Undergraduate / 'Mapping Me' - define a experience essential to your identity [7]

Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Any help would be appreciated!

Mapping Me

Sometimes I try to create maps in my head. Past the office and into the courtyard with the sandpit, past the water cooler and up the stairs...I trace the route out on to the palms of my hand; following the curves and the lines, and then moving up my fingers. I am creating a map of Mirambika.

I imagine the whole of Mirambika to be bathed in this beautiful golden light, and I associate it with this feeling of being infinite. I remember sliding down the giant stone pyramids during the rains; cycling up and down the tarry roads and lying down on the roof some nights and just counting the stars.

I grew up amongst these memories, in Mirambika- my school till the 10th grade. It imbibed in me this sense of freedom and lightness; it gave me the gift of exploration and adventuring, and being lost in childhood. It taught me to just be.

But it also taught me to research, and apply that research in projects, plays, stories and art; unlike my peers in other schools who were burdened with heavy textbooks- we were given loose guidelines, and made to work within that. This planted in me this need to be process oriented rather than outcome oriented.

Eventually, my days in Mirambika were numbered, because the school only went up till the 10th grade- and an almost unknown fear crept up in me. A sense of not- belonging. Sadness. Uncertainty. What would I do next? Where would I go? And worse, would I become like my peers in other schools?

Eventually, everything worked out. I think it always does. I applied to just one school, and got in. Vasant Valley School, ranked the best in all of India. Of course I felt lost at first- from the vast openness of free progress school to the seemingly rigid walls of formal school. However, I overcame these feeling... of doubt, or insecurity- and transformed it into one of belonging, love, happiness.

And now I don't need to make maps in my head, on my palms. Because I can walk into the classrooms, smell the scents in the art room, run across the open courtyard in the pouring rain. I can lie down on the wet grass, talking away; stay up all night studying and enjoying it, and spend hours reading in the library.

Vasant Valley gave me the gift of openness; it taught me never to restrict myself, ever. It also gave me exposure, and awareness.

I feel this journey from one school to the other has really shaped who I am today - because both schools were so complimentary and instrumental to create me- this person who is an amalgamation of contrasts and contradictions.

Mirambika taught me to be infinite, free; and Vasant Valley taught me to be uninhibited and open. One taught me to wander, be lost in the beauty of the world, while the other gave me a structure, a way within this wandering. While one taught me to not restrict myself, the other taught me that I can take that freedom a step further, and treat the whole world as my canvas.

Mirambika gave me my dreams, and Vasant Valley helped me transform them into goals, into reality, into fruition. I always knew I wanted to be involved in something creative when I grow up, but now I know that I want to be a designer- I want to create art, and create worlds through my art for people to explore and get lost in.

And today, I am everything my schools could offer me; but then again, I am more. I am unique, and then I'm not. What I've come to accept through this experience, this story- is that I am just me, a sum of all my experiences and more. I have come to believe in the power of me.

Undergraduate / I have always wanted to be a little different from others - SOP - SCAD [4]

I have always wanted to be a little different from others. I've never wanted to fit into the crowd, but always stand out and push myself- I've never wanted to think inside or outside the box, but rather transform and challenge it.

And I think my need to be unique has found its full expression in art and design. It may have started when I was 12, when I first started decorating my room by creating 'inspiration' boards, or even when I was eight- and used to grind up flowers and dirt and leaves to create different textures and colours on paper.

My parents gave me an exposure to so much art from such a young age- which really developed my interest in art and design. And so growing up was the most enriching and exciting experience, because as the daughter of a filmmaker/ artist and an organic food restaurateur, life has been a scattered, beautiful mess. And I thank my parents for this everyday.

Today I feel my approach to art is process rather than outcome oriented, as I have a natural thirst to learn. I love making mental maps, diagrams, and rough sketches before starting my work; this allows me to follow a natural pattern of thought to arrive at the finished work, but also allows me to review my work and learn effectively from my mistakes. Writing for me is an essential part of the artistic process- I really enjoy creating stories and poems; and I illustrate these with storyboards and drawings reflective of the writings.

My love of research and learning also means that I'm really inspired by humanities. I love existential philosophy, the psychology of conditioning, and Native American Indian folklore and myths- to name a few. And I feel this really comes through in my art- my work is an amalgamation of these concepts, thoughts and my interpretation of them, and aesthetic art forms across different mediums.

A sub- conscious theme across my work has perhaps been existentialism and surrealism; I am inspired by Magritte, and Ernst, and Frida Kahlo. The theme really reflects me as an individual- black inks, grey acrylics and super whites bring out the negative aspect of the concept; but I also feel that through bright yellows and water colour pinks and blues, I am able to bring out another, lesser known aspect of existentialism- that you can create meaning in a meaningless life by being happy and loving people. And that is me in an essence.

Taking up art as a subject in school has really allowed me to refine my technique and skills, as well as grow as a conceptual thinker. I went to Mirambika till grade 10, and it was there that I discovered that learning is an exciting adventure, and not just a chore in school. After Mirambika, I studied in Vasant Valley School- with an amazing art department with a faculty that has allowed me to get the most out of their creative experiences, as well as create my own unique artistic expression. These schools have also given me a platform to showcase my work in exhibitions and participate in competitions (such as the Artistic Effects competition, in which I claimed first place) as well as develop my love of contributive work- be it working collectively with my friends for an installation or brainstorming ideas for posters to display across school.

I see art in everything around me, I see art in myself; art which is dying to manifest itself. Creating for me is a process through which I am able to gain clarity, a process through which I am able to amalgamate all my learning and knowledge and skills into something reflective of me as an individual.

It is because of this that I want to pursue art- I want to combine my love for art with the tendency for entrepreneurship I inherited from my parents. Right now I don't know how to get there- but that is why I want to go to art school- so I can learn this, as well as much much more. I want to be a designer, and make a difference by exposing others from a young age to the creative world, just as I was.

And that's where SAIC comes in. I feel SAIC has this perfect balance of technique and concept based learning, which would be the ideal environment for me. Because of the unique inter- disciplinary course of study offered, I feel I would be able to grow as an artist and as an individual. Moreover, SAIC is a community- it is a community of artists all seeking to grow and expand creatively, and even imagining myself to be a part of this community excites me.

I also have a lot to offer SAIC too- I have my diversity of unique concepts and thought processes which would benefit the school. My collaborative tendencies would be helpful for group and inter- disciplinary workings. Values such as hard- work, patience and efficiency inculcated in me by my artist parents would also, I feel, go a long way in an arts education.

Ando so, I want to be an artist, a designer; I want to challenge and transform 'the box'; to develop as an individual; to challenge myself creatively; to grow artistically. I want to weave stories and narratives and create worlds through my work. I want to learn, as much and as far as possible. I believe SAIC can help me achieve my goals.