National Portfolio Day - Boston 2008
was today, twelve to four at the Marriott at Copley Place. I went with Danielle, a student interested in going into photography. (This school year has been great; I find myself actually having more-than-school-acquaintance friends. Yay art.)
Note: This entry is as much for myself to remember the day by - I have horrrrible memory, blah - as it is for you guys to read about it. That had bad grammar...
She and her dad picked me up at ten forty ish. We got there at eleven, and her dad dropped us off with our big ol' portfolios and that bag o' sketchbook-and-art-pencils-and-stuff that I find myself carrying around everywhere these days. We followed the other portfolio-toting artsy-looking students into the building and up to the third floor, where the event took place.
Note to self and to anyone else interested in attending a National Portfolio Day: Get there several hours early. The line snaked across the entire third floor, winding around this way and that, and the end of line when we got there was quite a way into a second loop. We called other-Danielle and it turned out she was a little bit ahead of us in the line, so we went to join her, playing, in her words, the 'hey, I was waiting for you!' game. (It was funny; she told us that she was at the end of the line, but we were like Noooo, we're at the end of the line o_o, and then she spotted us like ten people behind her.)
Pretty much the entire time we were in line, I was having miniature nervous breakdowns whenever I caught a glimpse of someone's art (and pretty much all the time in between), and would go on about how the reviewers couldn't possibly like me and how I should jump over the railing, and the Danielles would be like SHUT UP OLIVIA YOU'RE GOOD and I would be like NUUUU STOP LYING.
The line moved in surges, so we would be waiting for like fifteen minutes and then suddenly move halfway along the wall. We got in a little after noon. (Lol, afternoon. -brick'd-) Then we parted ways; Danielle and I went to find SVA (School of Visual Arts, in NYC), and other-Danielle went to see Pratt.
The SVA two-tables-pushed-together had four representatives, with a couple of stacks of those giant phone books they mail out separating them from each other. I got the nice-looking lady on the far left, Danielle got the intimidating-looking guy on the far right. Nice-looking Lady turned out to be nice, Intimidating-looking Guy turned out to be a bitch. Anyways.
I had major stage fright, and I was sure that she wasn't going to like my stuff, but hey, I didn't throw up! And she was nice. I was told that my technical skill is very strong, especially for someone who only really started being serious about it in late August. She wants to see more 'character', more me-pieces; I agree - I've just started working on things that aren't just observational work. She said that my 'Failed Flight' painting (of a gargoyle on a fire escape, looking down at the smashed remains of another on the sidewalk) has the most character. Personally, I don't think it's very good technically, but she wanted me to bring those kinds of concepts into more of my stuff. I also told her that I sculpt a lot, but haven't been able to do much lately, and she wants to see some fantasy creatures that I do. (Remind me that I want to make a faun. That goes on the list of upcoming projects.) I showed her a recent picture of a self-portrait in clay that I'm doing, and she liked it; she says I'm obviously very strong with clay as well. Overall, she says that I'm accepted to SVA as far as portfolio goes, and that I should resubmit, having taken into account her opinions, later on, in order to try to get a merit scholarship. That went well.
Danielle wanted to see Ringling, so I waited for her while she talked to that guy. He's going to come make a presentation to our Portfolio class tomorrow. She got accepted to Ringling, portfolio-wise.
Then we went to see Museum School (SMFA, School of the Museum of Fine Arts). It's the top choice for both of us. Danielle's already had a portfolio review, but they encouraged her to get another perspective, so she did. I ended up with one of the sculpture professors, which was kind of cool. I don't know whether she was being harder on me than the previous one had been or whether Museum School is harder to get into, but Dan the student teacher man (he comes in for Mr Batchelder on Thursdays; he was actually one of his students like five years ago, which is cool), who went there, told Danielle and I that it was really easy to get in, as long as you're creative. Anyways, she also told me that I have strong technical skills - she picked up on the eggbeaters in particular, noting how I must have spent a lot of effort and care with the detailing and observation, and that I captured lighting and depth particularly well. She also talked about giving my pieces character. She said that my painting was the weak piece in my portfolio (I agree; it's nothing in technique compared to what some other people brought in). She also really liked my clayface, and said that I might consider doing more clay and sculpture work in college. Overall, she said that she can't make admissions decisions, but that I have a very strong portfolio and that have a good chance of getting in. She wants me to keep working in my sketchbook, and to save images in it that inspire me. She also recommended I hang around the school for a day, maybe sit in on a class, get the feel of the place and see if it's the right school for me. Museum School is very unique in that you can design your own program of study - which is what Danielle and I feel so appealing about it - and I'm sure it's not for everyone. She said I should think about taking a pre-college course in the summer to segue into the SMFA mindset and environment.
