Triboro News

I love the start of school in fall. It always reminds me of new clothes and sharp pencils. I am excited by the potential of new subject matter, new teachers, and new students. 

This is a good time to try something new. Have you looked at the library databases lately? With our new music program starting, we now have some databases of music. You might want to go and listen to something you have never heard before. Also, Stash is not new, but if you have never logged in, you might have fun trying it.  All the databases are available through your student portal under RMCAD School Resources. 

Have you ever met with the Student Learning Center? You might want to make an appointment just to see what we can do for you? This is a good time to think really hard about your previous study habits and whether or not they were successful for you. We are happy to help you create to habits and refine habits you want to keep.

If you are on campus, come by the library and check out a book! It is nice to see people in person again.

Welcome to Week 1! 

I recently started working on a fairly large creative project that has many components. I’m designing and illustrating a tarot card deck and also starting my first Youtube channel about the whole process. So far, illustrating the cards has been relatively easy. I’ve certainly faced the usual challenges of deciding how to develop and improve the compositions, but this is a familiar challenge I often work through. But when it comes to making the first video for my new channel I have come up against seemingly endless challenges that have made me want to give up on making video content altogether. I told myself that the video content would be fun, it would be easy. I’ve done it before, how much work can it take? Little did I know that I was beginning on a journey lined with obstacles and filled with frustration.

Obstacles and challenges are something that we are all bound to encounter, not just as artists but as human beings. Obstacles are, in my opinion, the very things that help us to grow and learn as artists… that is if we can learn to overcome them. Obstacles are always going to be present in some form or another. I like to think of them as challenges from the universe to excel, persevere, and evolve. Have you ever given up on something because you encountered too many obstacles or challenges? Have you ever persevered through challenges during a creative project and come out feeling defeated and unhappy with the results? How about pride and accomplishment after overcoming challenges? I’ve felt all of these things myself. At the end of the day, though, the most important takeaway is the lessons I learned that helped me face those inevitable challenges again in the future. 

So, this is my game plan of sorts. It’s a list of four techniques I compiled after overcoming several challenges while working on a new and unfamiliar project. These techniques have served me well and have helped me to produce a final product that I’m relatively proud of. I’m even feeling excited to start on the next project now that I have a new set of tools and processes to help the journey a bit easier the next time around.

The first step in any project is to acknowledge your obstacles.  Now, this may seem relatively straightforward but it is so important! It can be so beneficial to discuss the challenges you’re facing with a friend, a classmate, or anyone you trust and respect. Most importantly, be realistic about the obstacles! This includes taking a breath and pausing for a moment so that you don’t get frustrated and exaggerate the issues you encounter and make the problem larger than it is. Make note of the obstacles you encounter mentally or try making a journal, you can even vlog about them! You never know what solutions can be found simply by thinking about the obstacle and especially discussing it. For example, I was having a lot of trouble with a function not working in Premiere Pro. No matter what I did or didn’t do, it just wouldn’t work and was putting my work at a complete standstill. This frustrated me and made me want to give up on editing my video altogether. However, instead of giving up I stepped outside, got some fresh air, and thought about the issue. When I came back inside I mentioned the issue to my partner (who also uses Premiere Pro) and he gave me a lot of suggestions I hadn’t thought about… including trying a different program or watching some Youtube Tutorials. These are things I hadn’t thought to do on my own because I was so frustrated. At the end of the day, I learned that the issue could be overcome and I found some great solutions, including switching video programs altogether, making my workflow more efficient.

Tip number two for overcoming obstacles is to take breaks. It’s so important to take breaks. I just can’t stress it enough to creatives. Breaks are not wasted time. They are vital moments that allow the mind and body to regenerate and replenish. When we take breaks, we can return to solving our problems with a renewed perspective and fresh energy. As bill Murray says in “What About Bob?” it might be time to take a vacation from your problems. Some of my favorite ways to replenish and take breaks are to go for walks outside, snuggle with my cat, eat a snack, and do some yoga. All of these things get my eyes off of a screen and allow my mind and body to reset so that I can come back to the project with fresh eyes and renewed energy.

Speaking of mindsets… this leads me to my third suggestion for overcoming challenges: maintaining a positive mindset. OK, ok… I don’t want to be that annoying person that always says stuff like “just be positive!” because in reality sometimes bad stuff happens and there is nothing positive about the situation whatsoever. And don’t even get me started on how I feel that anger can sometimes be a positive thing. But now and then a dose of positive thinking is really important for your brain… Think of it as a form of creative visualization. It can feel silly at first to tell yourself positive affirmations or make a gratitude list when it seems as though everything is going against you. However, it’s really important to remember your ultimate goal, and remind yourself that achieving it is possible. Sometimes the solution lies just outside of our awareness, and I believe that a positive mind expands our awareness. Conversely, negative thinking can put a real damper on creative problem solving and prevent you from seeing solutions. Try not to focus on what’s going wrong… instead, focus on what’s going right and think of ways to recreate and empower those positive elements while working on a project. 

My last tip in overcoming creative challenges is this… and you might not want to hear it… but don’t be afraid to start over. I know that one of my biggest fears as an artist is having to start from scratch on a project I’ve poured hours and hours into. I’ve had to do it a few times and it just plain sucks. Sometimes, though, this is a reality of creating. I encountered major setbacks while working on my project and ended up having to start over, twice. But you know what? I learned so much during round one and round two that I don’t feel like I was completely starting from scratch. It felt more like I was starting on a blank document while reflecting on my outline and first draft. It can be refreshing to start a project over again, especially if things aren’t going your way the first time. 

