I had such an amazing and inspiring experience at The Werk Out festival this past weekend. Of course I forgot to bring my camera, and my phone was pretty much useless as soon as I got there, so I had nothing to document the fest with. It was small and intimate, and surrounded by woods on one of the most gorgeous plots of land in this part of the country. The weather was perfect, the colors were plentiful and vibrant, the people were friendly and smiling, and I danced until I was literally falling asleep standing up. I was exposed to so much beautiful, interesting, and motivating art, music, and people. I came home with a new outlook on life, love, my art, and the direction in which I am headed. I am refreshed and motivated, and feel like I have been directed toward a path that I am excited to go down.
Shepard Fairey in his studio working on “Jessica”. I’m in love with this man.
List of possible career options:
Straight out of high school, I had the opportunity to go to SCAD on a scholarship that was only $5,000 a year short from being a full ride. I decided to stay in Louisville, and gave up my scholarship. After half a semester, I realized what a huge mistake that was. I was bored in nearly all of my classes, and realized that the art program at the University of Louisville was kind of bullshit. More importantly, I realized that a traditional college setting, with it’s required gen-eds, Greek row, sports teams, and keg parties was just not for me. Much like in the rest of my life, I needed something more flexible; more customizable. I stuck it out for that semester, and for the next, but always ended up dropping any class that I had that either wasn’t online, or wasn’t an art class.
So I decided to take a year off, to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. The problem was (and still is) that spending a year at a college that I hated really dried up my creativity. It made me not care about painting, or photographing, or doing anything creative. Because if I learned anything in my year at UofL, it was that art is not a real career path, and that I was never going to be able to make a career out of doing what I love. I tried going back to school (this time to community college) but still, just didn’t respond well to the traditional class setup. I needed something that resembled my senior year of high school; that allowed me to come and go as I wanted, study the subjects that interested me, and do it without any major deadlines. At the beginning of this semester, I switched to taking only online classes. And its worked, I have lots of those pesky gen-eds out of the way now. But I still miss the hands on environment of the classroom, so it’s kind of a catch-22.
I love learning, but I have never been able to learn while sitting in a lecture hall with 49 other people while a middle-aged man wearing Sperry’s talks about the different methods of communication. And I’m not really in a huge rush, but I have decided I have to go back to school (real school) eventually, and so I’ve been trying to find schools with non-traditional setups that I might be able to survive in.
In order to help my school decision, I’m making this list of possible career choices/majors that I might be interested in. I want to be pretty sure what career path I want to take before I go back to school, so I can avoid wasting anymore time or money. Just like school though, I need a career that is flexible and customizable, but with some structure to keep me on task. I also need a career that allows (forces) me to create on a daily basis. I will make a career out of art, and I will love what I do.
- Art teacher (preferably to elementary aged kids, but this one requires a lot of school… and it’s the traditional kind)
- Photographer (national geographic style)
- Graphic designer
- Interior designer
- Fashion Merchandiser (I’m kind of eh about this one, which means it probably shouldn’t really be an option)
art therapist(this was an option because it combines my extreme interest in human psychology with art, but is no longer an option because it’s lacking on the actual creating part)- Culinary arts (this is more to support a dream I have of opening up a bar/restaurant that also serves as an art gallery/music house)
josemmonteiro said: :) how often do you get mad at sleep and food? i always do, hook up the IV and hold my eye lids open, im going to paint.
A lot. If I’m really in the zone to paint though, I can do it for hours and only when the juices stop flowing do I realize that I haven’t eaten or slept in 48 hours.
(via ofestherlee)
It is currently 60 degrees outside. All I want to do is lay in the grass of my backyard while barefoot, and paint. I’m feeling so inspired as of late. There are so many ideas and images in my head that I need to release onto canvas. The sad part is that I am not anywhere near my paints and supplies, and I don’t have my car to take me there.
naiveteism-deactivated20111118 said: aw, sorry I forgot to introduce myself. lol
alright my name is Vina and I'm from Indonesia
nice to know you Ashley :)
wow, you do work and school outright, impressive.
what's job, is it still related with art?
Hi, Vina! Nice to meet you.
No, my job actually has nothing to do with art. I work in a restaurant/bar. I have worked in restaurants for years, and even though art is not a part of it, it’s something that makes me really happy. One of those long-term life dreams of mine though is to open a restaurant/bar, that also doubles as an art gallery and music venue.
Anonymous said: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, I am going to assume that this is referring to what I want my career to be. So, in that case when I grow up I want to be doing something that has to do with art. I don’t really know what yet, though. Perhaps it’ll be teaching art, or owning a gallery, or simply being a studio artist…I really have no clue. I do know, however, that I want a career that allows me the freedom and ability to travel and see the world.