Then we went to see AIB (Art Institute of Boston). They tried their best to match you up with a representative who knew a lot about the department you're interested in, which was cool. I ended up getting this youngish admissions counselor. He also really liked my eggbeaters, saying much of the same stuff that the SMFA professor had said about it. He also said that I have an impressively strong technical skill, especially for someone who just recently picked up on observational drawing. He seemed really excited about my clayface. He made me promise to fire and save it as a separate portfolio piece after I told him my plans for it. (I'm going to get it to near-finishing and then have someone take a picture of my hands working with it, and then draw from that for a sort of self-portrait in a self-portrait.) He also suggested that I retain the direct-observation quality for my drawing by keeping and referring to the original clayface for my drawing, and he seemed pretty happy when I told him that I was already planning on doing just that. He told me that he couldn't make an automatic admissions decision like some of the people at other schools could do, but that I should feel confident, and as far as he was concerned, I was in. (Although, again, for any type of merit scholarship I would need to make an actual submission.)
Now it's around two thirty. Danielle and I decided that we were done; the MassArt line was so long that they had actually stopped allowing people to get in line, so we're just going to go get individual portfolio reviews some other time. It's okay, it's just in Boston. We got peppermint hot chocolates (YUM) from the Starbucks on the second floor, and walked across the bridge thinger connecting the Marriott and the Prudential Center. The bridge is walled with glass, and we could see out; the line for NPD was now out the front door of the Marriott, and curved waaaaay back around it. We knew it was for NPD because every kid was carrying a big bulky black portfolio or some kind of stack of canvases or something xD. We found the food court at Prudential Center after some walking around, and had latelunch. Yummyfood. Then we went outside the Prudential Center on the other side and sat for a while and people-watched, and Danielle took some pictures, and I took some pictures, and then we went across the street to Walgreens, where I bought five bags of Pepomint Lifesavers and two boxes of mini candy canes (lol, they're in season now yay!), and Danielle bought a bag of those peach ring thingers, and then we decided on a new photo project that she's going to do the weekend after Thanksgiving. I and as many Portfolio students as we can recruit will dress up as Christmas trees and go into Boston and walk around and she's going to take pictures of us and their reactions. Es gonna be fun!
Then (about three forty) we walked back to the Marriott and sat in the lobby for a while, and I called my mom and she said they would come to get us at around five thirty, so we sat there for a little while longer and then went back to the other side of the Prudential Center and people-watched some more and took some more pictures (REALLY GOOD ONES YAY) and I sketched a bit and Danielle was writing in my sketchbook and then we went inside to people-watch at the food court and we bought these REALLY AWESOME FURRY PILLOWS that are animals and they're really hard to describe but anyways they're cool. I have a sheep and Danielle has a penguin; hers is named Lambchop and mine is named Iceberg. And we sat there until around five fifteen, and then went back to the Marriott and sat in the lobby until my parents came. And then we went to Chinatown for yumdinner and then we got bubble tea and then we sent Danielle home and then we picked Max up from other-Max's house and then we went home and here I am now.
I was kind of surprised at what the reviewers had to say. I mean, even if my technical skills are solid, they saw so many amazing portfolios - I should know, I saw pieces from a lot of them - and still they thought I had a good chance of getting in. Was weird. But I suppose in a goodish way.
I want a candy cane. Dammit, it's not even December yet.
