ANECDOTES FROM ART SCHOOL
Yesterday morning, I met up for brunch in Angel with some of the girls who have been a huge part in making London a home to me. We are a small group of girls from all over who met in art college, deepening our portfolios to each pursue our design studies in fashion. In an environment known for it's brutal and competitive nature (supposedly to prepare you for the real world), I was fortunate to find these talented, kind, intelligent girls to call my friends and looking back at the time now, it is without doubt that these girls were my greatest teachers.
I went to break with my creative education, as I found that the system of it was killing my spirit. Taking this blog as an example, it came from my love for fashion, my love for photography and not least that wonderful feeling of connecting with people around the world or just next door, sharing their excitement. There wasn't a pressure of 'making it', simply just the joy of 'making'.
In my creative education during university (let's not forget, this continues beyond the diplomas), I found that there was a spirit of all or nothing. I had to breathe fashion, I had to be fashion and sacrifice in the name of it. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion, this very blog as mentioned arose because of it. But it wasn't the only thing I lived for, and I wasn't prepared to give up other joys in my life for it. My gorgeous friends, some of whom stayed in London to keep on studying and some who went abroad, are excellent examples of how to elegantly go through creative education, stubbornly maintaining their right to be there. I truly believe it's their ability to tell those outdated systems of fashion and nay sayers to stuff it, that makes them so brilliant - they're going to keep creating anyway. The environment simply wasn't for me, and especially the glorification of the enfant terrible, the idea that work had to somehow be tortured to be valid, that broke my love for it. It simply stopped, and so I had to stop. The story that you have to suffer to create something amazing and to be an artist, simply isn't true.
Our tutors would tell us, that their brutality which I in many of the cases today can still only classify as psychological terror, was caused by preparing us for the real world. Please know that some of my teachers were wonderful, nurturing and above all constructive, but sadly the majority applied to the first description. I believe the frames of this system is held in place because we keep telling that story. We excuse it with the industry, yet so many young people entering artistic educations don't want this. Again I want to mention these girls I came to study with, each one a living proof, that kindness more than exists within this environment. We were all so different, both in our backgrounds and our art, yet there was no desire for anyone to fail on behalf of our own success. There was endless support, and jealousy had no place with us, as our fascination of each other's work exceeded it by far.
I still love to paint and do projects, and the universe knows how I'll be lying sleepless because I have an idea stuck in my head that won't let me rest until I've sketched it, but for now, I have to choose the path that is making me a happy, somewhat balanced person. Blogging is a huge part of that. So is sleep, family, friends, gardening, food and fashion.
No matter if you are undergoing a creative education, thinking to do so or never set foot inside one, finding creative soulmates and learning from and with them in a supportive, fun and unpretentious environment can bring you so much. Whether your creations are remotely similar has no relevance, but surrounding yourself with someone who fiercely insists on being who they are and seeing what comes from it, is such a rewarding, life-affirming thing and most likely a huge favour to your art.
IN ANY CASE, WHETHER MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE PAINTS A GENERAL IMAGE OR NOT, I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT WE ALWAYS QUESTION THE FRAMES IN WHICH OUR SOCIETY IS SHAPED.
MUCH LOVE
X
instagram | facebook | twitter
Snapping away with Amy Jane. There's pasta in the fridge.
In my creative education during university (let's not forget, this continues beyond the diplomas), I found that there was a spirit of all or nothing. I had to breathe fashion, I had to be fashion and sacrifice in the name of it. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion, this very blog as mentioned arose because of it. But it wasn't the only thing I lived for, and I wasn't prepared to give up other joys in my life for it. My gorgeous friends, some of whom stayed in London to keep on studying and some who went abroad, are excellent examples of how to elegantly go through creative education, stubbornly maintaining their right to be there. I truly believe it's their ability to tell those outdated systems of fashion and nay sayers to stuff it, that makes them so brilliant - they're going to keep creating anyway. The environment simply wasn't for me, and especially the glorification of the enfant terrible, the idea that work had to somehow be tortured to be valid, that broke my love for it. It simply stopped, and so I had to stop. The story that you have to suffer to create something amazing and to be an artist, simply isn't true.
Our tutors would tell us, that their brutality which I in many of the cases today can still only classify as psychological terror, was caused by preparing us for the real world. Please know that some of my teachers were wonderful, nurturing and above all constructive, but sadly the majority applied to the first description. I believe the frames of this system is held in place because we keep telling that story. We excuse it with the industry, yet so many young people entering artistic educations don't want this. Again I want to mention these girls I came to study with, each one a living proof, that kindness more than exists within this environment. We were all so different, both in our backgrounds and our art, yet there was no desire for anyone to fail on behalf of our own success. There was endless support, and jealousy had no place with us, as our fascination of each other's work exceeded it by far.
I still love to paint and do projects, and the universe knows how I'll be lying sleepless because I have an idea stuck in my head that won't let me rest until I've sketched it, but for now, I have to choose the path that is making me a happy, somewhat balanced person. Blogging is a huge part of that. So is sleep, family, friends, gardening, food and fashion.
No matter if you are undergoing a creative education, thinking to do so or never set foot inside one, finding creative soulmates and learning from and with them in a supportive, fun and unpretentious environment can bring you so much. Whether your creations are remotely similar has no relevance, but surrounding yourself with someone who fiercely insists on being who they are and seeing what comes from it, is such a rewarding, life-affirming thing and most likely a huge favour to your art.
IN ANY CASE, WHETHER MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE PAINTS A GENERAL IMAGE OR NOT, I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT WE ALWAYS QUESTION THE FRAMES IN WHICH OUR SOCIETY IS SHAPED.
MUCH LOVE
X
instagram | facebook | twitter
Snapping away with Amy Jane. There's pasta in the fridge.
