So I have heard back from 5 out of 6 schools I applied to. All are rejections so far. Upon hearing the news of the first one it really sucked. After the first two it got better and I braced for them. I quickly then picked up on a pattern. If they tell you in an email about admission decisions through email telling you to look at your portal thats probably a bad sign. I have had positive admissions in the past but for a completely different Masters level field and the email is full of bells and whistles. And a long time ago I was accepted as a transfer student into a BFA program but due to being scared (especially financially) I did not go.
I will be honest after all of the rejections I did question if I am on the right path. I thought wow I sacrificed a lot and I took this huge risk switching to art but was it all for nothing? After taking time to deliberate I decided it wasn't. I knew going into this there was no guarantee of getting in and while I was hopeful I knew I had to figure out backup plans. It is disheartening to find out the work I have been doing for the past year does not measure up to grad school standards. The worst part is they don't offer feedback and because of that I have had to think critically of what things were positives and what things were negatives about my work rather than just give up and just assume all of my work is complete garbage (the thought did cross my mind but I am glad I dismissed it). I had to remind myself that if in the past I did get into a BFA program (with a completely different portfolio) then my art should have some value and if everyone keeps telling me I should pursue art, maybe I shouldn't dismiss their opinions either.
Lets dive into those pros and cons I have surmised. I kept thinking that MFA grad schools are looking for a portfolio with one overarching theme, something that would be seen in a gallery show. This whole time I thought they won't care about my past art and especially not pieces I did in undergrad. I thought they probably only care about recent work done within the last two years. And while this may be true for those with BA and BFAs I did not account for the fact that I am an entirely different candidate because my BA is in psychology. As a result they probably did want to see more of a variety of my skill set - they wanted to see that I can draw from live observation and so forth that may be more assumed for those with BA and BFAs. Maybe not as diverse as a portfolio intended for BFA and BAs, but one that shows unique skills and diverse skill sets while all fitting under one conceptual thread. I think I missed the mark on what it means to be conceptual and I am working on ideas that are less literal and more conceptual. So my portfolio I submitted was all about my Karachi Series ( if you'd like to view it: https://alimarsarts.weebly.com/karachi.html ) which was more of a literal approach to my experience living there for a year. So I think that my issue was they only saw one side of what I was able to do over and over again. I needed more of a variety of medium and styles showcasing my skill set and they still could have fit together conceptually. Even before these rejections happened I aimed to challenge myself more conceptually and in doing so I have decided to focus my efforts on possibly a "Karachi 2.0" series that focuses on identity, especially that of those torn between two cultures. In these paintings I plan to have more symbolism and elements will be less grounded in one specific plane.
Basically the biggest take aways are to take away rejections and failures as an opportunity to grow. There will always be support and critics no matter what and you have to filter out the negative and keep focusing on what you are doing as a creative person. Also it maybe that rejections lead to other opportunities. From what I have learned studying noteworthy artists is that their work have caused visceral reactions on both sides - they have a strong group of support and a strong group of haters. And in having both I think it can showcase how important work can be in not only extending a dialogue on whatever the subject matter is - maybe your commentary is about injustice, culture, mental health, the environment. If you are curious examples of artists whose work have had such strong reactions are Judy Chicago, He Chengyao and Kara Walker.
Besides who knows what is in store for me, maybe I will instead be better suited to an art therapy program., or I will apply again to MFA programs next year. Or heck maybe I will go "rogue" as an artist and try new ways to explore creative expression. Just to reiterate, don't make the mistake I can if you can, do not get bogged into one single specific theme but rather showcase a variety of your skill sets with one broad overarching conceptual thread. I know I keep saying "conceptual thread" and you may be wondering what does that really mean. I am here to tell you it means an idea. I think a "theme" is something specific, whereas an idea is something loose and therefore more encompassing. So instead of me boxing in my Karachi Series theme as "so this is Karachi" the idea could have been about life or lived experience thus opening the doors to allow me to incorporate other pieces in the portfolio that may otherwise seem like they don't belong such as life drawing, figure paintings, portraits and other things. All and all I will continue to strive to keep going on creative endeavors and I hope you will too. No matter what doors close you and I are artists and no one can take that away from us, let's not let anyone (especially ourselves) take away our creative voices.
