This post is taken from my crafthaus blog "The MFA Guidebook for Studio Artists" and was originally posted on March 25, 2013. 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
Dear readers,
Thank you for your patience as I chip away at this extensive topic! It is my goal to deliver valuable, well-researched, well-thought-out advice to all of you, so frequency of posts sometimes suffers. However, we are now nearing the coveted summer break (i.e. more blog writing time) and I want to share with you some ideas I have for the near future:
1. Faculty survey. As I began to write my article titled, “Demystifying the Portfolio,” I realized it was still somewhat of a mystery to me! I decided to create a survey on SurveyMonkey.com regarding the portfolio, along with some other admissions questions, to be completed by MFA faculty across the country. This way, participants can answer questions without feeling the pressure of being quoted. This survey will be coming soon! If you are current or former MFA faculty in studio art I would love to have your participation!
2. MFA Interviews. I want to conduct interviews of fellow studio craft MFA students to be posted on this blog. The written interviews will discuss the interviewee’s artwork, studio practices, future career plans and advice for prospective students, along with three to five images of work. To find the interviewees I will create an open call where any second- or third-year MFA student can apply for an interview, and selection will be on a first-come, first-served basis rather than via a jurying process. The focus of these interviews will be to develop a supportive community of emerging artists and a space to display work as a starting point for conversation, rather than a competition to be the “best”. As a current MFA student I often struggle to find this sense of community in our increasingly digitalized world outside of my own university.
If anyone would like to add to these two ideas or request a topic to be covered, please let me know in the comments section below! I would love to hear your questions, feedback and input!
~Jessica
