Carolyn, you have added to the forum as much as the rest of the members. For it is not just the experienced professionals that make conversing on this forum fun as well as helpful. It is always a pleasure to read your posts.
On the subject of education, I had a varied experience. I only have an associates degree since I did not complete the other required courses at the University of Pennsylvania that I needed for my BFA.
You see, I enrolled in a 2 year commercial art college (Art Institute of Philadelphia) and majored in illustration and graphic design. I completed the courses there and got an Associates.
I also enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art for the drawing and painting classes. The Academy has an afflation with the University of Pennsylvania for their BFA and MFA program and you are required to take your other academic courses there. Being an ivy league school you can imagine that the tuition was not cheap.
Since I really cared more about my portfolio than my degree I choose to just register for the courses I wanted and not finish my degree, so I never graduated from the Academy. Even doing just that I have a pretty big student loan debt. Half of my tuition was paid for by Uncle Sam through the GI Bill. I must say that I had some very good instructors, and some... Well, I'll just say they did not care much for the classical style.
The one thing I feel is missing from all art colleges are courses in the business of being a professional artist. It is as if they actually do not believe that you have a goal to sell your work and earn a living. I really feel that in seeing the work of some of my fellow students (some even went on to get an MFA) the quality of student work is of little importance to these schools as long as you pay the tuition. So many art students really do not have the skills needed to be a professional artist, even after they get a degree.
At least at the Art Institute they focused on how to work in commercial art, illustration and how to prepare a portfolio (not that they cared much if you actually got work after graduation either.)
If not for the friendship and mentorship of my instructor Jack Martin I would never have made it. His help was instrumental in my preparation to actually go out and knock on doors and get work as an artist. He even worked with me after I graduated to build my portfolio, where the best places were to go in NY, where to have transparencies made at the best price, where to go for work, who to call on.
He really started me off. It was his idea that. I join the Society of Illustrators in NY. It was funny. He said to me, "if nothing else you get to use the bar and the bathroom when you're in uptown NY". If any of you have ever had to use a public toilet in NYC you know that use of a semi-private bathroom is a big plus.
It was at the SOI that I saw the work of artists like Marvin Mattelson, Mitchell Hooks, Bart Forbes and others. My own work never made the cut for the annual members' show but I always enjoyed looking at the winners every year. It was from this professional work and in doing illustration assignments that I continued my education.
I am no longer a member at the SOI since I now live too far from NYC to get into the city often enough to make it worth it. But I still try and make it to the annual show. Joining organizations like the SOI and the ASOPA is great as long as you can get to meet other members in person. You learn that these artists you so admire are just as human as you. I will admit to a little hero worship. After all, I think we all tend to be guilty of that from time to time.
Marvin - I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy
Well Carolyn, it was nice to share this. I hope I did not get too far off topic.
Hopefully this won't be too far in the future! 
Linear Mode
