Visual Shift

I took Ms. Adriance’s drawing and painting class sophomore, junior and senior year.  Before I took her class I had no concept of theory when it came to art.  My art class experience before had consisted of me making pretty pictures with literally no direction, just supervision.  Ms. A. taught me that there’s a lot more to art than just making pretty pictures all willy nilly.  She introduced me to perspective, concept based art, color theory, composition, different rendering techniques, art vocab., new materials, etc.  During my time with her I went from having 0 art knowledge to a passion for art and a desire to learn more. She was the one who first brought up art school as a possibility for my college education.  If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I would have even thought of it myself and I know for sure that my family would have never suggested it.  She also gave me the confidence to apply to art schools and supported me throughout the entire process.  I had no idea what a portfolio was or how to even begin to put one together.  She stayed late after school and taught me how to use a camera, photoshop, adjust lighting, and gave me advice on what to put in my portfolio and why.  Without her I would have been completely lost, I’m really thankful for her dedication, love and support.  Ms. A.’s passion, knowledge and enthusiasm for art is so apparent in everything she does.  She supplied us with unique materials most schools did not.  She always kept the lessons fresh, interesting and jam packed with theory and techniques.  Not only is Ms. A. an amazing teacher, she’s an amazing person with such a warm, friendly energy she draws people to her.  Even if it wasn’t about art I knew I could come talk to her about anything and she would listen and give me her best advice.  Ms. Adriance is a huge inspiration to me and a huge reason why I chose to study to become an art teacher.  She has done so much for me and I am just one of the many students she's taught.  I hope that one day I can become even half of the art teacher Ms. Adriance demonstrates.

Art Education at MASS ART

When I began my junior year of high school I did not know what my future held. I was clueless on what I wanted to do with my life, and what form of higher education I should pursue. However, at the time I was unaware that in a few short months I would begin building the path for my future. I took an introduction to drawing course with Mrs. Adriance the first semester of my junior year and my perspective on art was changed for the better. Mrs. Adriance  was fun encouraging teacher who engaged the students in what they were learning. She always made the class and subject matter enjoyable which inspired the students to excel in what they were learning. Along with this, I have learned a variety of fundamental techniques from Ms. Adriance that I still use today. She has knowledge of key techniques in a variety of artistic disciplines including painting, drawing, scratchboard, photoshop, color theory, composition, etc., and Mrs. Adriance will provide a strong foundation in whatever artist discipline a student will purse.

When it came time to applying to colleges Mrs. Adriance was an enormous help. She was full of college and major suggestions, and made sure each student who was pursing art school was choosing the correct school for them. Mrs. Adriance helped me organize and create the optimum portfolio I could produce, and taught me the technology needed to properly document my work. Overall Mrs. Adriance was a huge influence on my life, has provided me with the fundamentals of my artistic career, and I am more than happy that I decided to take her art class my junior year of high school. Facebook link.

I studied intensively with Ms. Adriance for about 5 months in preparation for my applications to art schools. Our studio lessons started from the ground up, and she helped me get a solid grasp on skills that I wasn’t proficient in as an artist. We worked extensively on concepts such as perspective, proportion, and composition among other things. As our work continued, my skills improved and I built up a strong portfolio. When it came time to apply, Ms. Adriance assisted me in and taught me about with the detailed processes of photographing my artwork, editing it in Photoshop to meet each school’s requirements, and organizing all of my work. I was well prepared for applications and so far I have been accepted to 6 out of 8 schools that I applied to, and received several scholarships for my portfolio.

Ms. Adriance provided me with an invaluable experience through her studio lessons. She tailored the lessons to suit my position and experience, and provided constant support and motivation; she was always open to communication and made sure to stay updated on my progress.  With her guidance, I learned more about being a creative and original artist. I still have much to learn, but Ms. Adriance has helped me to push my artistic skills and myself to the next level.

Attending Temple University, PA.

I’ve always been interested in the arts so when I got to take my first drawing class junior year with Ms. Adriance I was ecstatic. From there I took as many art classes as I could fit into my remaining high school schedule such as 3-d design, painting, architecture, and set design. From these classes, I gained fundamental skills and important techniques that helped me grow as an artist.

I did not put together a portfolio for college but I knew I wanted to continue taking art classes and eventually I made art and design one of my minors. Ms. Adriance made art interesting and always encouraged originality. Her guidance benefited me greatly in the arts. She always inspired her students to think outside the box and come up with something new. The engagement in class was highly encouraged and resulted in infinite creativity. The fundamental techniques I’ve gained from Ms. Adriance’s classes are invaluable, providing me the skill sets I can use to go forward in my future.  

           I personally had the privilege of working with Ms. Adriance throughout my entire high school career; she mentored me in painting, drawing, set design and portfolio development.  This was a critical time in my life as I was making big decisions about the direction of my career as an artist.  Working with Ms. Adriance was a wonderful, inspiring experience; she was able to mentor me in a way that not only taught me things I needed to know at that moment, but she also gave me lessons that would impact me forever.  Ms. Adriance doesn’t only teach how to draw or paint, she inspires her students to be better, to continue out-doing themselves and she pushes them to the limits in order to improve their skills.

            I loved the time I had working with Ms. Adriance, I learned so much; it was this type of learning that is what prompted and prepared me to pursue my career in art.  Not only did I learn how to draw, paint and use a DSLR camera, but I also learned hard work, resilience and confidence in my own art work.  One of the most wonderful things that I can say about Ms. Adriance, is that she genuinely cares about your work as you do- I can’t count the amount of days Ms. Adriance stayed late with me to let me finish a project or help me develop my portfolio.  Being under the guidance of Ms. Adriance is truly a privilege and if the option is there, I suggest you take it- you won’t regret it.

B.A. in Art & Art History from Whittier College, CA., 2016.