General Discussion Thread

[Piney]

So, people who are going to art school/ have gone to art school/ are maybe going to art school, I need your help. Specifically, portfolio stuff. More specifically, what goes into a portfolio. I get a certain point of "have a bunch of technical pieces" (observation and whatnot is important) and "have a bunch of creative pieces" but after working on not nearly enough pieces I'm kind of... lost/ overwhelmed right now. If ever I'm going to default to "more still lives." Any advice/pointers/random tidbits?

Art schooler here! I think what art colleges most want to see is variety. I wouldn't say you need a /whole/ lot of drawings from life, just some scattered in there (I had like... four?) - and it might be good to have both still lives and figure drawings, again, for variety. Varying the medium, too, is bound to make a school more interested in you, because you're showing that you're able to use several mediums, or ar least willing enough to experiment with several mediums. And vary the subject matter too, of course. And it depends on the college, too - some are more interested in technical skills and some prefer to see creativity and a broad range of subject matter. As long as there's some of both.

[Blackjazz]

Good job hunting to you!  And also, if you're looking for something to set yourself apart on a resume, remember those service hours!  "Free work experience" is what my dad calls them.  They'll show your work ethic, and that you've been keeping yourself busy, both things that potential employers might look for in an application.

That has truly been the only thing getting me through these months. My goal now is to get my hands on any job I can and save up enough money to teach English in Korea so that I can pay off my school debts. Once I have that load out of the way I think I'll be able to find out what I really want to do with my life.

[Sadoka]

That has truly been the only thing getting me through these months. My goal now is to get my hands on any job I can and save up enough money to teach English in Korea so that I can pay off my school debts. Once I have that load out of the way I think I'll be able to find out what I really want to do with my life.

Well, you already have some big goals!  Good to hear that volunteering has helped you so much.  Why teach in Korea, though?  Is it higher paying, or just something you've wanted to do?  Additionally, teaching is a rather varied profession, so that may be a good thing to kick off from once you pay your debts.  Just a thought.

[Blackjazz]

You have a point.
I've wanted to teach English abroad since mid-way through my third year of uni, when I realized that I did not, in fact, want to be a translator. It was a toss-up between Korea and Japan because I have friends in both places, but I couldn't find hardly any info about teaching in Japan, only living there, but oodles about teaching in in S. Korea. So after one frustrating afternoon I chose S. Korea. heh. My Japanese friends try to convince me otherwise every time I mention it.
There's also the fact that I really, really love Korean.

[StellersJayC]

Sooo... I take two days away from the forum to catch up on homework and this thread grows seven pages? For some threads that's normal, buuuut I can't recal that ever happening to this one. (Hmm, the way I am writing and the fact that I am so astounded people are using this thread for general discussion suggests I have been writing essays for too long, but I'm not done yet. Oops.)

Who likes randomly changing their profile pic, apparently I do...

I've been considering changing my profile picture for some time now. Not because I dislike Ville or anything, but because I think it is time for some change. If only I could make a choice (for some reason I can't remember how to spell decision, currently. Is that the right spelling? It just looks wrong and I can't tell) on what to change it to.

[Sunflower]

I've been considering changing my profile picture for some time now. Not because I dislike Ville or anything, but because I think it is time for some change. If only I could make a choice (for some reason I can't remember how to spell decision, currently. Is that the right spelling? It just looks wrong and I can't tell) on what to change it to.

How about the bird you're named after?  I see Steller's jays out my home-office window all day long.  They're handsome birds -- smart, tough, and assertive, too.

[Viisikielinenkantele]

I wanted to leave a quick floral tribute here for you before I go to work.


(I just had to picture them before they wither)

Today will be a long day for me, lots of work and a orchestra rehearsal directly afterwards, so no time later. Well, if and only if the major database-changing I´m anticipating takes place today, then I will have lots of time staring at the progress bar and then I might check in here... 

[Sunflower]

I wanted to leave a quick floral tribute here for you before I go to work.

(I just had to picture them before they wither)

Beautiful!  Are those wild primroses?  (They're very common here in the U.S. as a nursery plant, but not in the wild.)

[Fimbulvarg]

Who likes randomly changing their profile pic, apparently I do...

I do. You blink you miss it though.

It was a toss-up between Korea and Japan because I have friends in both places, but I couldn't find hardly any info about teaching in Japan, only living there, but oodles about teaching in in S. Korea. So after one frustrating afternoon I chose S. Korea. heh.

From what I've heard (ie. rumours) Koreans in general put a lot of effort into learning English to a very high level, while it's not that important in Japan for various reasons.

[Eich]

Thermodynamics test in a little while.  I haven't had such a bad night trying to sleep in over a year, but I only got maybe 3.5-4 hours of sleep.
Going in on so little sleep is kinda scary.  I really want a good grade...

[Viisikielinenkantele]

Beautiful!  Are those wild primroses?  (They're very common here in the U.S. as a nursery plant, but not in the wild.)

Yes, primroses, but not wild, only escaped. We have lots of them in our garden and they just seed itself. This is one of the two biggest bushes. (I think some of the others could be actual wild ones, they use to have yellow flowers, I think?)

[Sigrid Marie]

I had a 5 hour Spanish test today, and it felt like I was doing pretty good but like. I finished 1.5 hour before it was over?? The test ended 13:30 and I left at 12:00, and now I'm not sure whether this is a Very Good or a Very Bad sign

[JoB]

oh yes, caring about how to feed ducks is so pretty german.

Outlawing it might be typically German (though I still wouldn't want to bet on that), but unsurprisingly, lakes elsewhere are no less prone to having their ecosystem wiped out by the excess nutrients.

[Haiz]

I FINALLY DID MY ESSAY



I cannot believe I freaked out so much about this. Yesterday I learned that nobody in my class had really written anything at that point either, so me thinking I'm so much worse at this than everyone else is actually pretty irrational. WHO KNEW.

as a bonus, it's not even late!! I still have a lot of time to do my usual ssss-nerdery, and hopefully even go to bed at a Reasonable Time,,, becauseeeeeeeee,,, the ukm arrangers asked if I wanted to recite my poems at the town hall tomorrow morning(!!!)

which reminds me I'm also playing a tiny concert with my folk music group on monday and should probably practice

..........all that debacle on friday about me being useless is pretty funny in hindsight

I had a 5 hour Spanish test today, and it felt like I was doing pretty good but like. I finished 1.5 hour before it was over?? The test ended 13:30 and I left at 12:00, and now I'm not sure whether this is a Very Good or a Very Bad sign

I feel you
I almost always finish things earlier than most everyone else and freak out about it
it's probably gonna be okay!!!!!

[Curry]

I had a 5 hour Spanish test today, and it felt like I was doing pretty good but like. I finished 1.5 hour before it was over?? The test ended 13:30 and I left at 12:00, and now I'm not sure whether this is a Very Good or a Very Bad sign

HHHH yes i do that ALL THE TIME
I actually just did a big standardized test and they gave us an hour and a half?? but I finished in. thirty minutes
everybody else took at least an hour it's still worrying me