[the_insider]

...so i just started going to art school this past week...and for one ive noticed that most kids there seem to have never touched or even seen a paintbrush or pencil in their lives....and i think THIS causes most teachers there to assume no one knows how to spell art....so being a freshman i feel like im back in middle school with cocky ass teachers telling you about what they CAN do and telling you everything you CANT do....i feel like artistic expression is gonna be very hindered and limited............
................................right choice????
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[Naeem]

yeah i got a blow like that this year.
im a senior in highschool (12th grade), and i'm taking ceramics. just to test it out. i can say the situation u narrated is close to that. no one cares about it; they're only there because they dont know what else to do
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[the_insider]

ha funny i took ceramics for the first time my senior year too...i was the oldest person in it
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[Joe84]

depends really...going to art school can help but isnt everything. They teach you the artistic fundementals, rules of do's and don'ts that have been discovered through centuries of art. It's these rules that at first make art seem systematic, alienated and strict. Rules are made to be broken, but frist you have to understand these rules in the first place to distort/braek them for your own artistic interest. So yes in the beginning it does seem a little drab but in the end, you have free reign over your stylistic expression. I'm a student at the moment...and yes learning the fundementals are frustrating but it's made me into a better artist. It'ts not everything but it sure will lead you into the right direction if you are serious.

[Ranath]

weird. I'd like to go to school that would teach fundamentals of design etc. But all I can find is "do whatever you want as long as you can market it well". And if you can market yourself well, teachers are drooling even if you couldn't draw yourself out of paper bag.

[matter]

most high school art is grade A crap cuz a) teachers are sometimes just tryin to fill a space and b) most of the students are just trying to get credit. insider, dont expect a lot of kids coming into college to be natural michaelangelos like yourself - but they will get there. everyone goes through the same classes regardless of their level ('sides a lil extra studying on fundamentals is always good). you'd do best comparing your work to your teachers' to figure from that how much is available to learn.

in my experience theres teachers who stress fundamentals and teachers who will like *anything,* and then there are truly dynamic teachers who understand fundamentals but help you learn to apply them to abstract ideas. if u find one of these, youll know them because they always hav good suggestions which enhance rather than constrict your message. suction yourself on and learn as much as possible.

you wont find classes which promote you to really explore until your 3rd year into college, but this is for a reason (read joe84's reply).
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Sorry! for any digressive, pompous, or just plain off-topic rants.

[Godwin]

all this sounds really crappy, are you guys really talking about art COLLEGES? What about people who've already had the foundation established? Do they have to relearn everything?
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Derelict Studios|Godwin's Space

[the_insider]

all of you guys said very true things...thank you all...being at school 2 weeks ive indeed already found really good teachers that help more than others...timing i suppose is the only answer....godwin almost pulled me back to my original questions but i guess theres always something new to learn....even in fundamentals....
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[CCroder]

Im a 3rd year art student at Iowa State University and I know exactly where your coming from. Unfortunately Joe84 is pretty much spot on in his assesment , tho id say to keep doing your own thing in your free time.

Ive done well in most all of my art classes but its my own original work that has gotten me any recognition (and has landed me in some really nice studios). I also benefited from not going into graphic design, this allowed me to break some rules and not have to worry about 3 graphic designers ripping up my portfolio because of it. Add a cool teacher into the mix and bam im here where i want to be, maybe i was lucky to have a teacher or two that would let me get away with some oddball shit but i like to think they respected my hard headedness.

Moral of the story is play by the rules while keeping your style as much as you can get away with, remembering to respect the fact that you may not know everything and do in fact have something to learn. Keep that balance between doing your own thing and learning all you can and you'll get where you need to go.
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Let your hands do the thinking...

[Dekard]

[Ranath]

[Impaler]

ALL college students have to take the preliminary courses in whatever field they choose before they get to the really fun stuff. English majors have to sludge through asinine essays. Astronomy majors have to hear all about the nine planets. Physics majors have to crank out the same damn f=ma formulas they did when they were 14. And, yes. Art students have to draw cubes and make cut-and-paste collages in the beginning.

The reason for this is two-fold. First, they need to catch everyone up to the same speed so that the group as a whole can progress together. Second, they need to weed out all the lazy kids who don't want to stick around for the basics. So for now, grab some easy A's and try to learn everything that you might have missed the first time around.
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QED, sort of.