So, today was good in terms of both self-assurance boost and advice for improvement. Was a good day :).
Also, this is a good quote: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams
Man, I love art! -twirls-
Note: This entry is as much for myself to remember the day by - I have horrrrible memory, blah - as it is for you guys to read about it. That had bad grammar...
She and her dad picked me up at ten forty ish. We got there at eleven, and her dad dropped us off with our big ol' portfolios and that bag o' sketchbook-and-art-pencils-and-stuff that I find myself carrying around everywhere these days. We followed the other portfolio-toting artsy-looking students into the building and up to the third floor, where the event took place.
Note to self and to anyone else interested in attending a National Portfolio Day: Get there several hours early. The line snaked across the entire third floor, winding around this way and that, and the end of line when we got there was quite a way into a second loop. We called other-Danielle and it turned out she was a little bit ahead of us in the line, so we went to join her, playing, in her words, the 'hey, I was waiting for you!' game. (It was funny; she told us that she was at the end of the line, but we were like Noooo, we're at the end of the line o_o, and then she spotted us like ten people behind her.)
Pretty much the entire time we were in line, I was having miniature nervous breakdowns whenever I caught a glimpse of someone's art (and pretty much all the time in between), and would go on about how the reviewers couldn't possibly like me and how I should jump over the railing, and the Danielles would be like SHUT UP OLIVIA YOU'RE GOOD and I would be like NUUUU STOP LYING.
The line moved in surges, so we would be waiting for like fifteen minutes and then suddenly move halfway along the wall. We got in a little after noon. (Lol, afternoon. -brick'd-) Then we parted ways; Danielle and I went to find SVA (School of Visual Arts, in NYC), and other-Danielle went to see Pratt.
The SVA two-tables-pushed-together had four representatives, with a couple of stacks of those giant phone books they mail out separating them from each other. I got the nice-looking lady on the far left, Danielle got the intimidating-looking guy on the far right. Nice-looking Lady turned out to be nice, Intimidating-looking Guy turned out to be a bitch. Anyways.
I had major stage fright, and I was sure that she wasn't going to like my stuff, but hey, I didn't throw up! And she was nice. I was told that my technical skill is very strong, especially for someone who only really started being serious about it in late August. She wants to see more 'character', more me-pieces; I agree - I've just started working on things that aren't just observational work. She said that my 'Failed Flight' painting (of a gargoyle on a fire escape, looking down at the smashed remains of another on the sidewalk) has the most character. Personally, I don't think it's very good technically, but she wanted me to bring those kinds of concepts into more of my stuff. I also told her that I sculpt a lot, but haven't been able to do much lately, and she wants to see some fantasy creatures that I do. (Remind me that I want to make a faun. That goes on the list of upcoming projects.) I showed her a recent picture of a self-portrait in clay that I'm doing, and she liked it; she says I'm obviously very strong with clay as well. Overall, she says that I'm accepted to SVA as far as portfolio goes, and that I should resubmit, having taken into account her opinions, later on, in order to try to get a merit scholarship. That went well.
Danielle wanted to see Ringling, so I waited for her while she talked to that guy. He's going to come make a presentation to our Portfolio class tomorrow. She got accepted to Ringling, portfolio-wise.
Then we went to see Museum School (SMFA, School of the Museum of Fine Arts). It's the top choice for both of us. Danielle's already had a portfolio review, but they encouraged her to get another perspective, so she did. I ended up with one of the sculpture professors, which was kind of cool. I don't know whether she was being harder on me than the previous one had been or whether Museum School is harder to get into, but Dan the student teacher man (he comes in for Mr Batchelder on Thursdays; he was actually one of his students like five years ago, which is cool), who went there, told Danielle and I that it was really easy to get in, as long as you're creative. Anyways, she also told me that I have strong technical skills - she picked up on the eggbeaters in particular, noting how I must have spent a lot of effort and care with the detailing and observation, and that I captured lighting and depth particularly well. She also talked about giving my pieces character. She said that my painting was the weak piece in my portfolio (I agree; it's nothing in technique compared to what some other people brought in). She also really liked my clayface, and said that I might consider doing more clay and sculpture work in college. Overall, she said that she can't make admissions decisions, but that I have a very strong portfolio and that have a good chance of getting in. She wants me to keep working in my sketchbook, and to save images in it that inspire me. She also recommended I hang around the school for a day, maybe sit in on a class, get the feel of the place and see if it's the right school for me. Museum School is very unique in that you can design your own program of study - which is what Danielle and I feel so appealing about it - and I'm sure it's not for everyone. She said I should think about taking a pre-college course in the summer to segue into the SMFA mindset and environment.
