Sep 27, 2011

Portfolio Preparation

*
The Deadline for submitting your portfolio in order to be accepted into the B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts, doncha know) Program is in two weeks, October 14.

I don't necessarily think I'm going to be accepted, but it's one of those things that I know I'll always regret if I don't at least try.

In effort however to be accepted, I have arranged a meeting with my Academic counselor to go over what they're looking for and what I can do to improve my chances of getting accepted. (Chocolate bribes notwithstanding). We apparently have to write an essay or letter or something (letter of intent, I think it is) as well. That's due next Friday. Other than write 'something,' I have no idea what to include or not include in the letter of intent. Fun.
In addition to that, I've arranged a meeting with one of my favorite design teachers (his opinion of me is still under review) to examine the portfolio and see what I can improve, what I should leave out, general feelings about it I guess and if I should just start from scratch and make a new 20 designs in 2 weeks.

It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster (I'm not sure why people say emotional rollercoaster. I think it's understood that I'm not literally riding a rollercoaster, as that would actually be fun, rather than exciting and terrifying.) as at some points I feel the portfolio is High Art meets Graphic Design and the greatest experience my teachers will ever behold, causing them to cheer and weep. Other times I worry they'll just spend their time trying to find one nice thing to say about it. "I really like the, um, paper you used." "It's digital." "Exactly."
I'm currently feeling the latter.

I had to miss an important meeting for Graphic Design students at school tonight because I'm scheduled to work, which brings back the "torn in two directions and only being mediocre in each one" feeling I have. Work is keeping me from being a better design student, and school is keeping me from excelling/promotions at work. I should say I'm grateful to both, especially work, for how flexible and awesome they are in spite of the fact I have the schedule from Hell. So I will.

Still, I feel a bit of wasted potential and kind of crappy that I'm forced to choose, I need money and all that, but I think my priorities are mostly in the right place, Family First, Everything Else second.

Once I'm ready to submit it I'll either have jpegs of it for your perusal or just link my website austinbeckstrom.com.

Stay tuned you lucky people, and don't feel against sending me any positive encouragement you have lying around, thanks.

*that's not me, in case you were over-confident in my abilities. It's from the famous (to me) and wealthy (to Switzerland) Designer and Letterer and awesome speaker extraordinaire, Jessica Hische.

2 comments:

Ammon said...

Good luck! We're rooting for you.

Charlo said...

WHen the time ACTUALLY comes for you to apply , keep this in mind.

I saw a faculty member to prep myself for my BFA application, They were cold, distant, and discouraging.

But I got in.

Point being, he was the type of person who thought "if you can picutre yourself doing anything besides art, then art is not for you."

They get so many people who want to make it, sometimes the difference is just wheter or not you have the backbone to keep trying when they try to burn you down.

I consider it the "filtering" system for art teachers. the more people they discourage, the less applications they have to go through