Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Time Has Come

I hate to say it, but I have to start thinking about my future.


When I was in high school, it was easy. I could say, "I'm just a freshman! I have time to decide!" Slowly but surely, the years have been creeping up on me. Now I'm a junior in college. Do you know how terrifying that is? Your degree plan has to be sealed; everyone wants to know what you're going to do with your life. Especially if you tell them you're majoring in studio art with a concentration in fibers.


I hate it when people ask that. Mostly because I have no idea. I still kinda want to do fashion design, but I'm fairly mediocre at that. I could pay out the nose to go to a real design school that has to teach you because you're paying them, but a) I'm poor, b) I'd have to start all over, and c) Ironically enough, I chose UNT because I wanted a well-rounded education with lots of choices. Unfortunately, that means that the design program is competitive and also ironically, I hate competition. Call it the optimist in me, but I think art is subjective and that everyone should get a chance to do whatever they want (Education-wise. Murderers and child-molestors need not apply.)


I didn't get into the fashion program the first time I tried. I figured I'd just keep taking art classes and try again. But I took introduction to fibers (which is a required class for fashion design. Most of the design classes you need a code for, but you don't get the code until you get in the program. Which means I can't ever take pattern drafting, and that's the one class I really want.) I realized that that's the part I love. I like to create and craft and make something out of virtually nothing. So, I switched to fibers.



But now I have no idea what career that leads to. When people ask I just tell them that I'll be making baskets to sell at the Renaissance Fair (Sidenote: That would probably be a pretty lucrative career. Have you seen how much those people charge for their hand-crafted goods? I always want to tell them that if it really were the Renaissance, they'd probably only get a chicken for whatever they're selling, so they should put on bras and stop pretending that it's the Middle Ages, but then I'd probably be kicked out for being right.) My mother doesn't find this funny as I do. Then she starts nagging about how I need to plan for my future. I'm convinced that God will help me figure it out, but God helps those who help themselves right?


So I googled my major, studio art with a concentration in fibers (Mommy says I should say the full title because just "fibers" sounds stupid. I say people don't know what it is either way, so it shouldn't matter.) And I got this list of possible careers from the University of Saint Francis' website.



  • Fine Artist - So, I don't think I could be a "fine artist." It reminds me of this comedian who said, "What if we all had to be the first thing we said when we were kids? I'd be a superhero-ninja-fireman." I said I'd be an artist, and everyone in my family laughed and said I'd be a starving artist.

  • I'd actually love to work in a museum or gallery. It would be a steady job, and I'd be around art, but I don't see much potential for actually creating.

  • Curator - I'm not sure what curators do, but wikipedia says they acquire and take care of art for museums. So it sounds like I'd be collecting art for pay which sounds cool.

  • Art handler is another one I'm not sure about. I don't think I like it.
  • Art buyer - All I know about art buying is that it was Charlotte's job in Sex and the City before she quit to be a wife*. I might just take this job so I can afford her clothes. Plus, according to every "Which Sex and the City Character are You?" test I've ever taken, I'm Charlotte. *This is super funny because I've never watched a full episdoe of Sex and the City. I don't know why I know these things!


  • Consultant for whatever sounds fake. And like I'd have to talk to people.
  • Visiting artist/ Artist-in-Residence is cool! I would create art for exhibits and stay wherever it's being shown. Like if I had a show in Chicago for June 1st - July 1st, I'd fly to Chicago, set up, go to the opening, do interviews, live in Chicago for a couple weeks while the museum pays for my room and board, and then pack up and fly to the next museum or home. Travel is definitely a plus.
  • Designer is very non-descript, U of SF. I'm assuming fabric designer. I like this one too. But my mom pointed out that I'd have to take business and accounting classes because I'd be starting my own business. Unless I found another fabric designer to work for.
  • Embroiderer/Weaver/Papermaker all sound like more Scarborough Fair jobs. Although, my mom suggested that I could embroider logos for companies. I think I pass on that one though. I recently read a blog where the bride couldn't understand why wedding invitations cost so much though, so making paper for wedding invitations could be lucrative.
  • Studio Production Artist sounds like they're just adding words to 'artist' to make up for the fact that 'fibers' doesn't sound like a real degree; however, a google search determined that they set up things like window displays for stores or sets for photography. I could do that.
  • Textile Stylist sounds like Designer so maybe I'm confused. But I did take a textiles class, and it was my only A besides marching band.
  • Stationary designer. Once again, charging people for paper seems lucrative. And this one seems to require more creativity on my part.
  • Wallpaper/Upholstery designer. Wait... People still use wallpaper?
  • Educator - I've actually been interested in teaching for a while. I like kids, and I'm bossy and power hungry. I'm not sure what kind of teacher my fibers degree would make me though because we didn't have textiles or fibers at my school. Is that a class?

At any rate, it's nice to know I have a lot of random options. Also, UNT needs to make this kind of list for it's website. It's in 3 of the first page of options when you google "studio art with a concentration of fibers" but they offer no help in understanding what to do with said degree.

Also, I'm not done worrying, so expect at least one more blog where I talk about being a hobo.

2 comments:

  1. We has a textiles class at our school. They learned how to sew, and they had to makes shorts or boxers, a pillow, and I'm sure some more stuff. I just know they used sewing machines a lot. One of my friends got a sewing needle through her finger...

    There's some brochures in the UNT library, and one of them is called "Art Careers" or something like that. I looked in it, and they had a website or something listed under "Textiles/somethingicantremember." I don't know if that would help or not. :/

    ReplyDelete
  2. The future is a seriously scary word. I have no idea what I want to do... at all.

    ReplyDelete

 
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