Archive for the ‘Getting Started!’ Category
B Block Materials!
March 7, 2010First Day!
August 21, 2009
On Monday all first year art students will meet behind the McLane Center at 7:00 AM! We will be leaving promptly at 7:30 for our first day field trip. Please bring any or all of the following to record your experience: a pencil/pen, sketchbook, audio or video recording device, a camera, or your camera phone. Dress for the out of doors… no flip flops … good walking shoes…. maybe a rain coat….or hat… some suntan lotion…and a bottle of water! See you there!
Reminder to all incoming students!
July 31, 2009Hello All!
Hope you are enjoying your summer and looking forward to arriving on campus in several weeks. We are certainly looking forward to an exciting new year with all of you.
Just wanted to remind you that you will need to read ALL documents on this site to be properly prepared to start in the program. There are several things that you will need to purchase and bring from home (make sure you spend time gathering your Material Archive) and if you plan to order a Material Kit, the deadline is August 6th.
Have fun and see you soon!
Michelle
Welcome NEW Alfred Freshman!
July 1, 2009Hello, this blog is for entering freshman art students at Alfred University, New York College of Ceramics, Alfred, New York.
We are looking forward to meeting you when you arrive on campus this August. In the meantime, we will be using this blog to give you the introductory information so that you can prepare for your first year of college at Alfred University. Please read everything carefully. We have included information about registration, purchasing your tools and supplies, a technology guideline, and even your first reading assignment!
Read on…..by clicking on the categories under Getting Started in the column to the right. Also feel free to post questions, comments, or to use this space as a place to begin to get to know each other!
Michelle, Ted and Angie
Alfred Bookstore Art Supply Kit
June 30, 2009Note: The following is an offer from the Alfred Bookstore. Many students take advantage of the simplicity of ordering the kit but you may also purchase materials on your own. Take a moment and check out the list of required materials, tools and technology by clicking on the links to the right and decide what works best for you!
Dear Parents and Students,
The Alfred University Bookstore is offering the Freshman Foundation art kit for $255.29 plus tax. (The price including tax is $277.63) This price includes the 23×31 student portfolio. The regular price of all items included in the kit is $364.70. We are offering the kit at a 30% discount; IF YOU RESERVE YOUR ART KIT BY AUGUST 6th (must be post marked by 8/06/09).
Reserve your art kit today! The kit will include ALL items on your supply list including free work gloves and X-acto blades. If you reserve after August 6th, the price will be $309.99 ($337.11 with tax), a 15% discount.
If you would like to reserve your art kit and have it ready for pickup, please first download the form, fill it out and return it to us with a check or credit card number by 8/06/09. The form can be found by clicking here Foundation kit ReserveJune2009 .
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Karla Panter, Assistant Manager
Phone Service In Alfred
June 30, 2009Yes, Alfred is rural rural rural! And since phone coverage is difficult in the area, Alfred has teamed with Verizon to provide service and discounts to faculty and students. To learn more check out: http://www.alfredwireless.com
Bookstore website
June 17, 2009If you want to get a jump on buying your school books (and a chance at getting cheaper used books), check out the Alfred Bookstore website at www.whywaitforbooks.com.
Visual + Material Archive Download
May 20, 2009For your own personal copy of the Visual + Material Archive instructions, just download and printout by clicking on the following link.
personalarchive.pdf
Bruce Mau’s ‘Incomplete Manifesto for Growth’
May 20, 2009Bruce Mau is the Creative Director of Bruce Mau Design, based in Toronto, Canada. In 2003, he founded the Institute Without Boundaries, a twelve-month interdisciplinary postgraduate program that aims to produce a new breed of designer, one who is, “a synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist, and evolutionary strategist. “ Mau is an exemplar of creativity, and in his “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth” articulates his beliefs, motivations and strategies. Excerpts follow.
1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go, the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process.
7. Drift. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
8. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
9. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
10. Keep moving. The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.
11. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.
12. Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black.
13. Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
14. Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.
15. ____________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.
16. Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.
17. Be careful to take risks. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.
18. Repeat yourself. If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.
19. Stand on someone’s shoulders. You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.
20. Don’t clean your desk. You might find something tomorrow that you can’t see tonight.
21. Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
22. Organization = Liberty. Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between “creatives” and “suits” is … a ‘charming artifact of the past.’
23. Don’t borrow money. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.
24. Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own.
25. Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set.
26. Make mistakes faster. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
27. Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot.
28. Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.
30. Remember. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction.
31. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I’ve become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.
thanks to Mary Stewart who sent this my way!
Technology Guide
May 15, 2009You are about to enter college as an art major! One difference between your selected course of study and others is that you will need to buy lots of equipment, tools and materials over the next four years. It is important that you select new tools and equipment carefully since you will be using these items nearly everyday. In an effort to help you in your search, we have provided this Technology Guide and suggestions for art making technology and related materials.
