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Dennis Keeley’s Seminar

// February 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // my Blog

Written by: Virgil

Dennis Keeley was our second speaker for our Senior Seminar class. He is a professional photographer and a current photography professor at the Art Center College of Design. He started the lecture about his life and his past experiences. For him art is a career and not a job. He mentions that he may not be the smartest person in the room but he is the person that recognizes the possibility. He also showed a video of an octopus trying to open a jar and then reiterated that in life, we have to be able to look at different perspective on how to solve problems which is applicable also to an artist; we have to be able to find ways of succeeding in our career.

In his early career, he started as a musician, playing drums for a band. At a very young age, he knew that he would be an artist, as told to him by one of his teacher in grade school.  I guess this really inspired him and really gets into his head, so he followed what was told to him by his teacher, he become an artist. After he graduated from Cal Arts, one of his first works was a photo editor at the LA Weekly, until later in his life he has established himself as a photographer. According to him, he started by just taking pictures of everybody but by the time he was 35 years old he realized that he has to move on and do something besides photography.

Dennis Keeley’s lecture deals more on the reality and how to deal with obstacles in life used it to your advantage by using his own personal experiences and applying it in general. He covered about fear and fear on making mistakes. He mentioned failure must be embraced because failure and mistakes will help you succeed in life, so don’t be afraid of failing because this is how a person and an artist would learn. He also tackles the role and importance of school in the life of on an artist and how an aspiring artist could channel this to his/her advantage. Through school, an artist should start networking with peers and especially with his/her fellow artists because these are the people who could help and support the artist and be the inspiration by overcoming the self doubts of an artist. As an artist, he mentioned the importance of risk and attempting the impossible in order to measure the possible. He elaborate that people want to see what you do; not what you can’t do. He also talks about making plan and devising it in order to work to your advantage.

Overall, Dennis Keeley’s seminar is something an artist should really pay attention to. He is a frank, practical, yet a humble speaker, and he really covered the reality of what life an artist could be. His lecture gave me a perspective on how to approach the future and how to deal with the hurdles an artist could experience in life and in my career.

Dr. Elizabeth Garber’s Seminar

// February 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // my Blog

Writen by: Virgil

Dr. Elizabeth Garber holds a Ph.D. in Art Education. She has received many awards during her professional career and also has written and contributed articles from different publications. She is currently a professor at University of Arizona. As a guest speaker in our Senior Seminar class, it is a privileged to listen to her experiences and career development.

In the beginning of her lecture, she talks about how she gets started as an artist. According to her, while she was working on her MFA, she made a living as a ceramicist. Most of her ceramics are fired in raku, something she mentioned she loves to do; she also made ceramic sculptures and pots painted with words. So, for 12 years she made ceramics not just as a functional material but as an art, during this years, she also taught young children how to make pottery. There was also a time when they have had glass studio trailer with her friends.

During her lecture, she talks about “Art Education,” who is the art educator, and what do they do? She mentioned that they teach in k12, some teach in community college, they work in museums that are setup to educate, they work in community program, and they work with people who need job skills.

At the end of her lecture, she gave advice based on her experience as an artist and as educator. She mentioned that as an artist, we should be a good advocate of our own work and our own field. She also talks about that passion, openness, and curiosity is necessity to be successful in your career field as an artist.

Although her lecture is more geared for an Art Education student and she may not have covered my field as an artist, I have learned some pointers that I could apply in my own career path. In conclusion, I have found her as a great and passionate speaker who is honest about her own professional career.

The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // my Blog

This is my result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test …

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.

Nerds didn’t use to be cool, but in the 90’s that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a (more…)