Number Three: Grad School
I never went to grad school. I couldn’t find a program that interested me. Maybe I was just scared. I bounced around potential subjects in the years following my undergraduate degree. I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and the natural progression would’ve been a master’s degree in the same discipline or field. I seriously considered Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Counseling, and (wait for it) even seminary. I flirted with the idea of Communication Studies, Education and most briefly an MFA in Studio Art. Scatterbrained much?
Well, here’s the truth. I was probably afraid. Not of the work. Probably of the admission process. Maybe I didn’t think I would fit. I thought I made a mistake not attending grad school. I was lost. However, as time passed, I settled into a self-awareness that was staring me in the face. If I wasn’t going to pursue a graduate degree, I was going to have to make my own art degree.
Make your own graduate degree, you say? How preposterous! That is true. There is no substitute for the structure you receive with the classroom by having assignments, critique, community and the weight of academic performance associated with an established graduate program. A graduate program has been built over time with heavy scrutiny and the brain trust of great academics who are invested in, if nothing else, the reputation of their program. This results in a structure that allows a large number of students to get from point A to point B in a logical progression. In addition, a graduate degree from a reputable institution holds weight in the professional world.
Make your own graduate degree, you say? How preposterous! Let me explain. From the time I was a small child, I drew. I don’t remember where I learned. I don’t remember what age I began. As long as I can remember, I’ve been drawing. That is a full thirty-plus years of a hobby without formal instruction. Fortunately, this was coupled with a strong tendency towards autodidactism (self-education) so I drew a lot. When I was 30th I decided to become a photographer. I taught myself (well, with the help of a good friend and the internet). During my photography self-education, I stumbled across Rembrandt. Whoops. Worst thing you can do is introduce an artist to an artist. Hello Mr. Van Rijn (That’s Rembrandt’s last name).
That was the beginning of my post-bach studies. I dove in headfirst with Rembrandt, Vermeer and a few other Dutch masters and then quite naturally the Italian Renaissance with Da Vinci, Michelangelo. From there I found other artists throughout history like Velazquez (love his work), Rubens, Bouguereau and Sargent. With each new artist I fell in love with art in a brand new way. I read about the instruction these masters had received and decided to put myself through an extensive reeducation in art. I gathered as many learning materials as I could and got to work. I even quit my job so I could dedicate myself to the study of anatomy, physics (specifically optics), fabrics and architecture. All while practice my drawing techniques. I studied the great photographers and cinematographers. Maybe one blog I’ll list them out and why I like them. All with the sole purpose of becoming the best artist I can possibly be. Autodidactism has its challenges but the process of treating my studies like a graduate school program is much preferred to doing nothing, at least in my eyes.
So where do I stand in my self-education? I don’t know. Don’t really care. I just keep working really hard and letting the work speak for itself. I have a long way to go but I find one comforting consideration. Maybe I didn’t make a mistake by passing a formal degree. Either way, it doesn’t matter. I gotta get back to work and to work is all I can do!