print&draw

Accepted to SAIC Painting & Drawing program via snail mail, no word on funding yet... Didn't think I did well in that interview since they kept asking me why I didn't paint on canvas. 

Just to let everyone know I spoke to the woman at UCLA to change my address and she said they don't send out letters, only emails. They are in the final stages of decision and have not informed anyone yet. She said it most likely will not be before the end of next week. Usually in the 1st and 2nd week of March. So absolutely no reasons for anyone to panic that they haven't heard anything yet! Good Luck people!
 
And I am also completely obsessed with this forum, it has been helpful but I can also see that it could be a little traumatic for people that are not hearing back. Hope you're all holding in there and keeping positive!
 
I have had a good 4 years since I last studied and believe me, there are plenty of advantages to getting some solid professional experience out in the real world, remember there is no experience like the real one and its really really important to see what its really going to be like out there. My advice would be, if you don't get in where you had hoped, don't fret! It obviously is not your time yet and lets face it grad school is not the finish line. My advise would be to get as much experience as possible, have exhibitions, do residencies, start a small gallery with your friends or have underground shows (whatever your thing is), try to network, meet people and travel! I know it seems like all of this is probably to expensive and difficult but believe me it is possible and once you start you'll get on a roll and won't be able to stop.
 
Do HEAPS of research and apply for things, shows, residencies, awards etc - but make sure they are right for you and not financial rip offs.
 
ALSO most importantly of course just keep making art and making it bigger and better than before.
 
Here are some good sites:
 
http://www.transartists.org
http://www.resartis.org/en/
http://www.re-title.com
http://www.nyfa.org
http://losangelesartresource.wordpress.com
http://www.residencyunlimited.org
http://www.chashama.org
http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/763138/a-guide-to-20-top-artist-residencies-and-retreats-across-the-united-states
http://www.artistcommunities.org
http://creative-capital.org/home
 
Personally, being originally from Australia where we don't do internships for free, I think they're a little bit of a waste of time - but this was only in my case because I couldn't handle the idea of working for free but I'm sure there are great internships out there too.
 
From my own personal experience the Vermont Studio Center is completely amazing! Its like art school condensed into a month. They can help you out financially too so it won't seem so daunting, and rememebr they give you a bedroom, amazing studio, and 3 incredible meals a day! Well worth it I say. They also have fellowships too if you're lucky.
 
There are actually a lot of free residencies in the US, I know the Millay Colony, MacDowell Colony, Skowhegan, Woodstock, Fire Island, Art OMI, Headlands, and many more.
 
And there are HEAPS of residencies in Europe and Asia that are free, if not pay for airfares too (though these are generally competitive).  - Check out the first 2 links for info on this.
 
Specifically South Korea puts a lot of money into 'young artists' and there are a lot of opporuntites there. I did a residency with the Nanji Art Studio and everything was free, I believe they now help you with the airfare too. Just google residencies in Korea and I'm sure a few will come up. 
 
Also I know a lot of people who seem to be ending up in Iceland doing residencies at the moment!? there are some good free residencies in Norway too.
 
Also if you are from the US you may want to think about studying in Europe? (and I'm not just talking about London!). Although these are mainly being fazed out, there are a lot of free(ish) 1-2 year postgrad programs that sound amazing. Try De-ateliers in the Netherlands. Good places to look for free/cheap education (and REALLY good quality) are: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, France, and Greece...
 
I have done a lot of research on this kind of stuff so if anyone wants any specific details on residencies, alternative programs or application processes then I would be happy to help you out! I have done 2 residencies in Europe, 1 in Asia and 4 in the USA.
 
​Remember if it doesn't happen this year, then that means you just have a whole year open to other exciting things.
 
Good Luck!

@ supaslim - Sorry to hear about the rejection, but the choices of the school can often be highly subjective and fickle. Sometimes it comes down to having someone in their program that is making work similar to yours. I'd take the suggestion to find alternative ways to try and make work. Don't get discouraged, I have been rejected from so many shows & residencies that it makes my head spin, but ultimately what matters is that you keep trying. Tenacity is the most admirable quality an artist can have. 
 
On another note I just got an email from RISD stating I had been accepted. I wasn't counting on that, still in shock I guess, especially since the letter directly addressed what they liked about my portfolio and my work. 

I just received a SAIC painting interview email.

Just got a call, set up an interview for SAIC printmedia program. 

Congrats to all the folks hearing back so soon! This is part procrastination on my part, (a few apps yet to submit), but I just read the transcript of a speech that was so wonderful, I want to share it with everyone (artists especially, as many of us are "sublimely mad".) Here's an excerpt to give you a taste: 
 
"Culture, real culture, is radical and transformative. It is capable of expressing what lies deep within us. It gives words to our reality. It makes us feel as well as see. It allows us to empathize with those who are different or oppressed. It reveals what is happening around us. It honors mystery. “The role of the artist, then, precisely, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through the vast forest,” James Baldwin wrote, “so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.”
 
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page5/chris_hedges_jan_27_column_transcript_collapse_of_complex_societies_2014012

Just got a call, set up an interview for SAIC printmedia program. 

Couple notes (mainly for the peanut gallery)..
 
What a school advertises and promises can be vastly different from what actually happens. This includes funding and class availability and general "not being a total jerk" when it comes to advisers.
 
I had an adviser who expected me to work until 3am on a project in his garage at his condo across town despite it being against every rule and regulation at my school (not to work past 11pm, not to work off site and in particular not at the faculty's home). Sometimes they are just raging pricks.
 
A lot of this website is about wanting to get in, so if there's little bits of information that show up which clearly show that getting in is not a picnic, that it's not just hard classes but possibly impossible people and expectations, unfair treatment, and sometimes rampant abuse of the student and broken rules.. well.. people dreaming to get in don't want to see that and react adversely to the message and messenger.
 
"I wouldn't quit."
 
Yes you would, you'd quit when your adviser began to sexually harass you. You'd quit when arguments turned to shouting and then turned to throwing things. You'd quit when your health began to fail from stress. You'd quit when the faculty chose to ignore safety protocols and put your life in danger. You'd quit when ethics were treated like obstacles to funding. You'd quit when you were told to pass a student in your class, despite them obviously failing, because they were related to the dean.
 
Sometimes.. no, often, life is not a cakewalk served up on a silver spoon. People do tend to suck and it's only a matter or making the best of what crap you're presented with - and sometimes the "best" is to leave.
 
Let me know how confident you are that little problems can be glossed over and people are just too sensitive when you're read the riot act for being late because you were re-ended in route while the golden boy struts in even later than you (in the middle of your chewing out) and is praised for the tie he chose to wear.
 
These things have not all happened to me (thank god) but they have happened to people in graduate school.

I hope they laugh at you

Just got a call, set up an interview for SAIC printmedia program. 

They never mentioned mine, but I'm sure they don't have it because I never applied there. You'd think they'd be more on top of things like this.