EXPLORING ART AS A CAREER

ART IS PHYSICAL EMOTION

• In my personal experiences, art has been the most helpful emotional outlet and tool to my recovery from my issues. To express yourself with color or darkness, and show the world, or even just a select few, is beautiful. If an image, feeling, or idea is so big to you, I think putting it on a canvas or paper is so admirable. Being able to actually show what's going on in my head is what helps me process my emotions.

SVA FACTS

• SVA was established by founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth in 1947
• Today the school has a faculty numbering more than1,100 and a student body of over 3,000
• At SVA, the MPS art therapy program is approved by the American Art Therapy Association, and is considered a respectable career
• SVA is number two on the "best schools for designers" list

SVA LOCATION

• SVA is separated into many different buildings that are scattered around different streets in NYC
• 209 East 23rd Street, 380 Second Avenue, SVA Library, 214 East 21st Street, 133 and 141 West 21st Street, 335 West 16th Street, SVA Theatre, the many Galleries, and the Residence Hall

CLIMATE

• Paying attention to where the college is located is important because if the winters are too brutal for you, you may need to reconsider that school. NYC is, of course, different in climate than Texas. With warm summers and cold winters, New York is a big, new experience well out of my usual comfort zone.
• I was thinking about The Visual Arts School of Chicago, but the climate is too harsh for me. I'm glad that I looked into it before I made a big mistake.

SUMMER PROGRAMS

• At SVA, you can enroll in one of thirty one different kinds of programs over the summer. They are offered to pre-college students interested in enrolling in the school. I'm going to be attending the Visual Arts A program during the summer of 2015.
• There are many requirements before you go. You must send in about five pieces you are proud to share, and write a short description of yourself and your interest in art.

ART THERAPY

• In order to be an art therapist, you must have a deep understanding of emotional balance. This provided a traditional framework from which adolescence will be observed. The developmental processes may include expression, cognition, intrapsychic dynamics, environmental influence, and the interrelationships among the patients.
• You need a Masters degree in art therapy. You can get a bachelor's degree in art therapy, however many agencies/hospitals will only hire an art therapist with a master's degree.

ART THERAPY

• In my personal opinion, art therapy is a very healthy way to express emotions.
• To be able to actually show the idea, or feeling that's happening inside ones self is beautiful and interesting.
• In traditional therapy, you sit in a room with a stranger and tell them your darkest secrets. In art therapy, you discus with a group of people, or just the therapist, and you explore the emotion and create a physical description of a feeling that typically would be difficult to explain.

QUOTE

• "Art has chosen you so fully embrace the gifts you've been given and try to not let the social or financial burdens get you down. It can be extremely competitive, as any world can be. Try and find joyful and creative ways to support yourself. Make sure and take time to enjoy the happiness that surrounds your art making process and the people who inspire you. People will give you lots of advice but remember you know yourself better than anyone so do what's right for you and your art practice."
• Marisol Limon Martinez (Artist, Musician, Author)

QUOTE

• "This is more of an annoyance than a difficulty, but having to explain to people that what I do is an actual form of therapy gets exhausting. There are still many people (even some mental health professionals) who don't fully understand the clinical effectiveness of art therapy, and see art therapists as teachers more than clinicians."
• Sylvia Martinez (Art Therapist)