jamajo Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I have a 10th grader who has been taken private art lessons this year and last. I want her to spend her summers preparing for college by participating in different precollege programs. The art programs a very expensive $2K - $4K. Are they really worth it? What else can a student do to gain experience in their desired field of study without shelling out thousands? There was a mom here who has a student at VCU because of their art program. If you are reading what did your son do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamajo Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 no one has anything to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I don't think she has to attend a high price summer program. If she's looking for summer opportunities I would look at programs that offer financial aid or at lower cost community programs. A few ideas for building her art experience (without breaking the bank). 1. Look for community organizations where artists meet together to share their work. 2. Consider volunteer opportunities that are are related - such as an art organization for at risk kids, art for adults with disabilities, volunteering with an art program at a senior center. 3. Start a blog where she documents and shares her artwork - or join other existing communities and do the same thing. 4. Explore dual enrollment if that's an option in your area - she'd probably get more out of a semester long sculpture class than a couple week long summer program. 5. Look for opportunities for her to show her work - perhaps through the library or other community organization. My other suggestion would be to begin now to look really carefully at her college options for art study. Art school tends to be very expensive with fewer sources of financial aid and scholarships. I would encourage her to look at the possibility of majoring in art at a public university or small liberal arts college as they may offer a better financial options than art school. Best of luck and hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajudy Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Our local museum of art has Saturday morning classes throughout the school year and a day camp in the summer (5 - 2 week sessions). They offer both merit and need-based scholarships, and are excellent classes. Two of my children have attended for years, studying drawing (including figure drawing both male and female nude models) and oil painting, ceramics, printmaking, and digital art. My daughter is now a studio art major and works as a teaching assistant during the summer art camp. Perhaps your local museum has classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 What else can a student do to gain experience in their desired field of study without shelling out thousands? "Art" is so broad. What kind of experience exactly are you looking for? I like the suggestions of finding art camps for younger children where your dd can be a teacher's aide as it is good experience in the world of teaching art and looks good on a college application. Lots of organizations would be thrilled to get some free advertising art or logos or posters. Develop some contacts and see if there is a need that can be filled. Keep a photo of whatever work she does and add it to her portfolio. Enter arts and crafts fairs, especially, like someone already suggested, local state and county fairs that want entries from school aged students. An expensive college summer program might be worth the $$ if it is a competitive application process and your dd gets to work with some excellent instructors, but I can't believe it is essential. My dh is a professional artist and he always recommends people interested in art as a career to simply draw All. The. Time. Just draw -- keep a sketch book and continue developing the "eye" by sketching ideas, or things in front of you whether it is your own feet or the scene in front of you. Spend lots of time studying other artists and other styles of art. Museum exhibits are one place to for this, of course, but there are countless books and videos out there too to study and learn from . Work on some finished pieces, try some different styles, but keep drawing. It shows in your work, and a professional reviewing a portfolio will be able to tell the difference from someone who is just ok and someone who has worked to develop their talent and has the drive to be a professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamajo Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Thanks for all your suggestions. We are 45 min for DC where the National Museum of Art has saturday teen days that we will be applying for. They also have a summer program which actually pays a stipend. It a haul but since its free I'll sacriface for her to gain the experience. She needs lots of exposure to any and every avenue dealing with ART so she can figure out what she may want to do career wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 What High Schools Don't Tell You by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross points out that prospective art students need to focus on portfolio development: "[p.p. 168-169] Students who attend private art schools or universtiy art 'institutes' after school, weekends, or during the summer, tend to have significantly stronger portfolios and applications. That's the word from the admissions office of UCLA, the art programs that claims to be the nation's most competitive, since it only accepts 10 percent of its applicants...students who attend private programs...after school, weekends, or summers, learn how to talk about their work, and this becomes extremely helpful in writing their application essays and in interviews. (Regular high school art programs do not teach students how to discuss their work.) In addition, high school students who attend private programs and institutes sometimes get the opportunity to work with accomplished artists and can cite these experiences on the applications...[p. 170] A fine arts student's summer should be designed around serious summer activities that contribute to his or her portfolio....A fine arts student needs to have plenty of time to create, and unless the art form specifically requires the use of an art studio, much of the work can be done at home." So on the one hand, these summer programs may contribute to your daughter's artistic development and give her training she may not otherwise have received. On the other hand, if she already had this training during the school year, she may just need the time during the summer to actually produce art. Obviously, if she can get into the summer program at the National Museum of Art and get a stipend, that would be an amazing opportunity for her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have a friend whose daughter is taking an IB Visual Arts class. They are asked to produce a workbook of not just drawings but also their research, ideas, thoughts, etc. The workbooks get submitted somewhere at the end of the class. So I searched around and found this site that can give you more details about what an IB art student is required to do. http://ibart.wetpaint.com/page/Mrs.+Anderson's+IB+Art+Curriculum+and+Handouts Look around the site and the links to get an idea of what a workbook should contain. So in addition to a previous advice to draw a lot, making a workbook like this would be a great experience in expressing the ideas that went into creating an original piece of art. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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