Poll parents about career dreams for their children, and the top three jobs are probably doctor, lawyer, and maybe social networking website creator. What’s on the low end of the list? Try community theater actor or potter. That’s not so much a dig at off-Broadway thespians as it is a reflection of how society’s values have changed.
Top-of-the-list jobs are usually associated with money, influence, stability, and security. Artists tend to get painted with a broader brush, one that puts weight on more ethereal rewards. Some may say that such a value perspective comes from necessity. Others may argue greed. Doesn’t matter, really.
The perception has permeated our culture and trickled down to the school system, where, for years, the educational focus has shifted toward math, English, and the sciences. Still, year after year, there are talented students who continue to pursue their love of art by furthering their arts education through college and seeking careers in
arts-related fields.
At Pioneer Valley High School, music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers plays in the corner of Geraldine Starowicz’ art class. Students sit in groups huddled over their art projects, tapping their feet, rocking back and forth, and contemplating their next paint stroke. Paintings and sketches, from abstracts to portraits to landscapes to scenes from the imagination, line the walls. The room is buzzing with creative energy.
“The kids just love it. It allows them creative expression,” Starowicz said of school arts classes.
She explained that a shift toward meeting testing standards combined with cuts in education funding has led to less of a focus on arts education, especially in the elementary schools.
“Some of the kids surprise themselves,” she said. “They take an art class for the first time and say, ‘I really like this.’”
Then again, others are seemingly born with a love of art.
Rebecca Fernandez said she’s been creative for as long as she can remember. She was accepted to the Academy of Arts in San Francisco, where she’ll attend when she graduates from Pioneer Valley High School.
“You get to develop your own style, and I think I was just born to do it,”
she said.
Alejandro Bravo let his childhood love of cars lead him to the world of art.
He started drawing classic cars in his spare time and began art classes when he got into high school to develop his ability to re-create those cars on canvas.
“I like the shapes and lines and painting the chrome,” he said. “It’s interesting how you can put colors together and they seem to be reflective.”
Josh Combs’ childhood interest in art led him to mural art, which he said requires a lot more technique than painting on canvas.
Bravo and Combs both plan on attending art programs at Allan Hancock College before transferring. The students each expressed a long-standing passion for the arts, and their talent is apparent, but they both admitted it was a tough sell to their parents until they were able to show how art can be applicable to many lucrative fields.
“Everything around you is art,” Fernandez said. “There’s a lot of careers that use art. I don’t think people realize—movies are art, building structures are art, someone has to design those buildings.”
Though Bravo’s art interest spans many years, it was only two years ago that he decided to pursue it as a career. His decision came after he learned how creativity drives people’s purchasing decisions.
“Art really influences how products get designed and stuff gets sold and the process of making it appealing to customers,”
Bravo said.
Righetti student Areil Ruollo knows that well. She hopes to go on to Hancock, then transfer to a school where she can double major in photography and psychology. She said she hopes to pursue a career in commercial photography or own her own studio. Her photography has been recognized in shows and competitions and on her website areil.shutterbugstorefront.com. The biggest excitement came last year when she took second place in the Santa Maria Arts Council Individual Grants Awards.
“It was a stepping stone for me and my career,” she said. “It was amazing.”
Christine Fahey has parental backing all the way in her pursuit of photography, so much so that they often ask for her advice.
“My dad will come back from a trip and say, ‘Christy, you have to look at all these photos and tell me what you think,’” she said.
Her work lines the walls of her parents’ home. She said they know how successful artists can be, though she admitted they urged her to finish her education—something she wanted for herself, too.
“I know that there are fewer jobs because of the economy,” she said. “That just encourages me to work harder. And I hope it will straighten itself out in a few years.
“I know when the economy gets bad, the little things get passed up … but I think it’s the little things that make life beautiful,” she added.
Shawnah Van Gronigen, a drama teacher at Pioneer Valley High School, said because California boasts hundreds of opportunities for jobs related to the arts in many different areas, there will likely always be a market for creative types.
“I think a lot of times parents think it’s bad if their child wants to be a musician, an actor, or an artist instead of a doctor or lawyer, just because they don’t want a business degree,” she said. “But they shouldn’t be afraid of that.”
Nick Clark, a student of Van Gronigen’s, will graduate to study acting at UC Riverside. The acting bug bit him when he was in the eighth grade and he took a drama class. But it really sank its teeth in the following year when he appeared in his first lead role in Lend Me a Tenor. Clark slipped away in his head for a minute while recalling a feeling he’ll never forget: “It was opening night. Curtain call. I went out and took the stage and bowed, and when I looked up everyone was standing up giving me a standing ovation.”
Moments like that have impacted Clark’s career path and keep him motivated to continue despite advice that he should find a fall-back field or more lucrative career—especially in this economy.
“I think there’s plenty of jobs if you look, but it’s pretty competitive,” he said. “I may not be able to go into it right away, but I’ll keep trying.”
“There’s gonna be a little bit of a slump for artists right now because they aren’t always needed, but they will always be there for advertising and designing products, and that will mostly drive the big corporations to support the arts,” said muralist Combs. “That’s a big reason I’m going into graphic design. People always look for logos and advertising.”
True, the economy has hit the arts hard, forcing theaters across the country to drop their curtains for good and local painters to take a part-time job while sales are slow. That’s not surprising—the economy has delivered a whammy to almost every sector.
A 2007 report by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, titled “Tough Choices in Tough Times,” predicts the only way for U.S. workers to compete globally against other workers and automation is through creativity and innovation. Basically, that means applying ideas and abstractions to technology and routine work, as well as developing the ability to apply science and technology to creative endeavors. In short, it’s the ability to think outside the box, the kind of creative thinking encouraged in the arts—and sometimes discouraged in the regular curriculum.
Mary Beth Barber, communications director of the California Arts Council, said the council works to raise the level of arts awareness and the quality of the arts in the state. Ultimately, arts education benefits as the state council partners with local councils to augment arts exposure to students, such as through its Artists in the Schools project.
But Barber said arts education isn’t part of the California budget. In fact, the council hasn’t had much of a budget at all in the last few years. She said back in 2003 the council’s budget was $35 million. During the state’s fiscal crises, the council survived the chopping block—but its budget was reduced to $3 million. Currently, the council’s budget stands at a slightly larger $5 million. Assembly Bill 700, if passed, will redirect a percentage of sales tax money from the sales of artwork to the California Arts Council. The bill could mean an estimated $30 million would funnel to the council’s budget. But even with that influx, Barber said the money could not and should not replace art teachers in schools. She said the Department of Education and local schools still hold the responsibility for the quality of their arts programs..
“If ever there was a time for parents or community members who support the arts to get involved with the school board, it would be now,” Barber said.
The quality of arts education can be debated, but director of choral music at Righetti High School, Denise Paulus, has watched as several students went on to attend schools with outstanding choral programs, teach at universities, and travel the world as performers.
However, Paulus echoed Starowicz’ feelings about the value of an arts education in providing an outlet for creative expression in school. She said research has shown that students involved in the arts have better test scores, and that music—classical in particular—exercises the memory part of the brain.
“Many of my students have made the comment that they feel they are nothing more than a test score,” Paulus said. “Their contribution to the arts gives them an identity and a place to belong, much like sports or FFA.”
She stressed that the importance of valuing arts as an enriching part of the educational process is just as important to developing young minds.
“I hope that the community, and people in charge of making decisions concerning the future of the arts in our schools, will take all of this into consideration as they ‘crunch numbers’ in the budget,” Paulus said.
Contact Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2009.