I am applying to attend MICA’s summer Pre-College program for a few simple reasons.
I am dedicated to making art. It has been a constant in my life; from a young age I have been driven to create. Be it Snapple bottle dolls at age five or paintings at 15, I have always been drawn to the tactile qualities of art making. I started sewing at age seven or eight, and I have always loved the physicality of working with cloth. I have found that same sense of satisfaction in rendering as well. In drawing and painting, the manipulation of the media through shadow and highlight until form is revealed is similar to the manipulation of fabric until a certain shape or pattern is created.
As I have matured, I have also begun to explore the intellectual depth of art. Being able to recognize visually the products of those two artistic elements has expanded my appreciation of art. I have a thirsty intellect; art helps me both temper and explore that desire for knowledge and understanding. To me, art is the balance between the physical image (or art object) and the concept or idea that it is expressing.
For the last three years I have been enrolled in a high school magnet program called ArtQuest in the visual fine arts specialty, and I am currently an advanced student. I have interned with Charles Becker, who is a professional oil painter in his studio. I currently work on the Art Bus Project, teaching art to kids from low income elementary schools. I was a California Arts Scholar last year and I attended CSSSA Innerspark. These experiences have greatly shaped who I am, both artistically and as a person.
But why do I want to attend MICA? I want to be able to immerse myself in art and dedicate my time to creating it in an environment that will stimulate me and help me grow. MICA’s Pre-College program offers that sort of environment. Because the program is selective about the students who are admitted to the program, my peer group will be made up of students who will both inspire me and force me to push myself artistically. Unlike my previous art program experiences (CSSSA) where a majority of students were from California, students who be attending MICA’s summer program from all over the country, so their views will provide different outlooks on life and the world. Since I am from the West Coast, this would be a great opportunity for me to live in a city in a part of the country that I have not experienced before.
However, more than the student population and the geographical location, the diversity in the courses offered draws me to the program. I am interested in more then one facet of art making; being able to study both textiles and the figure would be an idyllic situation.
I believe that attending MICA’s Pre-College program will be a strong foundation for my college studies and for my possible career in the arts. By spending my summer in a college level summer intensive, I will get a taste of what college is like, as well as become more prepared for my future. Under the tutelage of the staff as well as my peers, I believe that my skill set and ideas will be expanded, and that I will be able to experience both personal and artistic growth. I really want to learn, and to develop my creative potential and I trust that attending MICA’s Pre-College program will be a catalyst for that expansion.
I dunno. The purple's kinda chunky, especially in the middle. Does bending an arm mess the shape up too much? 82%.
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