For this week (till end of Feb), post all your comments, resources, thoughts, websites, etc. here. If you think it might be useful or helpful to your classmates, post it!

* All posts here will count towards your final page count.

Here, I will post links, as I find them, that should help you in the organization and creation of your writer’s resume. As you have already begun to notice, there is no “one” way to write a resume; and resumes can vary greatly depending on your experience, your goals, and to whom you plan to submit them to. Therefore, this blog is to be used as A resource . . . and in combination with our discussions in class.

Creating a Writer’s Resume by Moira Allen: This is an informative site that walks you through some of the challenges in preparing a writer’s resume.

Writespot.org – A Freelance Writer’s Resume

Often, the best way to determine how to best put your resume together is by looking at other writers’ resumes. Here, I will post some that I think may be useful to you (if you find any others, please respond with the url):

Sharon L. Fulton’s resume

Hey folks, the portfolio center has the following event coming up, if any of you are interested:

Wednesday, March 28th from 3:00 PM-6:00 PM.

at the Portfolio Center

Conscious Choice is “an ‘enlightened’ urban lifestyle magazine focusing on equal parts Environment, Progressive Politics, Healthy & Natural Living, and Spirituality.” National Editorial Director Charles Show and Production Manager (and alum) James Faber will visit to meet and discuss writing clips with students who have samples relevant to the field of magazine writing. Samples don’t have to fit within the Conscious Choice content parameters, but of course, stories that thematically match the editorial feel of the magazine are encouraged. This session is open to juniors, seniors, graduate students and December 2006 graduates.

Call 312-344-7280 to reserve an appointment.

First of all, too many people are either coming in late or missing class; this is a gentle reminder that you all need to do your best to get to class and be on time — it WILL be a factor considered when grading.

Second, please make sure that you all check the course syllabus FIRST. I will always have the assignments assigned and due there. Sometimes I make changes, as I did today, and the only way you will know is if you either take copious notes or regularly check the syllabus.

Third, the work that you are doing is all working off of previous work (either in class or as assigned); by the time you complete this course, you will have a number of things that you will have to have ready — so do not get behind, because that’ll make it all the more work you will have to do (as it piles up).

FOR NEXT CLASS:

• Revise your 2nd piece (or at least what you think are the five best pages)
• On both your 1st and 2nd piece, choose 2-3 paragraphs (or the equivalent thereof) that you think are the most compelling, descriptive, interesting — (what you might want to use in the short blurb on the web to draw people into wanting to read more)
• Create the first draft of your artist statement, using what you wrote in class (If you weren’t in class, write the best artist statement you can — go to other sites and/or read other artist statements to help you determine what is and isn’t working, so you can apply it to your own) 
• Try to read a few book reviews between now and next week, and take note as to how they are written (if you find any particularly good example, bring it in). Read them with an eye towards how reviewer’s approaches to writing about someone else’s writing might be useful to how you write about your writing.
• Read “Bios and Artist’s Statements for Web Portfolios” by Tim Long 
• BLOG about your first informational interview and/or portfolio advising appointment. You should already have your appointment for your informational interview AND portfolio advising appointment; but if you don’t, you must make sure that you complete at least ONE for next week and blog about it.

 Come into class with your work printed and be prepared to discuss what you’ve been doing or have read. Email me with any questions.

At first I collected a bunch of artist’ quotes:

“Ancora Imparo” (I am always learning) Michelangelo

“To See Far is One Thing, Going There is Another” Constantin Brancusi

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing” Salvador Dali

“Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art”                                                                                                Andy Warhol

But then I read the link about artist’s statements and did a bit of Googling, and I realized what you’re looking for is more like the following:

Textile Artist, Sharon Boggon (from her website, www.inaminuteago.com):

Aware that when people encounter textiles, they want to touch the work, I attempt to provoke the desire to connect. In my work, both online and off, I aim to tap into a basic need to act in relationship to others. I use textiles and stitchery to seduce, draw people into the work, and act as a metaphor for the urge to connect with others in society. The desire to touch a textile, the need to connect with the work in a physical sense is also a metaphor for the internet and virtual communities. I am an artist who is interested in the connections between textiles and digital technology. I am interested not so much in what the technology can do but how people are using the technology. I see the internet as an extremely interesting cultural artifact which is constantly ‘under construction’.

That seemed to get at it rather well. So I did a little research along those lines. And I came up with this guy, Stuart Land, of Reseda,
California, from the World Artist Directory:

Sculpture, paintings, photography, water fountains – My art spans many media, styles, and disciplines. In sculpture, I am noted for my very realistic human figures, as well as the ability to copy exactly the idea or rendering supplied by a client. I can and do work in any style as I have sculpted for many major motion pictures, theme parks, hotels, museums, and universities.

For fifteen years I was one of the top sculptors in the Entertainment Industry and now I bring all my knowledge and ability to the world stage at a fraction of the cost because my studio is based in Thailand. Aside from making my own work, I can design your project or work from any design you supply. I can finish a project in any medium, whether it be Fiberglas, bronze, or on occasion, marble.

Having worked for many of the leading sculpture companies in the states, running many projects, and doing cost analysis, I can say that our prices are mostly fifty percent that of stateside. Since I know many sculptors and companies in the states, I can work with them in installing any project that need such requirements.

For a more complete idea of all that my studio is capable of, please visit my Web site at www.studioSL.com. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a note about any concerns or questions.

Which made me wonder if the above is too lengthy; the information on the Bios and Artist’s Statements page seems to favor one paragraph. But the guy above does tell a lot about himself. Is it too much? Critically, I find it a bit premature for Mr. Land to solicit my concerns; he hasn’t done anything for me yet. I’m concerned his statement runs on.

Then I found Richard C. Horne, of Kent U.K.:

Words are the vehicle for the writer, the poet and the thespian. As I am about to demonstrate, I am none of these. Instead my imaginative skill is applied to representations of the natural world or figments of my imagination through the medium of paint. Or, as Paul Critchley puts it, I “sit in a room and spend my days using a stick with hairs at one end to put coloured mud either carefully or haphazardly onto a piece of cloth”. The result can be pleasing and, on the rare occasion, transcend to the poetic level that I strive for. But, as Sickert allegedly stated, “never believe what an artist says, only what he does.”

Which seems a bit… I don’t know, vague, perhaps?

The artist statement should convey the essence of what we are all about like a good jacket cover in a popular novel. It should contain vital information about our style, include a contact reference, and, most importantly, hook the reader: draw them in and make them want more.

Sure.

That’s why, half the time, I think the guy writing those jacket blurbs is a better writer than the novelist himself. Unless they’re one and the same. And then, good on you.

The way I see it, the page is constructed so that my contact information is going to be sort of a header, or a sidebar, and the statement will be a contained section adjacent. So now it’s crunch time. Boil myself down to an essence of a paragraph. Fortunately, that’s an assignment for the coming week. 

“I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s” – William Blake

No blog needed this time. Just look over the syllabus and do the homework that is due. Also, if you haven’t already made your portfolio advising appointments, you should very soon. And then you have your informational interview to set up, as instructed last week. If you have any questions, email me.

Identify three professionals, publishing houses, journals or magazines, etc. in Chicago that you would be interested in learning more about and gather basic information on those three places/people (website? what kind of writing do they do, publish, edit, etc?), what’s their audience, etc.

 Please post those three places and/or people HERE (name, company/mag/etc. name, website address, location) and then write just a very short bit about who they are and what they do.