Hello everyone!
I'm applying before December 1st in order to qualify for SAIC's Early Merit Scholarship consideration. This means however that I have quite the deadline and need some quick help to proof read and look over my essay for any considerations of things you would like to see if you were admissions.
The topic:
"Use your written statement as a way to better represent yourself and your work. Writing is a very important component of being an artist. We will be looking closely at your ability to compose an essay, as well as the manner in which you utilize text as a tool. We are interested in finding out more about you, why you do what you do, and why you are a strong candidate for SAIC's undergraduate program. Please also include information about community service projects, exhibitions you have participated in, or any other activities that contribute to the making of your work." (SAIC)
My Essay:
Written Statement
In the present time, my artwork could best be said to represent my personal beliefs about current social issues. These issues have been numerous over the years of my life, including series on: the environment, the effects of being a person born without or deprived of a nationality, issues of gender identity and stereotypes, as well as recently having taken to exploring how most people are consumers. I hope that, through engaging design and other aesthetic choices, that my audience will be influenced to ask the vital questions of "so what?" and "why?" behind the piece.
My interest in the environment and artwork using found materials really took off a couple summers ago when, as a High School Junior, I was selected to receive a scholarship for a week-long camp that focused on drawing landscapes. It was for Ox-Bow, an affiliated school with The Art Institute of Chicago, with a campus of "115-acres of pristine natural forests, dunes, a lagoon, and historic buildings." (Ox-Bow). Spending my time under the sun, and often forgetting to reapply sunscreen, I was able to truly appreciate the biodiversity of west Michigan; I had only moved there shortly before, to attend my current high school, coming from the other side of the state and a more urban-developed environment. This time across the state got me involved participating in volunteer work with organizations such as West Michigan Environmental Council and other independent events, from tasks of cleaning the lake shoreline to pulling out invasive plant species on nature preserves. This passion spilled over into a sustained interest, with me going backpacking to Nordhouse Dunes for a weekend with the group Ambrose Collective, an art group that I participate in, to create artwork from life between the unpredictable Michigan weather in my own free time. These events strengthen my convictions and what I execute in art, that we should take ideas from nature and re-apply them to our own presence for a more harmonious relationship between two currently incoherent pieces.
Currently, I am enrolled and building a portfolio for AP Art. As a college level class, I have many freedoms usually not seen in a high school environment; rather than being told to follow instruction, I have independent studio time and spend additional hours on my own time to create high-quality artwork. My artwork typically is identifiable by its use of different art elements, notably contrast between hard and soft edges to guide the eye throughout the artwork, sometimes surreal choices in the environment or color choice, and an affinity for using mixed media that utilizes water colors, inks, oil pastel or collage. While drawing and graphic design makes up the majority of my current portfolio, I also have a variety of canvases and also love to create paper mache models to explore upon. As my school additionally requires a senior project, I am also spending a large chunk of my time exploring the art of jewelry and its applications in the art world.
These qualities ultimately make me a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I hope to attend in order to continue my education in an environment which pushes its students, demanding more because such a demand pushes the artist and results in art which carries risk. The process of discovering new techniques, methods and ideas through a rigorous course is both what draws me to this institute and reaffirms that I will succeed.
I'm applying before December 1st in order to qualify for SAIC's Early Merit Scholarship consideration. This means however that I have quite the deadline and need some quick help to proof read and look over my essay for any considerations of things you would like to see if you were admissions.
The topic:
"Use your written statement as a way to better represent yourself and your work. Writing is a very important component of being an artist. We will be looking closely at your ability to compose an essay, as well as the manner in which you utilize text as a tool. We are interested in finding out more about you, why you do what you do, and why you are a strong candidate for SAIC's undergraduate program. Please also include information about community service projects, exhibitions you have participated in, or any other activities that contribute to the making of your work." (SAIC)
My Essay:
Written Statement
In the present time, my artwork could best be said to represent my personal beliefs about current social issues. These issues have been numerous over the years of my life, including series on: the environment, the effects of being a person born without or deprived of a nationality, issues of gender identity and stereotypes, as well as recently having taken to exploring how most people are consumers. I hope that, through engaging design and other aesthetic choices, that my audience will be influenced to ask the vital questions of "so what?" and "why?" behind the piece.
My interest in the environment and artwork using found materials really took off a couple summers ago when, as a High School Junior, I was selected to receive a scholarship for a week-long camp that focused on drawing landscapes. It was for Ox-Bow, an affiliated school with The Art Institute of Chicago, with a campus of "115-acres of pristine natural forests, dunes, a lagoon, and historic buildings." (Ox-Bow). Spending my time under the sun, and often forgetting to reapply sunscreen, I was able to truly appreciate the biodiversity of west Michigan; I had only moved there shortly before, to attend my current high school, coming from the other side of the state and a more urban-developed environment. This time across the state got me involved participating in volunteer work with organizations such as West Michigan Environmental Council and other independent events, from tasks of cleaning the lake shoreline to pulling out invasive plant species on nature preserves. This passion spilled over into a sustained interest, with me going backpacking to Nordhouse Dunes for a weekend with the group Ambrose Collective, an art group that I participate in, to create artwork from life between the unpredictable Michigan weather in my own free time. These events strengthen my convictions and what I execute in art, that we should take ideas from nature and re-apply them to our own presence for a more harmonious relationship between two currently incoherent pieces.
Currently, I am enrolled and building a portfolio for AP Art. As a college level class, I have many freedoms usually not seen in a high school environment; rather than being told to follow instruction, I have independent studio time and spend additional hours on my own time to create high-quality artwork. My artwork typically is identifiable by its use of different art elements, notably contrast between hard and soft edges to guide the eye throughout the artwork, sometimes surreal choices in the environment or color choice, and an affinity for using mixed media that utilizes water colors, inks, oil pastel or collage. While drawing and graphic design makes up the majority of my current portfolio, I also have a variety of canvases and also love to create paper mache models to explore upon. As my school additionally requires a senior project, I am also spending a large chunk of my time exploring the art of jewelry and its applications in the art world.
These qualities ultimately make me a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I hope to attend in order to continue my education in an environment which pushes its students, demanding more because such a demand pushes the artist and results in art which carries risk. The process of discovering new techniques, methods and ideas through a rigorous course is both what draws me to this institute and reaffirms that I will succeed.