The art room is a place where students can freely express their ideas while working creatively. If you’re an art student, you know what that means. In today’s article, we will be exploring the benefits of studying art in college. On top of that, we’ll be offering you some quick student advice and showcasing the best books and resources an art student could use.
Why Should I Study Art?
Art education is highly important today, when our society is plunging more and more deeply into the technology veil. Here are some of the most important reasons why you should consider studying art.
- The world is filled with technology, so our society needs multimedia artists, digital designers, and graphic masterminds. There’s a continuously growing demandfor such workers, so why not be one of them?
- Part of the fun in taking an art class is that you don’t only learn about art; you also create it. While learning, those who are skilled, ambitious, and passionate (and produce high-quality, authentic work, of course) have a chance to be recognized. Being young does no longer mean you’re unsuccessful, therefore. You can expand your skills as you wish.
- Your motor capabilities, hand-eye coordination, ability to solve problems, critical thinking, and sophisticated analysis abilities are all enhanced by art. Students who can arrange, present, and exhibit material in an aesthetically beautiful manner have the upper hand in any future career they might choose.
- By studying arts, your workload will be quite neat. You will be learning more about your passions and studying important concepts in more depth. While this might be overwhelming at first, you will adapt and score high if you put in the right amount of work.
- You can’t make art if you don’t express yourself. Any form of art originates from your spirit, so it says something about you. You don’t even have to make art to understand yourself; simply looking at it will suffice. Art has the ability to elicit a wide range of emotions in its audience. Long-forgotten thoughts will resurface, forcing you to confront them. This can promote on-going healing.
Helpful Books and Resources for Art Students
- Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch
- Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles & Ted Orland
- Taking the Leap: Building a Career as a Visual Artist (the Insider’s Guide to Exhibiting and Selling Your Art) by Cay Lang
- Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist by Lisa Congdon
- Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists Paperback
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY
- The Art Babble, an online platform worth checking
- Kinder Art, a lesson platform for kids and teens
- Google ART Project for paintings mostly
Useful Advice for Art Students
Here’s some quick advice for you. Attend class, start reading, take part in class discussions, buy textbooks, take notes, and play textbook games.
Attend all your classes, even if you don’t feel like it.
Learning art history, for example, is similar to learning a foreign language – the knowledge is built up through time. Don’t miss any lessons since this can make it difficult to follow the professor’s analysis or stream of thinking in later classes.
Start reading and writing essays to improve your writing
In order to graduate, you must be able to read and write quite fast. Reading textbooks and other publications is essential in the art field. So, make sure you leave enough room in your schedule for reading. Read anything from informative essays on symbolism to architectural science. This will keep you on top of your paper assignments and might motivate you to write a concise, structured essay later on. Don’t forget to use Grammarly’s writing tool to check your content for plagiarism before submitting it. This useful site has helped many students over the years.
You should take part in class discussions
Whether you attend your art history class in person or online, and whether or not your professor mandates involvement, you should participate as much as possible in the analysis of the works of art and demonstrate your mastery of the readings.
Buy textbooks
Although purchasing the required reading material may seem self-evident, in today’s economy, students may be forced to cut costs on some of the more expensive volumes. Don’t freak out, there are other options you could use, such as renting or sharing books with your classmates.
Take notes in class and underline important facts
Write summaries of what you’ve learned after each study session. Sort your notes into categories and make a plan for how you’ll approach the learning process.
Play the textbook games to practice
Many textbooks feature interactive webpages where you can test your knowledge. Look for such games and start playing. You can identify art-related concepts, play puzzles, or answer short questions online.
Author Bio:
Robert Griffith is a musician and writing specialist. He writes for a popular blog and interns for a marketing position at the same company. In his free time, Robert plays piano and tennis.