I’m working with a student who will be applying as a fine arts/illustration major, but she’s never had a decent art class, as her public school is really poor in this area (and overall, just a mediocre school), and in fact has no AP classes and only one art class (and apparently they have few art supplies and not a very good teacher); thus, all her art has been on her own.
I work as a college consultant, and will be helping her (and her two brothers, as they are triplets), but I would love to have someone in the art field come alongside her and give her feedback along the way this summer and into the fall, so that she’s not overwhelmed with the process. She’s very talented, but needs some help, IMO. She’s applying to mostly art schools, but has a few regular colleges in the mix (see my previous post a few weeks ago on this forum).
Looking for ideas of how to find such a mentor. We live in a large city, so I am wondering if she can reach out to art departments of some of the local universities/colleges and ask for referrals. I’m also reaching out to a couple people I know, but if anyone has ideas on how to better support a student like this through the process, please feel free to PM me.
A good website for feedback is conceptart.org
She can post her artwork there and ask for feedback. Also she can see other’s work and ask about schools.
It’s a huge site with tons of info.
If she lives in a city, it is possible that there are portfolio art classes available through colleges or museums. They are taught by university art professors and sometimes admissions people and will help guide the portfolio process. Also she would benefit from getting input by attending portfolio reviews–hopefully she can make it to a National Portfolio Day fair. http://www.portfolioday.net
The info gained was extremely helpful. It helped D individualize her portfolio based on various school’s reviews. Sometimes there are smaller local portfolio review days hosted by libraries, museum and pre-college art programs.
She is going to a Portfolio Day, but not until late October (closest one to us), which would be too late for her EA school., but helpful for her other schools, for sure. I’ll have her check out the website, @gouf78, thank you!
@sbjdorlo Have you tried contacting schools directly for meetings/ portfolio reviews over the summer? D met with a representative from the art department of NYU and he sat with her for over an hour going through her art and just talking about her and the program, etc. On the basis of his input she re-did about half her portfolio because he said he wanted to see more original works that reflected her personality and interests better. He felt that the pieces he kept in her portfolio showed her technique, but were too obviously school-based projects. He wanted to see more conceptual work in different media. It worked, because she was accepted to NYU ED and Pratt EA with almost the same portfolio after adding about 8 to 10 new pieces. (It was a busy summer!) The schools may be willing to do the same on-line. It is worth reaching out to them.
Yes, excellent! This is what I’ve advised her to do. Cal Arts and Pratt are her first two choices, but she’ll do Pratt EA, so I’ve advised her to set up a virtual meeting (or if there’s a local rep, she can meet with someone directly) to go over her portfolio. There was a contact email/phone for Pratt, so she plans to do that at the end of the summer when her portfolio is more complete.
Can you use any old camera to take photos? And is it ok just to upload them into google photos for now (until Slideroom opens)?
I believe it is secure site. I’m not positive where portfolios should be posted–many students have their art posted elsewhere on the internet and provide links so that they can get feedback. Many post asking for feedback under a specific school.
Portfolio submission requirements vary school to school. Some accept digital, some want slides, some want process work, others only finished pieces. Just have to research it.