The Grad School Saga – Prologue
The Art Institute of Boston
During my graduate school application journey, I ran across many helpful blogs. They offered advice on everything from transitioning to graduate concerns to etiquette for following up on applications. I am planning to begin an article series on the quirks and rigors of the MFA program adventure, sharing what I’ve learned along the way. I know I’ve shifted my attention away from this blog and onto studio work, Tumblr and Pinterest, but I plan to continue updating this space with useful information, in the hopes that it helps others in their artistic pursuits.
This Fall (summer, actually!) I begin my own MFA quest at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. I will be pursuing an MFA in Visual Arts through their innovative, residency-based program. I’ll also be sharing a lot of helpful information on low residency programs in general and how they’re ideal for artists with an established local presence, studio or career that cannot be uprooted for permanent relocation to another city. Low residency models are full time, rigorous MFA programs that include year-round coursework and intensive studio practice, critiques, theory, and the production of a thesis and exhibition, just like a traditional, on-campus MFA. More on that in another article. I think the program format is brilliant, and many top-ranked universities already offer them (more are coming, too!).
Choosing my school was a difficult. I was also accepted into programs at MassArt, MICA, Vermont Studio Center (Johnson State), VCFA and Goddard, but the Art Institute of Boston seems most in line with my artistic goals, have an excellent format and group of intellectual minds to work with and they also offered me the best package (they were far more willing to work with me than some of the higher ranked schools!).
Choosing an MFA program has been likened to deciding to have children or planning a permanent relocation: not to be entered into lightly. All things have to be considered: cost of attendance, program components, instructors and professors, other student personalities, the output of the university, its reputation and your own fit with both the metro area and the program vision. So many things can change with just a single choice and I’m excited to see what comes next.
I’ll be discussing the nature of the program and my own continued transformation as it happens.
Articles I’m working on that will be shared here as I go:
- Crafting your Letter of Intent / Personal Statement for MFA Applications
- All About Low Residency MFA Programs
- The Wait: Your Applications are in, now comes the Horror of the Wait
- Crafting your MFA Visual Portfolio: Tips
- Choosing MFA Programs to Apply to
I’ll also be sharing resources that I have found and used personally, like the info below.
If you’re thinking of applying to grad school, looking for ideas or input on the process, or just looking for helpful information and intelligent insight in the visual arts, I recommend The Grad Cafe forum. They are an incredible resource, cataloging years of input from potential, past, present and future grads. Scroll down to Arts > Visual for specific help on the MFA process.
Best wishes and happy creating!
Saturday Drawing Classes
I have ongoing Saturday drawing techniques classes lined up for the entire summer! Fun, hands-on workshops are designed to get you drawing if you’ve only dabbled before, or to polish your already burgeoning skills.
Classes provide heavily individualized instruction, even if there’s a small group attending that day. Relaxing, but mentally engaging environment will get you excited to take out your sketchbook. Join in any time. Flexible scheduling allows you to come and go as your personal schedule permits, without missing anything.
For more information, visit my official class page. You can also sign up directly from my sign up page.
We will be working in graphite, charcoal, ink and other mediums, on paper.
Classes are every Saturday from 1 – 2 pm at my Nob Hill art studio.
Acrylic Painting Classes!
Are you looking to gain skills in acrylic painting, or brush up on existing skills? I’m offering Saturday painting classes for only $15 per 1-hour session.
Classes are held at my Albuquerque, New Mexico studio in beautiful Nob Hill, not far from restaurants and shopping! Easy parking, too.
For more information, or to sign up for a class, please visit my portfolio page.
Process
“The Extraordinary,” 2011. Ren Adams (photograph)
It’s all about the process.
The formation of concept. The endless connectivity of ideas and shapes, colors and movements. The moment of integration when things fall neatly together–and the moment of triumph when a barren wall is torn away to reveal the natural direction the piece needs to move into.
Fine artists celebrate the process.
We love the planning, the endless layers of line and idea. We love the materiality of the medium. The “paintness” of paint. The gritty, physical surface of cast plaster. We engage in the marriage of medium and idea, the process of generating a new entity, a complexity of being and form that takes on a material shape, but is itself something beyond the literal. We work in the space where the actual medium meets the mind as it is folded and blended with thought.
The process is the artist’s approach to generating new forms–a ritual of creation.
As Lao Tzu says, “A good traveler is not intent upon arriving,” neither is the artist intent upon the final product. It’s about the journey, physically and philosophically. The artwork is simply a souvenir of the artist’s amazing trip.
Want to Connect?
“The Hidden Landscape,” Ren Adams, 2011. Photograph.
I’m in love with Tumblr and Pinterest–they are virtual treasure hunts of image and word.
They’re also figuring in quite nicely to the growth of my current body of work (sneaky clue). 
Stop by and see me!
The Information. It’s all that. 
The Adirondack Review Features “Assemblage”
Pieces from my 2012 Assemblage series (serigraphs on rice paper) have been published in the Spring, 2013 edition of The Adirondack Review.
Please stop by and take a look–and enjoy the literary offerings.
A Few Favorite Independent Shops!
Here are a few of my favorite gourmet edible shops. I’m sharing them here because they also have Etsy shops, and I’d like to encourage my blog readers to support their actual independent shops. The more you buy from their REAL shops (as in OFF Etsy), the more money they earn from each sale.
There’s nothing like gourmet marshmallows. I love them. They have a different texture and flavor from mass-produced, store-bought varieties and are magnificent as single snacks, melted into drinks, toasted, or used in cooking. My favorite flavors by Mia are the Egg Nog, Dulce de Leche and Vanilla, but I’m partial to creamy.
I love everything about these guys: their philosophy, their range of goodies–and of course, their honey! They also make a range of beeswax products, including candles and solid lotion.
This is not ordinary fudge. Her specialties are fudges that taste like pies and cakes.
Do you make food and have an independent store (off any other venue)? Share it here.
I am a professional artist, writer, and teacher with over 20 years of experience in painting and sketchwork. Lately I've focused on printmaking (lithography, monotype, relief), though I studied Chinese brush painting for a number of years. I have a degree in English (emphasis on poetry and creative writing) and a BFA in Studio Art (printmaking concentration). I am currently pursuing an MFA in Visual Arts from the Art Institute of Boston. I also teach through the University of New Mexico Continuing Education department. A lot of my work focuses on the interconnectedness of all things--and on the Tao, present in everything. Zowie! /end formal-sounding bio.
