[Jewelry making - Article 00422] - Re: [Orchid] BFA/MFA Vs technical training

[troy hines]

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    Gosh, Liz! I'm afraid that I gave you the wrong impression. I really
    value what I learned from college. Art schools really help build
    intellectual rigor, and creativity, and a grounded understanding of
    the history of one's craft. My time in school for both
    degrees....what a treasure. My criticism is not of any program, but
    of how students use them....... 

    I think one needs to know more about the world of jewelery than
    college or trade school can offer. It really helps you get the most
    out of your education, and learn about where you fit in personally,
    if you also work in the field WHILE you are a student. You will
    develop much stronger bench skills, and get a sense of where your
    skills are lacking so that you can really focus. Your options for
    work when you are in need of money will be more diverse and more
    lucrative. Plus, your creative work will be stronger, because you
    will have the chops to build the heck out of anything! 

    School of any kind is somewhat of an alternative universe. It is
    very different from the real world. It helped me to find my way by
    enjoying the comfort of that alternate universe, while making daily
    visits to the real world. 

    AT Work: 

    I learned that the romantic notion of making my own production
    line....was not for me, YICK! I HATE making the same thing over and
    over and over. Hats off to the folks out there who can do that. It
    would have been a shame for me to romance the idea of that for four
    years as a student, then hate every minute of it after school. But
    at the same time, doing this for a paycheck taught me the importance
    of learning how to work quickly and efficiently, and how to work
    fast without doing really Crappy work. You get your bench skills
    down. Time is money, that might not be cool in art school, but it is
    the truth, and students do themselves no favors by avoiding the
    truth. As an assembler, or stonesetter, or any of the many jobs I
    have done for $$, I could look to the next bench, and see that the
    jeweler beside me had set 5 stones in the time it took me to set
    1....and his settings were beautiful while mine were messy. I could
    lean over and watch him work, ask him to show me the his tools,
    engage in an exciting dialog with a very skilled individual. 

    At work: 

    I learned that I LOVE to do repairs. And LOVE to solder. And LOVE
    CAD and to laser weld, and on and on.... And learned to do things
    well that I hate to do, which I did not have the discipline to do as
    a student. I learned the importance of creativity in design, and
    problem solving. I learned some good and bad ways to market yourself
    as a product line, or as a jeweler, or as an artist. I learned that
    I had to be versatile, and superb, and fast. Period. 

    At School: 

    I learned that I love to draw, and love to write. That I am
    fascinated by the earliest jewelry (10,000 BC and earlier). That the
    computer is a powerful tool creatively, and practically. I connected
    with remarkably talented artists, teachers, peers. A good art
    program gives you the courage to think that anything is possible,
    and that is worth going into debt for if you ask me. 

    In my humble opinion, if you are inclined towards BOTH the creative
    and the technical, go to college, and work your butt off in the
    field in your spare time. The two together are a well rounded
    education. I do not think that most trade programs successfully
    foster creativity, and most college programs do not address how to
    make a living. Getting out there in the jewelry job market while you
    are a student teaches both. 

Troy (the windbag)
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