Marcia Santore - Fine Artists: A Practical Career Guide

Eric Evitts has been working with teens in the high school setting for twenty-three years. During most of his career he has dealt with getting teens, especially at-risk students, to find and follow a career path of interest. He has developed curriculum for Frederick County Public Schools focusing on antibullying and career development, and he is currently a counselor at South Hagerstown High School.

Danielle Irving-Johnson, MA, EdS, is currently career services specialist at the American Counseling Association. She exercises her specialty in career counseling by providing career guidance, services, and resources designed to encourage and assist students and professionals in obtaining their educational, employment, and career goals while also promoting the importance of self-care, wellness, work-life balance, and burnout prevention. Danielle has also served as a mental health counselor and clinical intake assessor in community agency settings assisting diverse populations with various diagnoses.

Joyce Rhine Shull, BS, MS, is an active member of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges Career Affinity Group and the Maryland Career Development Association. She currently serves as an academic advisor in higher education and teaches professionalism in the workplace as an adjunct professor. Her experience also includes two decades of management and career education in vocational courses and seminars for high school students.

Lisa Adams Somerlot is president of the American College Counseling Association and also serves as director of counseling at the University of West Georgia. She has a PhD in counselor education from Auburn University and is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia as well as a nationally approved clinical supervisor. She is certified in Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Strong Interest Inventory, and Strengths Quest administration.

Marcia Santore is a contemporary painter who has exhibited her artwork in solo, juried, and group exhibitions throughout the United States. Her artwork is held in public and private collections in both the United States and abroad. See her artwork at www.marciasantore.com. She is also a writer and editor, and she enjoys writing about interesting people and the fascinating stuff they do. Read her interviews with artists on her blog artYOP! (www.artyop.com), and learn more about her writing at www.amalgamatedstory.com.

These books are among the best overviews of what it means to be a fine artist (yes, even the one with writing in the title). Buy them, read them, make notes in the margins, and (most importantly) reread them at different times throughout your life.

Bayles, David, and Ted Orland. Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (andRewards) of Artmaking. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press, 1993.

Art & Fear explores the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesnt get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. The books coauthors, David Bayles and Ted Orland, are themselves both working artists, grappling daily with the problems of making art in the real world. Their insights and observations, drawn from personal experience, provide an incisive view into the world of art as it is experienced by artmakers themselves. Today, more than it was however many years ago, art is hard because you have to keep after it so consistently. On so many different fronts. For so little external reward. Artists become veteran artists only by making peace not just with themselves, but with a huge range of issues. You have to find your work.

Cameron, Julia. The Artists Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2002.

The Artists Way is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artists life. Still as vital todayor perhaps even more sothan it was when it was first published almost two decades ago, it is a powerfully provocative and inspiring work.

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Pocket Books, 2000.

Stephen Kings memoir is a classic not only for writers (his intended audience) but for anyone pursuing a creative practice. This is not an autobiography. It is, rather, a kind of curriculum vitaemy attempt to show how one writer was formed. Not how one writer was made; I dont believe writers can be made, either by circumstances or by self-will (although I did believe those things once). I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened. If I didnt believe that, writing a book like this would be a waste of time.

Loudon, Sharon, ed. Living and Sustaining an Artists Life: Essays by 40 WorkingArtists. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books, 2013.

In this day and age, as art has become more and more of a commodity, many students graduating from art school believe that they will immediately make a living as an artist by obtaining gallery representation. One of the goals of this book is to dispel the belief that there is only one way to chart a path into a creative and sustainable life as an artist. This collection of essays is intended to show the reality of how artistsfrom the unknown to the establishedjuggle their creative lives with the everyday needs of making a living. They share with us in their own words how they are creative inside and outside the studio, both on a day-to-day basis and over the long haul.

These online resources address common questions about what its like to be a fine artist, what types of art media exist, and where being an artist can take you.

Dodge, Krystle. What Jobs Can I Get with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree? Degree query. www.degreequery.com/jobs-can-get-bachelor-fine-arts-degree/.

Garner, Christine. Traditional Art Mediums. Medium. September 7, 2018. https://medium.com/the-art-squirrel/traditional-art-mediums-4d38f 4da88ce.

Princeton Review. A Day in the Life of a Digital Artist. www.princetonreview.com/careers/201/digital-artist.

Quacquarelli Symonds. What Can You Do with an Art Degree? www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/what-can-you-do-art-de gree.

Southeastern Louisiana University. What Can I Do with My Visual Arts Degree? www.southeastern.edu/acad_research/programs/cse/career_expl /slu_degree/degrees/visual_arts.html.

Study.com. Visual Artist Career: Job Description & Career Requirements. https://study.com/articles/Visual_Artist_Job_Description_and_Require ments_for_a_Career_in_the_Visual_Arts.html.

Tate. Art Terms. www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms.

visual-arts-cork.com. Types of Art. www.visual-arts-cork.com/art-types.htm#types.

These online resources provide a wealth of information about applying for art school.

Gale, Amiria. How to Make an Art Portfolio for College or University (The Ultimate Guide). Student Art Guide. October 19, 2018. www.studentartguide.com/articles/how-to-make-an-art-portfolio-for-college-or-uni versity.

Lauren. Tips for Preparing Your Art School Portfolio. Petersons. www.petersons.com/blog/tips-for-preparing-your-art-school-portfolio/.

Macres, Christina. How to Get into Art School. ArtBistro. May 17, 2010. http://artbistro.monster.com/education/articles/10997-how-to-get-into-art-school.

Niche.com. 2019 Best Colleges for Art in America. www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-for-art/.

NPDA (National Portfolio Day). Home page. https://nationalportfolioday.org/.