 If you’re overwhelmed by the challenges you’re facing in a current project or assignment, don’t give up. Keep working, stay positive, and hopefully one or more of these techniques will help you overcome your challenges and even produce something that you’re really proud of. If you find that you need someone to talk to about your challenges, schedule an appointment with a creative mentor or a writing specialist from the SLC, we’d love to help you find some solutions and feel good about the work you are doing!

 by Bryan Parry

   I was medically retired from the Army back in October of 2014. The… integration into the civilian world is an ongoing operation and it has its ups and downs. I don’t feel like it was even a “reintegration” back into society. The military awakened me. Because of that difference I wanted to take a moment to be transparent so that maybe we can all understand each other more.

We all joined the military for different reasons. We all chased different mythical journeys leading to adventure, growth, experience, and grabbing a hold of our future. While in the Army I worked with a motley crew of misfits from all walks of life. Some escaped drug cartels through service, others sought citizenship, and many sought the path of a soldier. We knew we’d never be the same after, but we underestimated why we’d never be the same.

It’s not as much of the life and death that clings to our everyday life. That was always there, the military just taught us how to deal with it. What it didn’t prepare us for was you all. We didn’t cover how that life would separate us like walking out of Plato’s Cave. Now we’ve come back after seeing what’s outside and we are begging those around us to listen to the perspective it gave us. Only to be ridiculed or thought abrasive because of how we interact with others. 

We are indeed abrasive, some more than others. But here is where we are very similar. We are here at RMCAD together. RMCAD didn’t make you be here, we are all choosing to be here. We are paying to be here at this school. No one held a gun to our head when we signed the dotted line to serve. It’s not that the military changed us, the decision we made to join changed us. The decision we are all making here at RMCAD is what’s changing us.

There is an opportunity here to learn from each other in such extremes not normally allowed to our demographics. I am thankful to be a minority here as a white, heterosexual, cis-male. I am moved so incredibly by the struggles my peers endure just by existing in this terribly racist and transphobic world. They struggle just like we veterans do. It’s for different reasons and I’m not saying either is treated the same way. But the feeling inside is what I see a commonality in - fear for being who we are.

Thank you all for being here, thank you all for choosing to come here, and thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to see a part of your world. I hope that others throughout your life thank you for being so very brave, all of you. Art school isn’t a walk in the park. We battle constant ridicule for even carrying the validity of a career. Which is even more insulting since we as artists train to better understand how and why all things are the way they are.

Remember - your decision to be here is what is changing you. Even if some days are filled with tears and motionless exhaustion from how crushing even feeling can be. We tune our souls as artists to pick up signals, sights, and sounds that are otherwise unknown to most. Like a dog hearing decibel ranges the human ear can’t, we take up our pen, brush, pencil, stylus, mouse, needle, book, voice, clay, or literally anything - and translate that unseen spectrum to the rest of the world.

Each of us has our struggles, each of us has our weak points or our strengths. But what we do all have is that superhuman ability to tune in. So I bring forth your call to action, so we may all aid in our awakening. Your peers all pick up different ranges of the world’s pain, joy, sorrow, agony, peace, rage, hope, love, and mercy. Not one of us has them all, so we can learn from each other what each song sounds like.

by Hope Stalle

“The Dream Job” is something you hear everyone talk about. It’s most likely the reason you’re at this school and reading this article. As someone who is in your shoes, I can tell you that the most detrimental thing to achieving your dream job is YOU. 

As artists, we are very self conscious people. We think too much, too deeply, and too erratically. We are unable to trust ourselves and believe in our capabilities. If you are to get your dream job, you must be the opposite of that. Have self confidence. Believe in yourself, your knowledge, and hold fast to your accomplishments. 

This doesn’t mean becoming a cocky big-headed know-it-all. This DOES mean to become self confident and secure in your experience. There is a very fine line between correct levels of self confidence, and exceedingly conceited levels. As someone searching for the dream job, it’s your responsibility to figure out how to walk that line. Once you do, you will have the right mindset to go out and achieve your dreams.

Mindset is only half the battle. Now you must battle the external situations, such as job applications, interviews, etc. which is just as fluid a situation as any. A few tips I have are to really hone in on what job position you want, and then research as many companies as possible. Look for those keywords in their postings, does your resume reflect those words? If not, make sure to revamp your online and text-based resume to include key words. This is how large companies filter out applicants, and if you aren’t appealing to the AI-Gods, then they will pass right over your resume.

So we’ve talked about the mindset you want to be in and how you can overcome the AI bots...But what about when you land an interview? You don’t want to just regurgitate what’s already on your resume. You will need to have an actively engaged and fluid conversation with the interviewer. They will ALWAYS throw at least one question that catches you off guard. Be prepared! Two more things to keep in mind when interviewing: always be yourself and never say you know something you don’t. No employer will be mad at you for not having learned something yet; however if you say you already know it, but DON'T actually know it...well then I’d be packing up and waiting to be let go any day. Always start off on the right foot, never lie, and always set boundaries.