“No one understands me!”
This is something plenty of people like to say when mocking arts students. However, there really is a lot of mystery surrounding what we do and how we do it. For Vvisual Aarts students in particular, here are some things we can all relate to:
1) Projects take a stupid amount of time
Art takes hours, upon hours, upon hours to complete! Not only do we have to worry about the work that goes into our pieces, but there’s also the preparation. It can take weeks to come up with research, sketches, plans, conversations with profs, and media tests before we even begin to create the final product.
2) The cost of supplies adds up quickly
A lot of people think all we need is paper and a pencil and we’re good to go, right? Wrong. Every studio class requires different supplies and they can get really pricey. Most students cut costs by learning the DIY method (why pay $500 for a canvas when you can make one for $70?), but we are by no means rich.
3) The pain of installation
Our projects tend to be pretty huge. A lot of art has to be done in the studio because people don’t have vehicles or spaces that are large enough to transport or complete pieces in. This means that installing works usually takes multiple hands, anxiety, frustration, and a considerable amount of time.
4) Injuries are too common
Whether we’re being introduced to new tools or working with familiar media, we never seem to be safe enough. Blisters, cuts, and splinters have just become a part of us, but worse injuries can happen to students who are working with dangerous materials or even relatively safe ones.
5) Mess? What mess? This is just how I look
“Artist hands” aren’t the delicate things described in romance novels. They are permanently coated in charcoal (no matter how many times we wash them), cut, blistered, and callused (as described above), and stained with odd colours. Our clothes suffer similar damage.
6) We are nocturnal
Most of us don’t even start creating until midnight. It’s hard to explain, but we just don’t feel the same about being in the studio during the day. If you see an artist working early in the morning, it’s likely they just haven’t gone to bed yet.
7) We don’t wait for “inspiration”
Art is work. It is what many of us want to do for a living. That being said, we can’t just sit around and wait for something magical to happen in our brains. Good works of art take time and effort. Even though writing is a different type of art, we can still relate to Stephen King when he says, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.”
A lot of arts students get asked, “Why don’t you switch to a different major?” since we like to complain about it so much. However, we can’t bring ourselves to try any other major. One of UWindsor’s own professors explained it as, “You were born with that hump on your back. You can’t get rid of it. You just have to make art. I know, I understand!”