Not Poo-pooing the online educations
Yeah, I know I said share creativity, and all this is is a little mental spewing, but it honestly has something to do with creativity, so bear with me a moment.
I work with a young man who is of the opinion that college is a complete waist of time and money. Since I'm not exactly the great debater, whenever he challenges me to prove him wrong, I can't. I spend days mulling it over, getting angrier by the second, but by the time I have figured out just how to word what I want to say--how I want to say it--he doesn't talk to me. He lets my ire fade just long enough for me to let go of the hate and then BAM! He sneak attacks me with more challenges and I'm again at a loss for words.
I don't disagree that online classes are horrible and stupid. But I think if you're an artist (or in his case, interested in film) you need a little bit of a group setting. You need the critiques and need to see how others handle the same subject matter differently than you. I personally would love to get in on model drawing classes again, in a class room setting, and have other eyes pick apart what I draw. Tell me what they love about it, what they hate, help me expand as an artist and let me see what you do as well so I can mull that over and maybe add that to my skill set as well. But there's other things too, teachers and classmates can be wonderful contacts and references if you really mean to have a future in artistic fields. I know I didn't appreciate it back in my college days, but it was almost better to be in classes with teachers that didn't think the same way as you and you butted heads with them. It opens your mind (and eye) to other possibilities that might have been completely oblivious to you.
And speaking personally, college was really good for me. It got me to leave my comfort setting of life in the Hudson-Highlands. If I didn't go to college, I most likely would be living in Highland Falls, still surrounded by people that made my life miserable in high school. Or I would have packed up and moved down to Florida with the folks and been miserable in that wretched Florida heat. I wouldn't have met a lot of wonderful people who still seem to care that I'm not actually doing something with my artistic and writing talents. It made me open up and willing to talk to other people that I otherwise wouldn't have wanted anything to do with. Believe me, I have some friends that would probably give you whiplash from the double take. I have no regrets about even the worst days of butting heads with teachers or classmates. I have knowledge and memories that I cherish and I don't regret a single penny being paid back in loans.
And now to the point. My old college buddy Alex found art classes online taught by a former SVA teacher, Michael Mattesi. His site is called DrawingForce.com and I'm thinking it's high time I stopped being such a terrible procrastinator and do something with this silly little talent of mine. Since I work nights and my sleep schedule is all over the map, online classes might be the best thing for me. His prices aren't bad either.
Sadly, I will have to finish paying off the big dental bill before I can jump into online classes. It's not a classroom, but there aren't a lot of options for me in the middle of nowheresville Minnesota. Aaaannnnd you know how I just said I would love to get back into live model classes, I've also already been there, done that. I'm old and picky now, I want to sit at home and be comfortable--and frankly there were times I wanted to stab my fellow classmates in the eye with a pencil. I still say classes that put you in the room with other people is something that everyone should do at least for a little while, but I'm not arguing against taking online classes either.
I work with a young man who is of the opinion that college is a complete waist of time and money. Since I'm not exactly the great debater, whenever he challenges me to prove him wrong, I can't. I spend days mulling it over, getting angrier by the second, but by the time I have figured out just how to word what I want to say--how I want to say it--he doesn't talk to me. He lets my ire fade just long enough for me to let go of the hate and then BAM! He sneak attacks me with more challenges and I'm again at a loss for words.
I don't disagree that online classes are horrible and stupid. But I think if you're an artist (or in his case, interested in film) you need a little bit of a group setting. You need the critiques and need to see how others handle the same subject matter differently than you. I personally would love to get in on model drawing classes again, in a class room setting, and have other eyes pick apart what I draw. Tell me what they love about it, what they hate, help me expand as an artist and let me see what you do as well so I can mull that over and maybe add that to my skill set as well. But there's other things too, teachers and classmates can be wonderful contacts and references if you really mean to have a future in artistic fields. I know I didn't appreciate it back in my college days, but it was almost better to be in classes with teachers that didn't think the same way as you and you butted heads with them. It opens your mind (and eye) to other possibilities that might have been completely oblivious to you.
And speaking personally, college was really good for me. It got me to leave my comfort setting of life in the Hudson-Highlands. If I didn't go to college, I most likely would be living in Highland Falls, still surrounded by people that made my life miserable in high school. Or I would have packed up and moved down to Florida with the folks and been miserable in that wretched Florida heat. I wouldn't have met a lot of wonderful people who still seem to care that I'm not actually doing something with my artistic and writing talents. It made me open up and willing to talk to other people that I otherwise wouldn't have wanted anything to do with. Believe me, I have some friends that would probably give you whiplash from the double take. I have no regrets about even the worst days of butting heads with teachers or classmates. I have knowledge and memories that I cherish and I don't regret a single penny being paid back in loans.
And now to the point. My old college buddy Alex found art classes online taught by a former SVA teacher, Michael Mattesi. His site is called DrawingForce.com and I'm thinking it's high time I stopped being such a terrible procrastinator and do something with this silly little talent of mine. Since I work nights and my sleep schedule is all over the map, online classes might be the best thing for me. His prices aren't bad either.
Sadly, I will have to finish paying off the big dental bill before I can jump into online classes. It's not a classroom, but there aren't a lot of options for me in the middle of nowheresville Minnesota. Aaaannnnd you know how I just said I would love to get back into live model classes, I've also already been there, done that. I'm old and picky now, I want to sit at home and be comfortable--and frankly there were times I wanted to stab my fellow classmates in the eye with a pencil. I still say classes that put you in the room with other people is something that everyone should do at least for a little while, but I'm not arguing against taking online classes either.