WOW! What a convention! It was a great treat to meet all of you fellow Torontonians and so so many familiar faces. The love I felt from my hometown made me so happy and proud to be Canadian. I was please to see so many talented up and comers from Sheridan and Seneca College displaying and selling their work.
Usually my fellow Imaginists take my wallet from me during conventions so that I don't end up buying up everything I see but this time I was able to hide a bit of cash from them and get some artwork from a handful of these talented people.
Many people have been telling me to write a bit more on our blog about more personal stuff, like voicing my opinion about anything on my mind. I can't promise anything but I will definitely make a conscious effort to do so more often.
One common question I got was how to pick the right art school to attend. Being a teacher myself, I'd like to say that you look for the good teachers but in all honesty it's more about the students. Don't get me wrong. The teachers are extremely important for the students to learn BUT... it seems to me that that's not enough. The students must want to learn.
I've seen many examples of many different schools where the teachers are great but the students as a collective just didn't have the motivation to work as hard as students from another school. If you look at the students of the schools you are choosing from, not only will it be a great indicator of how good the teachers are but more importantly when you look at it as a law of averages it will tell you how you'll end up (most likely). That's not to say that you are destined a to end up a certain way because of the school you choose but I do believe that you could reach a higher potential if you are surrounded by the right people.
That's why people want to work at certain studios more than others. It's usually not because of the supervisors or anything like that, it's the artists that work there - because motivation is infectious. Not only that but you'll learn as much from your peers than from your teachers if you're spending those long hours at school like you're supposed to.
Teachers only teach for a small fraction of your day. Where do you go for help if you don't have your teachers there? To your fellow students. Also sometimes it's easier to understand things if it's explained from a beginners point of view. Teachers sometimes forget how hard it was to learn certain aspects of art which could make it a bit more difficult for the students to learn. Which is why I always picture my classes in the eyes of the students as I write the curriculum. So far it seems to be working...
Anyhow there's my little bit of blah blah blahing for this week... here's a pic out of the Fairy Sketches book... enjoy!
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