How To Survive Life After Art School

Web info

2009-11-12T11:23:00.010-05:00

http://www.icompendium.com/

http://otherpeoplespixels.com

http://www.hostway.com/

https://www.godaddy.com/

http://www.register.com/

http://cyberduck.ch/

http://fetchsoftworks.com/
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/

http://www.blogger.com

http://www.google.com/sites/help/intl/en/overview.html

What do you need to make a website?

1. Domain name, such as www.carriepollack.com. Try to chose one that people will easily remember and be able to find. Your goal to is have a presence on the web so people everywhere have access to information about you.

2. Hosting, a host is a company that provides the space for your site to live on the web. This is where you will keep your site itself and all of the info contained in your site.

3. A web design program of some kind, such as Dreamweaver, ilife, to create your site. Most programs now write all of the code for you so you do not need to know HTML. They are mostly drag and drop and provide you with the structure or template. You can also pay fora redesigned template online and really just put your images and info into them. I have some listed at the top.

4. FTP, an uploading program such as Fetch to transfer your web pages and data up to the web

5. Content, obviously...but when you are working on your content make sure your images are small and 72dpi so things will load fast. I am a firm believer in clean, uncluttered design. You website does not need flash, weird plug-ins that make viewing hard for some people with old operating systems. It should be fast, easy to load and navigate. You want people to be able to get the info they need.

Basically you need to ask yourself how tech savvy are you and how much time do you want to put into this. I think of my website as a diary that I update every few months. It generally looks the same but I tweak it every now and then to match my thinking. I really enjoy thinking of how I want people to move through the content.

You also want to think about price. On average you can expect to spend around 200 dollars a year to maintain your site online. That includes paying for your domain name every year or so and finding a hosting company and plan that works for you. This part can cost around 10-20/month. Then there is the web program and the FTP program which you will need to have in order to make your site.

The other possibility is to just start a blog and use this format as your site. It is free, easy to use and change. A lot of people use a blog for this purpose.

Getting your work out there

2009-11-05T16:18:00.004-05:00

Where do I find things to apply for?

It can be really confusing sorting through the mass amounts of things to apply for, where do you start? I recommend trying to keep things simple at first, these places are trust worthy organizations so you will find reputable things to apply for:

College Art Associations opportunity links:
http://www.collegeart.org/opportunities/

NYFA Source to search things to apply for:
http://www.nyfa.org/source/content/search/search.aspx?SA=1

NYFA link to job's and opportunities:
http://www.nyfa.org/level2.asp?id=54&fid=1

A lot of opportunities might not allow current students to apply but you should look through these and see what fits or is interesting to you for when you get out of school.

Getting into a show or getting a residency could and usually is the thing that will open up another world of opportunities, If one place takes a chance on you it is more likely that another will because someone else did.

Slide registries are also a great thing to give your work more presence on the web. You never know who looks through these registries for shows that occur, especially out of NYC. Think of this as a long distance studio visit.

http://registry.whitecolumns.org/
http://www.drawingcenter.org/viewingprogram/index.cfm
http://www.thepaintingcenter.org/apply
http://afonline.artistsspace.org/

Once you get out of school and into the real world (ha!) You will crave that uninterrupted time in the studio and residencies are a great time and place to do that. It is also a great time to network and meet other artists you might not ever get a chance to meet. They are also a great award to list on your resume. I highly recommend them!

These are the 2 best places to research artists residencies:
http://www.artistcommunities.org/
http://www.resartis.org/

Just search around on these links and see what you find. It would be great practice to put an application together just to see how to do it.

Resumes and CV's

2009-10-29T15:58:00.003-04:00

What is the difference between a Resume and CV (curriculum vitae)?

A CV is a general, all-inclusive recitation of one's career. A resume is a shorter, tailored version. You'll put your CV on your website and use a resume for submissions.

-Art/Work. Bhandari, Melber

The artist resume is primarily for use with commercial galleries. While its length, one to four pages, is similar to the “short curriculum vitae,” or “short CV,” it is not intended for academic situations. Avoid making the artist resume complicated. It is meant to be short and simple to review.

-CAA Standards and Guidelines

Your resume should list all of your relevant art work; if it's not related to your art it doesn't belong on your resume. Keep it clean, succinct, consistent and easy to read. If you are at the beginning of your career, keep it to one page. Do not use a font less that 10-point, it is too hard to read. NO TYPOS!!! Have someone check it before you send it out.

-Art/Work. Bhandari, Melber

http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/

http://www.nyss.org/library/reference-resources/

The artists Bio (Biography) summarizes your resume in a narrative form. It will be incorporated into written programs, press releases, etc. It is something a moderator could use to introduce you at a lecture. To create one you should go through your resume and summarize your most significant accomplishments. It is a nice opportunity for you to include one or two pieces of personal info.

-The Artist's Guide, Jackie Battenfield

CUE Foundation Seminars

2009-10-08T15:33:00.001-04:00

I just received an email about the CUE Foundation Seminars called "Meeting Artist's Needs" which contains a lot of great info. The workshops are $5.00 to non-members.

Here is the link for more info:
http://www.cueartfoundation.org/upcoming.html

Digital Photography

2009-10-08T15:01:00.003-04:00

Digital camera info and shooting tips:
http://sf.massart.edu/docs/vl1/Digital-Camera-Tips.pdf
http://sf.massart.edu/docs/vl1/Digital-Camera-Tips-Supplement.pdf

What you need to know about file formats:
http://sf.massart.edu/reference/common-file-formats/

Photoshop CS4 tutorial
http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/cio/file17749.pdf

Where you can find this info and more:
http://sf.massart.edu/workshops/vl1-handouts/

Gianna Commito

2009-10-02T21:48:00.004-04:00

http://www.giannacommito.blogspot.com/
http://registry.whitecolumns.org/view_artist.php?artist=362
http://theoldgold.blogspot.com/2008/07/gianna-commito.html
http://afonline.artistsspace.org/view_artist.php?aid=1872

These are just a few links to Gianna Commito's work online. Something that might be helpful or interesting to you would be to check out her resume on one of the sites and google something to see what it is. You might try Yaddo or McDowell to learn more about those residencies if you are interested in learning more about residencies. I am always checking out people's resumes to see what people have done and if I haven't heard of something I research it to see what possibilities are out there.

Remember to bring your digital camera to Friday's meeting and keep thinking of things you might want to discuss. See you then.

What can I be doing now?

2009-10-01T22:30:00.000-04:00

I know this is hard to think about while you are "in school" deep into your studio and learning a lot of new information but if you think about this now you will feel much lest lost and stressed the day after you graduate.

Here are some questions and thoughts to spark this discussion:

Coming up with a plan, what works for me?
1 year, 5 years, 20 years… Setting goals for your self, making a timeline that makes sense
There are many ways of being “successful”
What is possible? What are my options?
What, When, Where and Why?
Where do I start looking for information?
How do I start to gather research and experience that is pertinent to my goals?
What tools do I need?

You have so many people around you that are full of information, ask everyone everything and figure out what works for you and use what you need.

Welcome!

2009-10-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

This seminar is designed to help graduate students prepare for life after school. During this semester long seminar, students will be introduced to valuable information that will help them to navigate the “art world”. Since this world is extremely vast and each individual will chart their own path, we will begin with the basics, what is necessary, and work towards more specific information tailored to each student’s interests and needs.

Each seminar will cover one topic and include detailed information regarding that topic. Guest speakers of different backgrounds will also make up a part of this seminar when possible. Pertinent readings and other printed information will also be shared.