About The ArtStudio
I’ve been looking for a way to get more activity happening in The ArtStudio, the online learning center on artist-at-large.com. Here is what I wrote in the forums under the topic What’s This All About?:
I don’t know what art school is teaching these days. I haven’t been in quite awhile. But when I went to art school, and I went twice, once to a two year art school and once to university, we never had discussions going on about two things:
Supporting yourself as an artist and the business of art.
And giving back to your art community.
As a matter of fact, it seemed that the underlying theme of my art schools was all about feeding a student’s ego, being above supporting myself, and taking everything I could from the community. It stood without saying that just being an artist was giving back enough.
So I stood and basked in my glow of recognition of what I was and wondered why no one hopped on board. I spent many years self-analyzing and came to the conclusion that it’s all about karma. And not really in the spiritual sense of the word, but rather in the scientific sense of the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma works in the world of art just like it does in all other worlds of various subjects that we divide our lives into. To get anything in the world of art, I had to be willing to give a little.
So, this is what this little online learning center is about. Sharing what knowledge I have and finding others to share their knowledge as well. I hope the discussion boards fill up with useful information, that users feel free to post about artist-in-residence and grant programs in the Calendar, and that the critiques will be filled with not necessarily positive comments, but true and useful comments.
The ArtStudio is all about continuing our education as artists, sharing the information and knowledge we have, and making ourselves better people and artists in the process.
To participate in The ArtStudio, you have to register and create a small profile. There are free art forums there for the serious artist at any level.
Why do you have to register? Because it creates an enclosed environment much like an art studio. There you can post and discuss work in various phases with other artists, without showing your unfinished work to the world.
Get a Critique: One forum for studio work, one forum for writing. You can post your work and get a critique from fellow artists. This is an ongoing feature which you can use at any time!
Other free forums are SASE for studio work, Photography Studio for all things photo discussion, Book Club for book discussion , and Cafe Generale for art related off-topic discussion. There is also a Gallery where you can post digital photos of your work to share with other members of the board.
You will also find a growing list of Artist-in-Residence programs in the Calendar, as well as Writer and Artist Workshops around the world, all sorted by deadline date!
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Interesting reading, art is great, but I truly believe that if you are a real artist, you don´t need anybody to teach you anything as art is unique and your talent comes with you since you are born, though the good thing about art schools is that they offer some general knowledge
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Oh, my. I’m afraid I would have to differ with Costa Rica Luxury. I agree that many good and most great artists are born with significant talent. But like that old philosophical question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” If you are the greatest artist in the world and are just doing your art but have no way or no interest in ‘getting it out into the world’ – are you the greatest artist in the world – or just in your studio? And who would know? And how do you support yourself so you can do your art?
I have had the fortunate luxury of being educated in university where I received both my BA and MA in Art, taken post grad classes at reputable art schools, hung out in clay studios at community colleges in order to use the facilities, studied with master potters in Japan. And yet, in none of those settings were we taught how to market our work, write a grant, support ourselves while doing the work, or even approach galleries etc. All of this I learned by either just doing it, or having help from other artists who knew the ropes. Maybe it’s different today. I would hope so. I think your idea of TheArtStudio is a good one, Kimberly. But maybe young artists today are so inundated with online activities, this is just one more which can’t fit onto their already full plate. And those of us who might have a suggestion or two are too busy trying to market/write a grant/support ourselves/approach galleries. . .so we can keep doing the work.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Costa Rica: I agree with you that artists are born with talent, although a certain amount of talent can be developed by someone who is not born with it.
What art schools provide and what I want to provide with The ArtStudio is a place where artists can bounce ideas off of each other, get honest critiques by their peers, to give and take workshops that keep them on their toes, and have a place to discuss the issues of the day with creative and imaginative people. I do think there is a place for that online.
My art school education, even though it did not include business and marketing, was invaluable. Although at the time I thought of myself as suffering through it, with 20-20 hindsight I can now see that it was the best thing I’ve ever done.