danae

Art Classes in College

I am an artist. When I was in college my major changed several times, but always I had art classes. Most of the art classes I took were set up similarly. We sketched for about a week and then we had to bring in those sketches plus a sampling of other work. I don't remember the words said but always it was a form of rejection of my talent and out right brutally "honest" opinions that I did not have it as an artist.

One semester I took, another nude figure drawing class - as those were my favorite because I love drawing the form...curves, softness, roughness so much to a body. I took this class however because I knew it was going to be a little different as the teacher was an artist from NYC. I had seen his work and was impressed. The university I went to owned a building downtown that they converted. It was one of those old brick buildings that had a lot of character and had probably been a textile mill or something of that nature. The first floor of the building was a gallery, second had about 5 or 6 studio classrooms and then the top 2 levels were studio apartments for visiting artists. They could live and use the studios to work and show work with the condition of teaching an art class.

So this professor had been there before and I had heard great things about him. So I signed up for the class right away. The start of his class was not different then any other. But this one still really stands out over all the others that told me I did not have talent. He was polite but basically said it was a hobby for me. And basically told me I probably would never sell anything (proved him wrong several times over by now). Anyway he was no different ....we went in giving a weeks or so worth of drawings and other drawings and works from our portfolio. I brought them in and he told me the same as all the rest.

I had heard it over and over again but never gave up. I don't know why. I just knew there was something there I needed to do I guess. At the end of the semester for that class we had to do the same thing we bring in works from the class and anything outside of class we felt was significant. I arrived and he had long tables set up where I laid out each drawing. He got to the third drawing out of like fifty drawings. He looked ahead a little and then looked back at the 2 before and then again at the 3rd. He said, "I'm sorry." I said, "pardon?" I was so scared I did something wrong and he was going to fail me - as this was like a final for art. And he looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry....I should have spent more time with you."

See what the art teachers I came in contact with did use that first viewing at the beginning of the semester to pick out the the students they think have talent and work and push them more one on one. The others just get skipped over or glances with passing one or 2 word comments. That is what he did to me all semester.

He explained to me that he saw my talent. And where he should have been pushing me more. We talked about each piece. He wrote down lots of stuff for me to remember and learn from. He had me explain what I felt and thought. We had a wonderful conversation. He wrote up a letter to give to my next professor. He told what pieces to put in my next portfolio for my next class. And sat and talked to me about my art in a positive way.

All those that came before him said things horrible - things that could have stopped me from taking art....from making art. But I had to not let it affect me and keep going. Because if I heard them. I mean heard them in my heart and soul - it would have slowed me down and I might never have had Professor Walters there to tell me I had talent.

It is also strange because I had others tell me I had talent friends and such, but I never took it seriously...and now I look back and maybe they were the ones that helped me to keep going forward so that I did not hear - take to heart what others said.