A part of me always knew that I wanted to start a blog, I just did not know what to write about. You see, I am the type of person who wants to do EVERYTHING. I love art, cooking, reading, gardening, working out, eating well, craft beer, traveling, meditating, animals, babies… I think you get the point. Mainly, I love learning, growing and embracing life. So I felt that I needed to embrace a brand new role before I was ready to hit the keyboard and meet the blogging world.
That was a huge mistake...
I took up sewing, thinking I could write about my journey becoming the next Vera Bradley, I took on freelance design job after freelance design job on top of my everyday teaching and design job (to the point where I didn’t want to ever design a logo again), I wrote article after article on academic assessment, curriculum design and academic management, only to burn out. It’s a very humbling feeling when you realize that you are not perfect…
and then something so obvious happened…
I took a good hard look at my strengths and weaknesses, dug deep into what I am truly passionate about, and then something clicked.
I love helping artists and teachers. I love sharing my experiences to help people grow. I love supporting people’s dreams. I love being a Creative Mentor!
So after many, many face flops and false starts, I finally stepped into my truth and embraced that which I know best… helping artists reach their full potential!
If you have stumbled onto my blog, you are either an art or design student, a fellow teacher, a parent of a budding artist or someone who generally loves being creative. If that sounds like you, welcome! If not, definitely stick with me anyway because I feel so strongly that there is creative potential within all people. It just may be buried a little deeper inside.
My Topics
Although there will likely be some twists and turns along the way (like I said, I want to do everything), this blog will be a central hub for artists who are looking to that their practice to the next level, specifically to art school. Working for over 25 years at both the high school and collegiate level (read more about my credentials here), I have a vast wealth of knowledge that I am just dying to share with you on topics like:
- Applying to art school
- Curating art portfolios for college admissions
- Careers in the arts
- Applying for scholarships
- AP Studio resources
- Writing artists statements
…And so much more!
TO MY FELLOW TEACHERS, please don’t think I forgot about you.
I have so much that I want to share with you about my experiences mentoring art students. This blog will also contain tons of resources that can help you
- mentor your students more efficiently and effectively
- Reduce the stress of helping your student apply to art school
- Help with AP Studio and other classes
- Build stronger lesson plans
And more!
What’s in it for you?
Stick with me and I will share insight, step by step tutorials, share downloadable resources to keep you organized during your application processes, offer suggestions on art projects that can help you grow and improve, and so much more.
Give me a chance to support your dreams!
Hopes for the Future
Since this is my first blog post ever, I am both super-excited and nail-biting nervous about where the future of this blog will go. Ultimately, I hope that this will become a space where artists, teachers and anyone looking to dive a bit deeper into their practice can come to learn tips on improving their craft on many levels.
If all goes right, I hope to create a space for sharing. I would love to:
- Set up online galleries for peer critiques
- Host video chat critiques
- Host forums to discuss new topics in the classrooms, galleries and more
But for now…
I hope that you will come back to this space and let me be a part of your creative journey!
Xo
-Karyn