Concordia University mfa

I completed my Concordia University mfa in 2018. I really enjoyed the Concordia University Fine Arts program in Montreal. Read more to see what the program was like. If you would like to learn more about preparing an art application for college or university - click here.

Concordia University mfa 

The Concordia University MFA program I was in was the Fibres and Material Practices Program. I was there from September 2015- to February 2018. On average, it is a 3 year Master of Fine Arts Program with the first two years having classes and critiques to present your artwork and the final year you build your end of year exhibition and write your thesis paper about your art and research. 

Concordia University mfa - Montreal

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada. It is a large city with French culture. Oftentimes, it feels like you are in another country. There are lots of great restaurants, art galleries and architecture. I loved spending time in Old Montreal and seeing the architecture there. 

Montreal -image from Unsplash

Concordia University mfa -Where to live 

I lived near the university as I didn’t want to take the subway (metro) or commute. I wanted to be able to walk to school and not rely on transportation. We lived in a rented apartment, a 3 ½, meaning it had one bedroom, a small kitchen and living room and a small bathroom. Our building backed onto Mont Royal Parc, a large green space. We spent a lot of time in the park and it led me to starting my work Patched. 

Concordia University mfa -about the program.

I had about 7 other people in my year of my program. It was nice because we all became close friends. I worked as a teaching assistant to learn about making paper. I also worked as a tutor as well for extra income. I loved the professors at the school and really learned a lot. The Concordia University MFA program is a strong and notable program. In the first and second year you are given a studio space on campus and in the final year you can find your own studio space. I chose to use my living room to save money. 

Overall, I loved my time at Concordia University mfa program. I am so happy with my decision to go there. It was a great time with lots of wonderful memories. 

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Patched
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About the Campus Lakehead University

I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts and Teachers College at the Lakehead University Campus in Thunder Bay in 2015. I will share about the campus Lakehead University in this blog post. If you have any questions about my time on the campus of Lakehead University don’t hesitate to reach out! 

Campus Lakehead University

I really liked the campus Lakehead University. It is a small campus and there is a large pond on campus and lots of trees and trails. Although winters are cold, the landscape of Thunder Bay is really quite beautiful.  Since I was a fine art major most of my classes were in one building. When I was in teachers college again, all of my classes were in one building, which was really nice. 

Campus Lakehead University- class sizes

Since it is a small campus the classes were also small. I usually had around 30 students in my class with maybe 100 in larger classes like first year sociology or first year art history.

This is the picture of the Visual Arts Building where I spent most of my time.

About the Campus Lakehead University

In my first year on campus at Lakehead University I was living in residence. I met my husband who was my next door neighbour in residence. We started out as friends in the first semester and grew into more after Christmas break. My roommate also married her neighbour in residence too. 

Here is a picture of my shared residence room. We had an internet cable for steady connection my first year.

At the campus of Lakehead University in Fine Arts you could choose to specialize in Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking or Ceramics. I chose painting and drawing. Meaning in your third and fourth year you would only take the courses you specialized in. You start taking all the courses in your first and second year to know what you will like. 

I liked the professors that I had and they really challenged us to question what is painting and what is drawing. They encouraged us not to paint on canvas or draw on paper. Which was really fun and freeing. They also really pushed us to try mixed media and abstract art which I fell in love with. I started integrating sewing and fibre art with my painting and drawing and created large works on fabric that were suspended. 

Since I enjoyed my Bachelor of Fine Arts so much I knew I wanted to do my Master of Fine Arts. I chose to apply to Concordia University  and NASCAD in Nova Scotia. Both schools I applied to had Fibre art programs that I really wanted to explore more including learning about how to make paper. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my time on the campus of Lakehead University. If you have any questions please reach out to me. If you would like to learn about how to prepare an art portfolio for college and university art applications - click here.

Click here to download my FREE guide of 10 Tips for creating an art portfolio for school!

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How to Create an Art Portfolio: 7 Tips!

How to create an art portfolio with 7 tips from artist Jackie Partridge. I have been exhibiting my artwork since 2012. I have received artist grants and awards and I have attended artist residencies. With this experience I have done my share in submitting my portfolio for numerous applications. As a teacher, I have worked with grade 12 students to help them with their art portfolio applications. See my 7 tips for your college/university art portfolio application below!

After receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Lakehead University I also completed teacher’s college. I graduated being able to teach grades 4-12 in Ontario before taking my Master of Fine Arts at Concordia University.

During my time in teacher’s college part of my placement included teaching art to grade 12 students. In the first term I helped students with their portfolios as they were in the midst of applying for university and college arts programs. I volunteered my time to help these students during my lunch break by giving them tips and ways to improve what they had selected to be in their portfolios.

I have worked as an art instructor for a private boarding school where I helped international high school students with their portfolio applications in art, graphic design, illustration and architecture programs.

If you need ideas for what to put into your art portfolio application you can click here!

7 Tips to Make Your University/College Portfolio Stand Out

Tip #1

READ THE REQUIREMENTS -AND FOLLOW THEM

You need to know what they want and usually they tell you specifics!

Every university and college or even programs within the same school have different application requirements when it comes to their portfolios. Some schools are very specific asking for a certain number of pieces, certain media used or certain sizes of work. Some schools want original work, some/most don't-- they want photographs uploaded on programs like SlideRoom.  Some schools even have specific themes like "Make a work that is finished yet unfinished." This can make the process more difficult and leave students feeling overwhelmed and unsure -often overthinking their decisions and ideas.

Want to go to art school but unsure how to create an art portfolio that stands out and gets accepted? Click on the button below to get on the waitlist for my art portfolio course!

Tip #2

Show Your Creative Process

Most schools want to see your process work - they want to see how you think about your art and why you made the choices you did.

Tip #3

Show Your Personality

The purpose of the portfolio is an introduction and a chance for your chosen school to get to know you and see if you would be a good fit there.  You want to show your interests and possibilities you might want to continue to explore while in post-secondary education. You should include materials you like working with and show your artistic style that is unique to you!

Tip #4

Show Variety

You want the professors reviewing your portfolio to be impressed by your skills and see you as an artist who is versatile. Therefore, it is important to show that you can do more.

By showing variety you are showing that you aren't afraid to try new things and experiment with your artwork. It shows that you are open to growing and learning which is the whole point of college and university programs. Check out my YouTube channel for tips to make your acrylic paintings stronger! You can also improve your painting with FREE12 page Guide!

Tip #5

Show Program Specific Techniques 

If you are applying to specific programs like architecture or illustration you want to think about possible projects that might be studied in those programs. Once you have thought of those ideas you could try to include relevant pieces in your portfolio.

If you are applying to a non-specific program like a Bachelor of Fine Arts for example- then again you want to show variety. You need to show your range, talents and abilities.

How to make a strong portfolio - show your diversity of skills like ceramics

Tip #6

Details are Important 

You need to remember that review panels are looking at portfolio after portfolio for hours on end. You need to stand out and be memorable. Make sure you consider details to set you apart.

Edit your photos, think about your layout, come up with clever titles for your work. All these details are important!

Tip #7

Show Your Thinking, Your Writing and Research

Usually you will be asked to submit written descriptions about your work- make sure they are detailed and informative.

List your inspiration- if you did a drawing based off a building or place -state that research. You want to show your intelligence and critical thinking abilities in these descriptions.

Make sure you edit your writing, stick to the word count and choose a consistent and legible font.

Take time to plan your written descriptions and do not leave them to the last minute!

I wish you good luck with your portfolio applications and the BIGGEST tip I can give you is to start early and trust your gut!

What People are Saying

I was excited for the opportunity to work with Jackie!

The presentation from Jackie was very specific relevant information to prepare my students for applying to art schools. It gave us a checklist to follow and ideas we had not yet considered.

This presentation is a MUST for anyone needing information to better prepare students to apply to art schools. Not having gone that route myself, it was invaluable!

Jackie was not only knowledgeable, but easy to work with and super accommodating. I would highly recommend her!!

Britt, High School Art Teacher, California, U.S.

Here are my art portfolio ideas. These ideas are great if you are struggling with what to include in your art portfolio.

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Want Some Help With Your Art Portfolio? I Would Love to Work With You - Send me an Email!

I offer Portfolio Review and Portfolio Development Consultations. I can help you decide what to create, what to include in your art portfolio, answer any questions, prepare for interviews, and more!

Here is the link to download my FREE Guide for How to Create an Art Portfolio That Stands Out!

All the best with your art portfolio applications- You got this!