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5 Things I Learned in Art School

While I didn’t per say go to an "Art" school, the art department at my university was well developed, and I ended up taking a couple art centered courses each semester. My professors were some of the most influential people in that time, and truly encouraged my artistic development.


art easels in a studio

Some of the most valuable lessons I learned as an artist were while I was at college, and part of that is due to the great mentors I had at the time. I realize not everyone has the opportunities and resources that I had, so I figured I’d share 5 things I learned in art school.


  1. How to Give Constructive Feedback (A.K.A. Critique) We’ve all witnessed the “this is good”, “great job”, and even perhaps “I like this” feedback at some point or another. This is not helpful in any way to anyone. One of the key points of critique sessions that my professors instilled was that these types of feedback were not allowed, unless they included a specific thing, and more importantly why.

  2. Discipline and Time Management I was a serial procrastinator for a good majority of school. Not just college, but middle school and high school too. After a few all-nighters in college, it finally sunk in that most projects I cannot do a majority of in one night. Now there were a few times when inspiration came a bit late, and I found myself in the studio at 1 am, or my idea was too ambitious, and I had to crunch day after day in order to cut it close to deadlines. Present day, I spread out the work, and only do a few hours at a time, and most of my projects are more achievable in a reasonable time frame. 

  3. Exploration I was the art kid who brought weird materials to try out in drawing class, because I worked too fast in comparison to the rest of the class and needed more things to do...And my professor encouraged it. He even let me tweak my assignments to push my abilities too. When you find yourself in a rut, or in need of change, switching it up can be helpful, whether it’s mediums, styles, or genres. It can bring a nice bit of fresh air and help you develop your skills. 

  4. Reality Check In grade school, I was the art kid who always excelled in art class and usually covered any drawing portions for group projects. When I got to college, I found that the first few intro art classes were a similar situation, and as I went with more advanced classes, the playing field began to even out, especially in the classes where I didn’t have much experience in. It was humbling and finally nice to have people who could give me the feedback I needed during critique because they could pinpoint what I needed to work on.

  5. Networking If there’s anything school taught me in general, it is a great place to network, and networking is one of the best ways to find more opportunities. There are still some people I keep in touch with that I met while at school who have given me leads on different artistic opportunities, as well as helpful advice, and I will be forever grateful for that. It’s also a great way to build a small artist group to give each other feedback and support. 


Hopefully this has given you some useful information, but if you have specific questions about pursuing higher education for art, put them in the comments!



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