Art school applications require extensive portfolios

JOEY_GONNELLA

CONTRIBUTED BY JOEY GONNELLA

Yoel Abulaf, News Layout Editor
March 25, 2016

The college application process is not the same for every student. For students interested in going to art colleges, they must focus on subjects that they might be interested in studying and creating an extensive portfolio that showcases their talents. The key to finding success in this different procedure is to continuously produce art to add to one’s portfolio and increase one’s skill.
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Senior Logan Roach created this self-portrait, which is included in her applications to art school. According to Roach, portfolios are required along with good grades and extracurricular activities to get into a good art school. CONTRIBUTED BY ROACH

According to visual arts teacher Donna Sartanowicz, creating work is the key to being a successful artist. Sartanowicz believes that you have to find ways and times not to get distracted and focus on your art.

“My best advice is to make work. Make it all the time. I think it’s really easy, even for people who are really passionate about art, to get distracted in high school, especially where there is so much going on. I find it with kids who even know they want to go to an arts school, and they know that this is their life work, I still have to nag them to get them to work,” Sartanowicz said.

According to senior Logan Roach, who has applied to an art school, she had to prepare a portfolio on top of an application. The portfolio is a place where you gather all of your best work from the past or the current year.

“You have to have a portfolio and a portfolio takes a lot of time, energy and effort. You have to have good grades and you have to go to class. You have to take challenging classes because they want to know that you are a well rounded person. I think that is a common misconception of artists,” Roche said. “It’s like people think all we know what to do is art and whatever we have to do is art and we get to flunk out of all of our classes and stuff, but you’re applying to a school on top of that. You have to show that you are talented and you can do this thing that not everybody can do.”

Some students who are applying to arts schools have always known that they wanted to be artists.

Senior Joey Gonnella, who has also applied to an art school, knew that this was the path for him in his life journey.

“I wanted to go to an arts school ever since I was little. I’ve always been interested in drawing and painting. It’s kind of just the natural next step in pursuing my career,” Gonnella said.

According to Sartanowicz, it is also very important that students try to take as many arts classes as they can in their time at the high school. They have to pursue this dream working on their projects.

“The only way to improve with anything is to do it. Do it with your whole self, do it all the time. Keep a sketchbook and you should be doing sketches everyday,” Sartanowicz said. “You should be doing something. Find a way to make the practice of making something central of your life.”