perhaps I can hire an art teacher to help him pull together his portfolio (required at most of the colleges for admission) during the fall of his senior year. Are we missing anything? Does anyone know the job outlook for art teachers? It has been difficult finding information about this on the web. And one more thing-how talented do you need to be to be an art teacher? He is definitely better than average:001_smile: but not spectacular. His artwork has improved leaps and bounds since he practices constantly, but it is hard for me to be objective without any comparisons to peers. I just wrote on my dd wanting to go into the art field. Since we are in CAli, she is looking at AI and the Academy of Art University for a BA in animation. Academy of Art University does have summer courses for 525 this summer, I think my dd is doing Basic Illustration online. Although she has had private art for eight yrs. Her art teacher who had a thriving business had a BA in Art and would just advertise privately. I think she went to a State University to get her degree. She moved recently and I keep telling her to do online courses. She is a wonderful teacher. But in Idaho, now. Oh yeah, all the art schools want ten to fifteen pieces, some even one original pieces not copies. So dd is starting her portfolio now. She is in eleventh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 He had no formal art lessons and didn't draw or paint anything until he took a drawing class just for fun in his freshman year. He discovered how much he loved it and that he had a lot of talent for it. I knew that he was a very strong visual/spatial learner in high school but not that he had talent for art or interest in it. He's now a sophomore and almost all his classes are in art. He's making straight A's. Now, I'm not too sure if a person that has average or a bit above average talent can jump in like my ds did and draw very well from the start. I think it's a good idea what your ds is doing in high school and I wish I had encouraged my ds in the same way. He might have enjoyed homeschooling morehttp://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue_smilie.gif As for the job look in the art education field, I don't think it looks very good, honestly. But we're just taking it one day at a time. Who knows, he might be fortunate and find a good job as an art teacher. If not, he'll at least have a B.A. in something. He might end up getting a M.A. in something else or get a bread and butter job while doing art on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periwinkle Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Oh yeah, all the art schools want ten to fifteen pieces, some even one original pieces not copies. So dd is starting her portfolio now. She is in eleventh. The portfolios scare me. They all have different requirements...some want everything on cd, some want to see originals, properly matted, etc...and one of the schools we are looking at suggests 25 pieces!:scared: So, I guess it would be a good idea to start in eleventh!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periwinkle Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 He had no formal art lessons and didn't draw or paint anything until he took a drawing class just for fun in his freshman year. He discovered how much he loved it and that he had a lot of talent for it. So, I take it he didn't enter as an art major? It seems to me that would be easier 'cause you wouldn't have to jump through the extra hoops! I do think it will be an enjoyable major for ds, but I am concerned about the avenues it will give him in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periwinkle Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 My dd wants to DO art (as in, illustrate children's books), but I am encouraging her to look at secondary teacher certification and graphic design classes as a backup plan. She's been in art classes from jr. high, which has pushed her outside of her favorite pencil sketching mode and into trying other things. I would encourage you to see if you can find a portfolio class. DD's class was at the business where she takes classes and was 3 very intense Saturday sessions. She took in everything she'd done since 6th grade, sorted through all of it, discussed how to show variety and depth, chose about 15 works, put the originals in a BIG portfolio and color photos in a notebook-size portfolio, wrote an artist's statement and a table of contents...and most of all, she now knows how to do the whole process again/modify as needed for other situations (e.g., job hunting). It was pricey, but worth it. DD has also volunteered at local community summer art programs. She has gotten to try some new things and has seen if she has the skills to work with kids. Another possibility is to work with the arts&crafts people at summer camps (dd is a counselor for 4-H summer camp) or VBS, things like that. These are all good ideas. And see, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a portfolio class! I think we have our work cut out for us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 he's starting from scratch learning about the different things about the art world. He entered the state university as a premed major and switched over to the fine arts major in his sophomore year. My dh and I know nothing about this so thanks for sharing here. And yes, we think that a secondary teaching certification is a good idea which is what my ds is thinking of but he'd rather of course be a professional artist with a studio of his own, oh well. His art professors who are from the Chicago Art Institute are encouraging him to apply there for grad. school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in MI Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 http://www.kcad.edu/academic-degrees/undergraduate My son was just accepted at this art school & we are waiting to see what the financial package is before making a final decision. The admissions person we talked to was very helpful! I think you could just call Kendall & get some general advice on how to prepare for a career in art education, as well as check on what they have to offer. (You can actually read profiles of the admissions people on their website & decide who you want to talk to before you call.) Kendall School of Art & Design is a fairly small but well-established school in a wonderful city environment. We visited recently & were very impressed. They do require a portfolio review for most of their majors & actually have a portfolio camp in the summer to help high school students prepare their stuff if they need help. (It would probably also be a great way to check out the college first-hand.) Art as a career is new to our family also, so you have my sympathies as you navigate the unknown. My son is interested in the industrial design program. I didn't even know such a thing existed until about a month ago! Hope this helps, Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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