College is right around the corner for a lot of students. Art students were beginning to consider colleges and future careers, with loads of artwork done throughout high school, it can be important to have a good collection for a portfolio.
Artwork has meaning and ties into an artist’s personal experience. It is important to tell a story and really show strengths in a creative way.
Art teacher Tuwana Williams shared the important factors that should be included.
“Your strengths, media you are really talented with,” Williams said. “A bit of versatility as far as subject matter. You should share pieces where you really had to push yourself. Colleges look for variety, a little portraiture and landscape.”
Williams teaches AP art and design, a class where students spend the year building a portfolio with a theme.
“A lot of the time I like for kids to touch into something near and dear to who they are, personal struggle and triumph are good themes. Being able to convey a story through your work is very important to us.”
An art portfolio shows colleges the variety of work an artist has done, strengths, and the progress made.
Student teacher Gage Rabideaux shared her experience making a portfolio and the important factors.
“Emphasize the area you have the most passion for,” Rabideaux said. “It is important to have a wide breadth of mediums. If you really want to be an art teacher, you’ll want to show these guys that you are really capable of working with multiple mediums, so if you’re an illustrator you want to work with clay, fibers, digital, charcoal, everything in between.”
So if you are an artist nearing the end of high school, consider creating a portfolio showing a variety of artworks based on what career or college you may be looking for.