I will be honest after all of the rejections I did question if I am on the right path. I thought wow I sacrificed a lot and I took this huge risk switching to art but was it all for nothing? After taking time to deliberate I decided it wasn't. I knew going into this there was no guarantee of getting in and while I was hopeful I knew I had to figure out backup plans. It is disheartening to find out the work I have been doing for the past year does not measure up to grad school standards. The worst part is they don't offer feedback and because of that I have had to think critically of what things were positives and what things were negatives about my work rather than just give up and just assume all of my work is complete garbage (the thought did cross my mind but I am glad I dismissed it). I had to remind myself that if in the past I did get into a BFA program (with a completely different portfolio) then my art should have some value and if everyone keeps telling me I should pursue art, maybe I shouldn't dismiss their opinions either.
Lets dive into those pros and cons I have surmised. I kept thinking that MFA grad schools are looking for a portfolio with one overarching theme, something that would be seen in a gallery show. This whole time I thought they won't care about my past art and especially not pieces I did in undergrad. I thought they probably only care about recent work done within the last two years. And while this may be true for those with BA and BFAs I did not account for the fact that I am an entirely different candidate because my BA is in psychology. As a result they probably did want to see more of a variety of my skill set - they wanted to see that I can draw from live observation and so forth that may be more assumed for those with BA and BFAs. Maybe not as diverse as a portfolio intended for BFA and BAs, but one that shows unique skills and diverse skill sets while all fitting under one conceptual thread. I think I missed the mark on what it means to be conceptual and I am working on ideas that are less literal and more conceptual. So my portfolio I submitted was all about my Karachi Series ( if you'd like to view it: https://alimarsarts.weebly.com/karachi.html ) which was more of a literal approach to my experience living there for a year. So I think that my issue was they only saw one side of what I was able to do over and over again. I needed more of a variety of medium and styles showcasing my skill set and they still could have fit together conceptually. Even before these rejections happened I aimed to challenge myself more conceptually and in doing so I have decided to focus my efforts on possibly a "Karachi 2.0" series that focuses on identity, especially that of those torn between two cultures. In these paintings I plan to have more symbolism and elements will be less grounded in one specific plane.
Basically the biggest take aways are to take away rejections and failures as an opportunity to grow. There will always be support and critics no matter what and you have to filter out the negative and keep focusing on what you are doing as a creative person. Also it maybe that rejections lead to other opportunities. From what I have learned studying noteworthy artists is that their work have caused visceral reactions on both sides - they have a strong group of support and a strong group of haters. And in having both I think it can showcase how important work can be in not only extending a dialogue on whatever the subject matter is - maybe your commentary is about injustice, culture, mental health, the environment. If you are curious examples of artists whose work have had such strong reactions are Judy Chicago, He Chengyao and Kara Walker.
Besides who knows what is in store for me, maybe I will instead be better suited to an art therapy program., or I will apply again to MFA programs next year. Or heck maybe I will go "rogue" as an artist and try new ways to explore creative expression. Just to reiterate, don't make the mistake I can if you can, do not get bogged into one single specific theme but rather showcase a variety of your skill sets with one broad overarching conceptual thread. I know I keep saying "conceptual thread" and you may be wondering what does that really mean. I am here to tell you it means an idea. I think a "theme" is something specific, whereas an idea is something loose and therefore more encompassing. So instead of me boxing in my Karachi Series theme as "so this is Karachi" the idea could have been about life or lived experience thus opening the doors to allow me to incorporate other pieces in the portfolio that may otherwise seem like they don't belong such as life drawing, figure paintings, portraits and other things. All and all I will continue to strive to keep going on creative endeavors and I hope you will too. No matter what doors close you and I are artists and no one can take that away from us, let's not let anyone (especially ourselves) take away our creative voices.
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