Knock, knock. Who’s there? The holidays! The time for turkeys, menorahs, and Christmas trees is upon us, and while the holidays are first and foremost about family and love, the material side is still very prominent. If you can’t find anything on Etsy, here are some suggestions for the perfect gifts for artists in your life to give them something spectacular this holiday season.Read More
Who Wants A Career in Animation?
Artzray Q & A – Associate Professor Sharon Sussman is a digital artist and animator who worked at DreamWorks Feature Animation. She teaches digital arts and animation in Hawaii. Ms Sussman shares some valuable insights into the field of animation.
Chasing Paradise, was written and created by the New Media Arts Animation student cohort of 2013 and took First Place for Animation at the Studio City Film Festival in Los Angeles.Read More
What Artists Are Good At (Besides Making Art)
I spent my grade school and high school years heavily engaged in artistic pursuits: drawing and painting, music (classical piano), theater and improv comedy. I was never discouraged from being creative, but early on I certainly got the impression that it was much more practical and useful—and therefore “better”—to be good at stuff like math, so I always felt like an outsider in regular academia.Read More
5+ Reasons to Enter a National Contest from The Next Level Brothers
Ever think about entering a national contest in your art form? Read More
5 Ways to Know You Have Arts “Dabbler” Syndrome
Photo courtesy of Scillystuff
As a young girl growing up, I used to take 20-30 hours of different dance studio classes a week, aspiring to join American Ballet Theatre or New York City Ballet someday. I’ve practiced everything from ballet, hip-hop, salsa, pointe and beyond. And while dance continues to be my passion to this day, in high school I soon shifted from prima ballerina to Anita or Mimi from two of my favorite musicals (West Side Story and Rent.) My path changed yet again as I entered college when I chose to write, produce and act in films, so I shifted again envisioning myself as the new Tina Fey, Katherine Bigelow or Eva Mendes.Read More
Jazz Piano Techniques for the Classical Player
Crossing Over:
Jazz Piano Techniques for the Classical Player
In the 1984 classic, The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi agrees to train Daniel LaRusso in the fabled art of karate. But for the first several weeks of training, he makes a frustrated Daniel do nothing but the same chores around the house, over and over again.
(Bear with me, I’m actually going somewhere with this.)
8 Best Halloween Costumes for Art Majors
All Hallow’s Eve should be renamed All Artist’s Eve. Halloween, a holiday known for spooky themes and tricks and treats is also the perfect time to showcase artistic ability. Yes, there are plenty of opportunities to decorate your houses or to carve some creative pumpkins, but there is also the opportunity to transform yourself into whatever you want. You can go as something scary, something funny or even something you just simply love. For those of you who don’t yet know how to hone your creative and artistic skills for Halloween, here are some suggestions for costumes.Read More
Along The Way – Amanda Kopcsak
Amanda Kopcsak – Musician and Music Educator, Wilson Middle School, Glendale, CA
The most powerful things I’ve learned along the way:
• To never give up on your dreams and passion.
• Success is based off of how hard you work.
Always take ownership of all that you do, and if you do not get what you think you deserve, be motivated to work harder and keep trying.Read More
My Long and Winding Road to Music College
As a recent music college graduate, I have found myself re-evaluating my transition from high school to college and the events that led me to pursue a life in music. Looking back, I could never have seen where this long and winding road would take me. My choice to go to music college literally changed the direction of my life taking me first to the other side of the country, and then to Spain, and back home to Los Angeles.
Deciding to Pursue Music
I grew up in Southern California and went to a large public high school. During my junior year I decided that I would drop my dream of being a pro soccer player, and pursue music. This came as a surprise to my family, and truthfully even to me, although I had practically grown up in my parents’ Brazilian Cultural Center where I was introduced to the music of Afro-Brazilian Capoeira, Samba and Candomblé. Unlike a lot high school musicians I wasn’t in the band or orchestra at school, although they were good programs. The music just didn’t speak to me, but I began composing and produced experimental Hip-Hop music. Being that I had an extremely mediocre GPA, I only applied to three colleges. Two of them were local Cal State colleges but, the long shot, and my first choice, was the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Yes, it was a reach and a long way from home, but after months of waiting to my extreme happiness, I got in!
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