Then we went to see AIB (Art Institute of Boston). They tried their best to match you up with a representative who knew a lot about the department you're interested in, which was cool. I ended up getting this youngish admissions counselor. He also really liked my eggbeaters, saying much of the same stuff that the SMFA professor had said about it. He also said that I have an impressively strong technical skill, especially for someone who just recently picked up on observational drawing. He seemed really excited about my clayface. He made me promise to fire and save it as a separate portfolio piece after I told him my plans for it. (I'm going to get it to near-finishing and then have someone take a picture of my hands working with it, and then draw from that for a sort of self-portrait in a self-portrait.) He also suggested that I retain the direct-observation quality for my drawing by keeping and referring to the original clayface for my drawing, and he seemed pretty happy when I told him that I was already planning on doing just that. He told me that he couldn't make an automatic admissions decision like some of the people at other schools could do, but that I should feel confident, and as far as he was concerned, I was in. (Although, again, for any type of merit scholarship I would need to make an actual submission.)
Now it's around two thirty. Danielle and I decided that we were done; the MassArt line was so long that they had actually stopped allowing people to get in line, so we're just going to go get individual portfolio reviews some other time. It's okay, it's just in Boston. We got peppermint hot chocolates (YUM) from the Starbucks on the second floor, and walked across the bridge thinger connecting the Marriott and the Prudential Center. The bridge is walled with glass, and we could see out; the line for NPD was now out the front door of the Marriott, and curved waaaaay back around it. We knew it was for NPD because every kid was carrying a big bulky black portfolio or some kind of stack of canvases or something xD. We found the food court at Prudential Center after some walking around, and had latelunch. Yummyfood. Then we went outside the Prudential Center on the other side and sat for a while and people-watched, and Danielle took some pictures, and I took some pictures, and then we went across the street to Walgreens, where I bought five bags of Pepomint Lifesavers and two boxes of mini candy canes (lol, they're in season now yay!), and Danielle bought a bag of those peach ring thingers, and then we decided on a new photo project that she's going to do the weekend after Thanksgiving. I and as many Portfolio students as we can recruit will dress up as Christmas trees and go into Boston and walk around and she's going to take pictures of us and their reactions. Es gonna be fun!
Then (about three forty) we walked back to the Marriott and sat in the lobby for a while, and I called my mom and she said they would come to get us at around five thirty, so we sat there for a little while longer and then went back to the other side of the Prudential Center and people-watched some more and took some more pictures (REALLY GOOD ONES YAY) and I sketched a bit and Danielle was writing in my sketchbook and then we went inside to people-watch at the food court and we bought these REALLY AWESOME FURRY PILLOWS that are animals and they're really hard to describe but anyways they're cool. I have a sheep and Danielle has a penguin; hers is named Lambchop and mine is named Iceberg. And we sat there until around five fifteen, and then went back to the Marriott and sat in the lobby until my parents came. And then we went to Chinatown for yumdinner and then we got bubble tea and then we sent Danielle home and then we picked Max up from other-Max's house and then we went home and here I am now.
I was kind of surprised at what the reviewers had to say. I mean, even if my technical skills are solid, they saw so many amazing portfolios - I should know, I saw pieces from a lot of them - and still they thought I had a good chance of getting in. Was weird. But I suppose in a goodish way.
I want a candy cane. Dammit, it's not even December yet.
So, today was good in terms of both self-assurance boost and advice for improvement. Was a good day :).
Also, this is a good quote: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams
Man, I love art! -twirls-