Montserrat College of Art Top Questions

If I could give my highschool self any advice for college I would tell him that art isn't just some straight forward path that you have to follow, no art is more then that. I would tell him that if he want's to be even better then me , to go buy a sketchbook and list out every good idea he has had starting from the beginning for senior year to the end. I would tell him to go buy bigger sketchpads and different art tools and get to work because t if you want to be an animator you need to do everything that is art. That different mediums effect you as an artist in great ways. I would tell him to invite fellow artist over for drawing jams and just chill and make art. I would tell him to not chat on facebook with incoming freshman before you know them but at the same time, make them want to know you. I'de tell him to buy the straw hat in marshalls because it will make you famous. But lastly, I'de tell him stop being lazy, your so much more. P.S. Listen to Skid Row

If I could go back in time and talk to the High School me, I would tell him to not give up. Sure, dropping out after Junior year and getting my GED was an easy thing to do back then, but now I look around, and I see all the people that have passed me by education wise. People my age and younger have been done with college for years, and they have a career that they hopefully love that can provide for them. Meanwhile I’ve had to fight and claw my way from job to job only to find myself coming full circle, and here I am 10 years later finally getting the opportunity to go to college, when I could have been done had I started earlier. I would warn myself that what starts off easy, quickly becomes harder without an education, and with a couple years of hard work and determination to get things done, life would be a whole lot easier in the long run. Don’t give up, stick with it, and everything will work out just fine.

College is fun, but be ready to work hard and save money.

I came to this school hoping to find what it means to be an artist. Each form of art inspires the next; the medium changes but the ideas and the process of creation remain the same. Paintbrush, finger, mouse – all act as tools to aid my drive plan, experiment, and revise. I paint to design, I design to draw; to think; to see. Each form of art holds valuable methods and concepts that feed a greater understanding. I open myself to all ideas in favor of progress and individual growth. What is an artist, if not a problem solver and a creator? I travel along life lines, whether lines of paint or pixels on a screen. After two years at Montserrat College of Art, I'm ready to follow new lines in my education, to explore new ideas and new places in a search for engagement and inspiration. I look back on all the lines that have brought me to where I am. I want to collect them, to run my fingers through them and arrange them into something larger than myself, something of greater meaning and beauty – something I can call art.

Attending Montserrat College of art was a wonderful experience. I learned so much that I never knew I needed to know about art. While I was there I learned valuable networking skills as well, and met so many wonderful practicing artists. If i had not gone to this small college i doubt i would have gotten as much personal academic attention as i did, many teachers I never had classes with knew me by name, and knew my personal work. The campus is full or artist all willing to expand your mental portfolio.

If i were to go back in time and find out more information about college life and transitioning from high school to college i would ask more about time management. I would want to know how people going to different colleges and majoring in different subjects with different schedules manage their time. I would do a comparison to the colleges I was interested in and what my classe schedule was like and try to work out when i would do my homework, eat, go food shopping, and have social time. I would also ask if after the transition to college how many people stayed friends with their high school friends. It would be interesting to see how people have changed or not changed and left their comfort zone or not.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior knowing what I do now about college life and making the transition, the advice that I would give myself is: to start assignments as soon as they are assigned not the day before they are due, to ask for help when I need it most or when I feel that something may be out of my reach to handle, to focus more on education and less on situations that generate conflict, and to learn how to maintain a positive balance. I found that starting assignments as soon as they are assigned is essential because not only will I be avoiding immense stress, I will be able to produce my best work and still have time to relax. I found that learning how to maintain a positive balance is beneficial because by doing so, the affect of negativity is lessened. By creating a positive attitude, I learned that I was very inspirational to my peers because I showed them genuine respect . Not only is maintaintaining a positive balance attractive, it is also a way to gain confidence which is needed to create my best work.