Art School Porfolio?
 

Hey there :) In Semtember I will be starting my second year in high-school, so I have to start thinking about University. Luckily (Or not? I don't know if this is good or bad...) I basically spend 80% percent of my time daydreaming and thinking about my future, and since high-school is going by so fast I have especially been pondering about University.
I already know that if I go to University I will either choose to do a course in Literature (which I have already looked into) or some kind of Fine Arts degree. As I want to study in Scotland (and preferably in or near Glasgow), I have checked out various courses offered in Glasgow School of Art, and I have found three which interest me: "Suclpture & Environmental Art", "Painting & Printmaking" and "Communication Design".

I was just wondering if any of you did/ are doing/ want to do a Fine Arts degree, and if you could share what you know of it (what I would need for a portfolio, skills I would have to obtain, or just anecdotes about what a Fine Arts student's life is like).

When it comes to art, my strong points are: sketching (with a regular pencil, a pen, whatever), drawing with charcoal, and drawing with water pencils which I use as an alternative to painting because I'm not that great with paintbrushes. I am better at drawing from my imagination than copying an object or scene. I have already tried scculpting, and I'm not bad at that either.

Unfortunately I am in a high school which does not offer the option to take Art classes, so for the past year I have only been doodling at the side of my jotter... I am, however, going to be challenging myself more and start a project where each week on Facebook I post one new drawing I have done accompanied by the music i was listening to whilst doing it (the music is what inspires me) and how long it took me to do it. I might also post this on TeenHelp if some of you are interested. Hopefully this will push me to learn new techniques and styles. I might try setting up an Art Club at school as well.

Anyway, it would be much appreciated if you'd share anything you know about Art School with me! Thanks :)

Re: Art School Porfolio?
 

Hey there,

I didn't go to Art School, but I'm going to try to help (and bump the post so others might answer too!)

First of all, it's really good that you know what you want to study in university. When I was your age (gosh, I feel old now :p ) I knew I wanted to go to university, but didn't really know what I wanted to study. It's also really good that you have researched your chosen university and courses too!

Even though I didn't go to Art School, my degree is in Educational Studies and English. Some people tend to think that the arts are 'easy subjects' to study and not requiring any 'real' work, but they wrong. The arts are treated like any other course in university, and you will be expected to go to lectures and seminars, write essays, and do projects as well as background reading.

As far as the portfolio goes, this is a common requirement for most universities in the UK. If you apply for Glasgow School of Art through the UCAS application, the university will contact you about your portfolio and a statement to go along with that, which is uploaded through the university's site- here. There are also some helpful guides on what should be in your portfolio- Sculpture and Environmental Art and Painting and Printmaking, can be found here. Whilst Communication Design, can be found here. Generally, you will have to tailor your personal statement, portfolio and supporting statement to those courses that you apply for. In other words, try to match to their criterias. Is it possible to look for online art classes, or community art classes, or even a personal tutor? Applying for a place in university can be stressful, more so if your school doesn't offer art. I think it may be beneficial for you to talk to someone with a background or knowledge in art and ask for their advice on the portfolio. Do you have a careers teacher in your school? Or someone who helps with university applications? They might be able to help you too.

Even though you don't study art in high school, I think it's an awesome idea to start projects in your spare time, and perhaps set up an art club. I'm sure we would all like to see them on TeenHelp if you feel like sharing too :)