This post is taken from my crafthaus blog "The MFA Guidebook for Studio Artists" and was originally posted on January 17, 2012. To view the blog in its entirety along with reader comments, visit my Group on crafthaus, or join to stay updated: http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook
THE MFA GUIDEBOOK FOR STUDIO ARTISTS
This blog is intended as a guide for potential and current MFA students, focusing on those in the craft disciplines. It will primarily focus on tips for prospective students, but will also address the needs of those currently working toward their degrees. By sharing my own experience, articles I find and interviews I conduct, I will work to offer guidance to studio artists who may be nervous to start the journey alone so that they can have the same phenomenal opportunity and experience that I’m having now in my MFA program.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
THE MFA GUIDEBOOK FOR STUDIO ARTISTS
This blog is intended as a guide for potential and current MFA students, focusing on those in the craft disciplines. It will primarily focus on tips for prospective students, but will also address the needs of those currently working toward their degrees. By sharing my own experience, articles I find and interviews I conduct, I will work to offer guidance to studio artists who may be nervous to start the journey alone so that they can have the same phenomenal opportunity and experience that I’m having now in my MFA program.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
When I decided that I wanted to apply to an MFA program, I had been out of school for two years. I quickly became aware of the fact that I hadn’t the slightest idea of where to start. My first thought was to search online, and though Google returned thousands of websites for MBA’s and law students, I couldn’t find a single comprehensive resource that guided me as a prospective studio art graduate student. And so I went on to contact past professors and anyone who knew anyone who knew an MFA student, so that I could piece together answers to my many questions: What does my portfolio need to look like? Which school and program are right for me? What can I expect at an interview? What can I expect from an MFA program?
I ended up with an acceptance letter and Graduate Assistantship at Kent State University, but there were a lot of times during my journey when I felt lost, confused and overwhelmed. It was then that the idea first came to me to write a blog for blossoming artists like me thinking about an MFA: an all-inclusive guide to graduate school for studio artists, focusing on crafts media. The resulting blog, The MFA Guidebook for Studio Artists, will include information on finding schools, the application process, how to create a portfolio, funding opportunities, differences in programs, what to expect and more. It will also go on to address needs of current graduate students, such as how to take advantage of your time in school and options after graduation. It will include entries based on my own experience, events I attend, articles I read and interviews I conduct with faculty and fellow students.
After finding my own way into the doors of an MFA program, I feel that I have a great deal of insight to offer prospective students. This blog will aim to offer guidance to those who may be nervous to start the journey alone so that they can have the same phenomenal opportunity and experience that I’m having now in my MFA program.
Below: Me in my graduate studio at Kent State; Modern Woman, T-shirt transfers on cotton, turf, fabricated sterling silver and copper, 2008, 2½” x 3” x ¾”
Below: Me in my graduate studio at Kent State; Modern Woman, T-shirt transfers on cotton, turf, fabricated sterling silver and copper, 2008, 2½” x 3” x ¾”