For your first year of study, we recommend that you bring to school a computer, digital camera, and printer. A flash drive, CD/DVD’s, extra printer cartridges, and a variety of regular and photo paper are also recommended. It is convenient to have them on hand and buying them ahead of time may be your cheapest option. We would suggest that you bring with you any of the following if you already OWN them, but they are not required for coursework: cell phone, ipod, digital recorder and sewing machine. (A note about cell phones: coverage with a company other than Verizon is difficult in the area. Check out http://www.alfredwireless.com for discounts on phone service)
You may find that you already own some of the suggested items. If this is true for you, it is perfectly fine to start the year with what you have and see how they work for your specific needs. If you do need to purchase new, we have found that buying from a reputable online business is one of the most effective ways to get the most for your money. These sites also can provide product information and customer reviews that are very helpful in choosing the best model for your needs.
What model you select will depend on your individual needs, what you want to spend, and your areas of interest. For example, if you intend to study Expanded Media you may want to consider a more expansive computer or if you plan to study photography, a SLR or Digital SLR camera. Remember however that you may change your mind about what area of study interests you most!
Computer
You’ll use a computer most days at Alfred, from checking your email (a Foundations requirement) to researching and writing papers, to adjusting images and printing them. A computer is an expensive investment and should be bought according to your needs, so consider several things: where and when will you most likely use it, a Mac or a PC, a laptop or desk model, what level of computer you need, your future goals and how much money you want to spend.
• As a college student you are eligible for an education discount from Mac, Dell and Gateway. To find out more about this check the Alfred University site, go to http://my.alfred.edu/its/index.cfm/fuseaction/other.comppurch.cfm.
• While the university as a whole uses PCs, the School of Art and many artists/designers use Macintosh.
• Many people find that a laptop is a good choice because you can bring it to class, the library or a coffee shop.
• Watch out for incentives, often you can get a printer or ipod with your computer purchase.
Digital Camera
During the year you will be asked to use a camera for visual research and to document your work. Select a camera that fits your needs* and budget. For most a compact model with at least 6 megapixels will work for most people. Since the quality of your images will be important, it is best to buy a good quality brand with the highest resolution you can afford. A couple good choices might be a Canon Powershot, Nikon, Olympus, or Sony.
You will find the best selection, lowest prices and most information by purchasing a digital camera online. Following are several reputable sites that faculty members have used over the years. You might start by checking the sites that provide a buying guide and reviews first and then look at Bizrate (www.bizrate.com), Epinions (http://www.epinions.com) or Price Grabber (http://www.pricegrabber.com) to see who offers the least expensive price after you have selected the model you desire. With a little research you can find an excellent resolution digital camera for a reasonable price.
You might also want to purchase additional storage for your camera. Most come with a CompactFlash, Smartmedia or other PC card, but usually this is not large enough to store many photos.
*Just a note, if you are planning on taking Photography courses you will need a SLR (single lens reflex) camera for Sophomore Photography and if you elect to take Digital Photography (junior) you will need a Digital SLR. If you do buy a SLR or DSLR you should consider purchasing a protective UV filter for your lens. Of course, these items do not need to be purchased for this school year.
Printer
Many times you will be asked to print out images from your digital camera or the internet and bring them to the class the next day. It is often difficult to find a color printer on campus for this purpose. We recommend that you purchase or bring with you a color inkjet printer that prints at least 8.5 x 11. Printers have come way down in price and sometimes are bundled with a computer purchase. You might also considering purchasing one together with your roommate. Excellent choices would be any inexpensive Canon, HP or Epson printer. For a good guide to printers check out: http://printers.bizrate.com/printers/buying_guides/basics.html
Remember to purchase extra cartridges, they are much cheaper online and you will run out!
USB Flash Drive or Thumb drive
You may find it convenient to buy/bring a flash drive. These small devices make it easy to take your files to a printer or to share images. They hold lots of data and start at about $15 for a 512 MB. An ipod can be used in a similar way for the same purpose.
Things to remember
CDs/DVDs
Printer cartridges (online is cheaper)
Inkjet Paper: photo, regular
Extra storage card for your camera
Additional Art-making Tools (bring if you already own)
Cell phone (Verizon is the only local company that works in Alfred, check the Alfred website for deals)
Ipod
Digital recorder
Sewing machine
Online Purchasing
Alfred, educational discount, (www.alfred.edu/its/index.cfm/fuseaction/other.comppurch.cfm)
Mac (www.apple.com)
Gateway (https://select.gateway.com)
MacWorld (www.macworld.com)
PCWorld (www.pcworld.com)
J&R (www.jr.com)
B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com)
Adorama (www.adorama.com)
Reviews +Price Comparison
Bizrate (www.bizrate.com)
Epinions (www.epinions.com)
Price Grabber (www.pricegrabber.com)
Better Photo (www.betterphoto.com)
Digital Photography Review (www.dpreview.com)
Digital Camera Review (www.digitalcamerareview.com)
Cnet reviews (reviews.cnet.com)
Consumer Reports (www.online.consumerreports.org)
