Kaelynn

Hey, all. I am in need of some serious help. My situation: I am currently pursuing an MFA in painting and drawing, but I plan on applying to graphic design programs next fall. I have experience in painting, drawing, bookmaking, letterpress, and digital printmaking. I will be making content-based books next spring, summer, and fall. They will combine all of my aforementioned skills.They will be clean and well-presented. I'm not interested in rustic-looking objects. However, I am really confused because I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what graphic design programs are looking for. What should I put in my portfolio? Do I even have a chance of getting in with an art-based portfolio? I am also not really sure which programs I should be applying to. I want to work for "hip" companies that do well but don't necessarily hire a million people. I am NOT interested in working for corporations. I want to work with graphics. If I can combine digital printmaking, letterpress, and bookmaking with the process of graphic design, then all the better!! I love anything beautiful and I love the way that this particular "company" presents itself: http://dutchuncle.posterous.com/ ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED!! I feel silly because I don't even know what kind of questions to formulate as I know very little of graphic design save that it makes everything look wonderful. Hopefully I will come up with more specific questions as you guys reply to my question! Thank you for taking the time to read this long ramble. K.

let me know!! anything and everything is helpful!!

university of georgia! accepted with assistantship!! wahoo!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77249130@N00/sets/72157625684057155/ boooooooopppp!!!

ahhh i'm freaking out so far: rejected: yale, wustl, u of wisconsin at madison interview: purchase waiting to hear from: iu, u. of calif. at irvine, columbia, hunter, buffalo, u. of arizona, u. of washington at seattle, upenn, penn state, vcu i'm an international student too, so does that make a difference in hearing back?? i mean, i do live in the u.s. i've read that people have heard back from upenn, but upenn emailed me two weeks ago, saying that decisions will be posted online on march 14th. and that i should fill out an international financial aid blah blah something or other. so no interview process at all for me. i'm confused!! AHHHH. I JUST WANT TO GO TO GRAD SCHOOL.

yale yale yale yale you rrrrejected rejected reeejected me. how could you how could you hooow could you i thought you looooooooooved me. that was my rejection song. oh my god, this whole process is freakin' taxing. i'm afraid i will be crushed one rejection at a time in the next month. haha. oh dear.

hey!! yale is known for accepting really conceptual abstract painters ALONG WITH really traditional figure/portrait painters. i would say the percentage of those two "categories" are about 50 50 in every class at yale. however, they definitely have a distinct aesthetic taste. but why not apply? you never know! don't even worry about what we say here! it's the committee you want to please and the only way to do that is to paint A LOT. so do it. then apply!

yeah, somehow i don't think this is an important issue. portfolios are what they look at until they've narrowed their applicants to a much smaller pool, you know what i mean? and yes, there's an option that you check on the online submission. and if you didn't, then call them and tell them you forgot. don't sweat it!

hey there! i don't think they HAVE to be 1280 by blah blah, they just can't exceed those limits. when i submitted mine online, i made sure none of my images were longer or wider than the requirement they posted. good luck! and i hope i helped a bit.

absolutely no stommy aches allowed! on the other hand, margaritas, absolutely! heehee. suny purchase emailed me about the interviews. isn't their deadline not until sometime from now? i wonder why they were so quick to respond. but yeah, now that i'm done with applications, i've begun the process of preparing myself for rejection letters!! lots of yoga haha. don't worry!!

anyway!! how is everyone doing? i started this thread and then got so busy that poooof i vanished. but i'm done with all my applications now. and am just waiting..... in suspense. where did everyone apply to? has everyone heard back yet? i actually heard from purchase and i'm selected as a finalist for the interview. which i was really surprised about since i just sent in my applications last week. !!! scary!

hey hey!! it's been a long difficult time. i sent all 16 applications out last week. i applied to: yale, suny purchase, university of wisconsin at madison, university of washington at seattle, ummm, columbia, virginia commonwealth, indiana university, georgia university..blah blah. BUT GOOD NEWS IS i JUST heard from purchase this afternoon and i've been selected as a finalist for the interview!! wahoo! so it's giving me some hope! how are you doing?? k.

Does anybody know anything about the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna? Gottfried Helnwein graduated from there, but he's an artistic deity who would've thrived anywhere. so I'm just curious if any of y'all know anything about it. Also University of Washington, Seattle has TA positions that cover tuition. Not sure about a stipend though.

also I think pretty everyone who is doing this is peeing their pants. I know I am. I mean, not literally. But, at the very least, figuratively. I am constantly in the studio. Working on this, working on it. Being overly-ambitious, doubting my own work, doubting myself, also crying. so don't worry!! just stay caffeinated and clear-headed the majority of the time and I'm sure we will all come out okay. also, here's my list of possible schools. Yale. hahaha. yeah... MICA SAIC University of Washington, Seattle, Washington University in St. Louis U of Buffalo Syracuse University some school in california that I can't remember.

I don't know about you guys. But I've been looking at the work of faculty from many schools and I can't seem to connect with any of them, except for the painter Ann Gale, who teaches at University of Washington, Seattle. I really want to go to Yale but, at least virtually speaking, I am not into the work that the faculty does. But I've been corresponding with a current student at Yale and I really enjoy her work. Do you guys think it's absolutely necessary to visit the campuses before I decide which ones to apply to? Also, I will be graduating from my bachelor's in fine arts next spring so I'm really young. Is it really a good idea to take a year or two off? I'm thinking about it and I might go back to my motherland to paint.

Hello, hello. None of us has really done this before: this whole big, scary, exciting, rigorous process of applying for our MFAs. So, in regard of the sleepless nights to come, I propose that we gather here and support one another on this, er, caffeinated odyssey of artistic slavery. Where is everyone looking at to go? Are you stuck in your vision? What are the top 50 schools on that elusive list for painting/drawing? How many coffees have you had today? These are all questions we could answer for each another. And maybe it won't be as difficult, knowing that none of us are alone. Wow, was that sufficiently cheesy? I daresay it was. I hope people join this. SO JOIN!! A good day to you all! K.