Why go to Art School?

Here are my Top Reasons for Going to Art School ...

Recently, I graduated from Winchester School of Art, part of University Southampton, and found myself reminiscing about the great times I had there and the many events I was involved in. I wanted to write this post to give anyone who's debating whether or not to go to an art school next year an insight into my experience! Hope you guys find it interesting and maybe helpful!

1. You can develop you're own practice. You get time to truly focus on your art, what you're trying to communicate, do some research, experiment with materials and document your progress. It's not all about the grades! Obviously passing the course is important, but expressing yourself is important too!

(a piece from my final major project, layers of tracing paper)

2. You can bounce ideas off of other artists. If you ever get artists block, having people around to talk through your ideas and spark new inspiration is great! Or they may be able to recommend famous pieces of work with similar themes to your own that will get your creative juices flowing!

3. The lecturers are artists too! All of my tutors were practicing artists as well as teachers which is helpful to keep ideas and work current as they are aware of the latest art goings on! And they can always give good advice! WSA also get other artists from all over to visit us and lecture about their practice and whats important to them, which can be very inspirational! 

4. Studio Space. At WSA there were dedicated studio spaces for every student which is amazing. I had a large desk and some wall space to keep all my materials, pin up works in progress and inspiration. A space that wouldn't get disturbed so I could leave projects unfinished and come back to them later without fear of someone tidying everything away and ruining it! it's a great place to be creative and somewhere separate from your home, so you can leave your work in the work place to relax and reflect at home.\

5. Cultural trips. Every year I was at WSA they ran a trip in January to Berlin. In my second year I went and it was amazing! There were so many things to see: Berlin wall, holocaust memorial, Hamburger Bahnhof (art museum), the Dali gallery (works by Salvador Dali), great shops, restaurants and night life. If you're looking for a way to discover culturally rich locations, going with your art school is a great way to do it! 

assorted photos from Berlin.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it encourages you to pursue art! If you have any other reasons that you went to art school, comment below, i'd love to know! 

                                                         Beth xx