Art Appreciation

Being the totally objective dad that I am, I think A is a pretty killer artist, and at the very least, she enjoys it. From a very young age she's just been naturally drawn to... actually drawing. It's pretty cool to see. She would wake up and come downstairs and immediately start to draw and doodle. Now that she's taking classes in school she's had a chance to get some instruction and feedback, and I think it's been positive for the most part. She has a good relationship with her art teacher, and I'm glad she's found someone who is as completely and thoroughly objective as her old dad.

Just recently they had an opportunity to meet with some admission counselors over at the AVA Gallery from some art colleges. I wasn't sure where the schools were but I was guessing they were from the New England area, though I later learned one of them was from Chicago. The schools were all small and specialized in art, and I'd never heard of most of them. The prospective students were to bring a portfolio of their work and meet with the counselors and talk about their art. It was also a good chance to get some constructive criticism about their work and some insight into what they should do for the future.

I'd heard they do similar things in Boston but that they are heavily attended and the students only get a minute or two with each counselor. Up here in our small town there are fewer students so they can more one-on-one time. At mom and dad's encouragement, A put together a portfolio and went with a few of her classmates. All in all it was a good experience and A came away from feeling good. She enjoyed talking to the counselors and giving some thought to college, though in reality it's a ways off. She was one of, if not the youngest kid there and even the counselors commented that she's got a good head start and a lot of time to keep fine tuning her craft, though their feedback was positive.

I think it was exciting for A to get a taste of big college life, and at the very least it gave her an opportunity to organize her work and get some constructive and objective feedback from people in the know. Dad's opinion will only get you so far, though on that note I'm very proud of her.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Katerhnach for the pic.