Is An MFA the New MBA? Find Out on Alison*s Blog Today

The food truck idea shows that an MFA may be the new MBA

Is an MFA the new MBA? Is it the advanced degree that will guarantee gainful employment? An article in Fast Company is posing this question. Many companies are finding this to be true.

Artists seem to possess the kinds of qualities that the job market demands. As things continue to change, these skills will be even more in demand.

According to the Fast Company article, “critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to work with others are skills they both learned in school and use on a regular basis in their current work. Arts graduates are plucky and understand how to use their creative skills in a variety of settings.” They are not referring to artistic settings.

An article in Inc. Magazine, Why My Art Degree Paid Off, agrees that art graduates have special talents. The same kinds of talents that make them good business people. In addition, artists “start their own businesses to rave reviews.”

Is an MFA the new MBA? A good case is made in both articles. This has been my own experience, too. The recent devastation from Hurricane Sandy has necessitated creativity and flexibility. The skills that artist gain from art school and that are instinctual as well.

In A whole New Mind, author Daniel Pink refers to the fact that creativity would become the most desired asset. He feels that the people who have balanced the right brain with their left brain will rule the world. Time will tell which MA becomes more coveted, the MBA or the MFA. What are your thoughts on this subject?

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My Introduction to Instagram

a clay model of the Instagram logo

Instagram was on the top of my list of new platforms to learn. So with my usual resolve, I made a start and got the general idea of how to use it. I loved taking pictures and having them immediately telegrammed around the globe. I liked being able to look at them on my iPhone and desktop. I was awed at having them show up magically on RebelMouse. But I did not enjoy some of the images I was receiving.

It seems that I was not the only one. I recently found an article, 10 Things You Need To Stop Putting On Instagram. So I guess I am not alone in my feelings about Instagram.

There is nothing earth shattering on the list. So if you are curious, you can scan the original article. In fact, the list includes some kind of dumb things that are far less interesting than what I found boring.

This brings up some questions, What is the point of Instagram? What can it do that other visual platforms can not do? What makes it so special that facebook would spend a fortune to buy it?

What came to my mind first is the novelty of it. It is man’s 21st century visual answer to the telegram. Here I am right now doing or viewing such and such. It can be very powerful. As mentioned earlier, it can be tedious.

I like the powerful part. It makes a statement. It can be amazing, beautiful or horrific. And it is immediately transmitted. I get it. I like it. I love to use it. I want everyone else to create Instagram images that wow me. Otherwise, forget it.

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American Indigenous Architecture

Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in LA

American indigenous architecture has changed our landscape as well as gone through a dramatic transformation, itself, in the mere handful of centuries that the US has been a country.

Although from one family, American Architecture, their styles over time bore no resemblance to each other. They seemed unrelated although they all bear the same classification, indigenous architecture.

A PBS Special is the focus of Malls and Ranch Homes? PBS’s Surprising 10 Buildings That Changed America. The article that appeared in Wired is by Nathan Hurst.
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10 Examples of American Architecture
Ten Buildings That Changed America, A PBS Special

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With the exception of the Capitol of Virginia built in Richmond, VA and designed by Thomas Jefferson, each of the other nine buildings represented shows a unique and dramatic shift in style, structure, materials and sense of aesthetics. It is an amazing study.

Enjoy this and other stories, at right, on Alison*s Art Online Magazines, curated features of Alison*s Blog.

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Hello Again in 2013

hello again in2013

Hello, again. Yes, I know that the last article posted here was over a year ago. It is not because I wanted it that way. Granted, Alison*s Art, Inc. and Alison*s Heirloom Projects had to be put on the back burner. But not for lack of love, interest or passion for DESIGN | FOOD | HEALING.

It is because there have been so many projects demanding the front burners, in fact ‘all burners’. They have involved social media, learning it and using it. I love this new means of communication and sharing information. But there was something missing, nurturing the creative spirit in me, using my hands beyond the keyboard.

That is not to say that social media is not creative. I have been very creative with the projects that have taken me from Alison*s Art, Inc. to dba Marketing Bytes including:

Working on socia media graphics for or as:
The Social Media Marketing Graphic Designer
Page Cover Mastery

Blog writing for or as:
Digital Ethos.org
MarketingBytesBlog
The New York Graphic Design Examiner

Covering non-profit and timely activities:
Hurricane Sandy
Take Heart Association Project

Creating a facebook archive for all my project pages:
Pages Provided by Alison Gilbert

Now it is time to give the other side of my brain a good dunking, a full-fledged dowsing in free-flowing, self-expressing, like a swim in cool clear spring like waterfall. Many of the creative tools I have used in the past have found new expressions. They want to be share with you for your education and enjoyment. Feel free to add your own spices or variations on the recipes provided. Consider these ‘open source’ resources. Use what I have provided, share them and build upon them.

Between Alison*s Blog and the pages of the website section, there will be many expressions and examples of my new endeavors. Enjoy them. You can also read curated posts on Alison*s Art Online Magazines in the right hand column.

And, please do let me know what you think of what you find here. Comments, suggestions, questions and your own creations are always welcome.

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Seedling Ventures

seedling ventures

Being creative, passionate about my interests and entrepreneurial have been great fertilizer and nurturance for my seedling ventures in ART | FOOD | HEALING.

This new blog and website are the home, playground and evolutionary laboratory for my creative entrepreneurial work. This is the accumulation of a body of work spanning approximately thirty years to date. It is the archive of my past work, present efforts and legacy for the future.

There has been a transformation from Alison*s Art into Alison*s Heirloom Projects. It has taken place in all of the three disciplines. The heirloom projects allow for the preservation of the original seedling ventures. They also provide a framework for growth, exploration and addition value.

The current ‘social media’ technology is ideal for preserving the original ventures as well as exploring the heirloom projects. It is a perfect laboratory for breathing new growth into the original seedling ventures. Social media also gives the heirloom projects lots of room to grow.

In this blog and website, you can look forward to lots of archeological digs. You can also look forward to exploration of new territory. Your comments, suggestions and questions are always welcome.

Feature imagine from craftingagreenworld.com

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