A is for art school

Is it wise to pick a college during Senior Slump? We shall see.

Going to Accepted Student Day events is both entertaining and loaded with portent. As a RISD alum, it was pure nostalgia for me.

And there were daffodils!

Mosaics are all over the freshman dorm complex.

The Met dining hall is more chic than it was in the 70’s.

Before the official presentation, we stopped at the Nature Lab, scene of many hours of my studies.

I couldn’t resist sitting down to sketch this specimen, the tragulus javanicus.

Here Marty takes in the creaky ambiance.

The Waterman Building is home to Foundation Studies, and freshmen work is always on display.

Bold charcoal in one room, whimsical 3D works in another.

More smiles and tiles along the river.

RISD’s presentation involved Deans of Foundation, Liberal Arts, and Student Life, as well as Career Services and a panel of students answering questions. Students in the Bollywood Dance Club gave a rousing finale.

Just outside before department tours began, other students in a Taiko drumming group performed. Bam!

We toured the FAV department, where there are rooms of shiny computers as well as vintage equipment still in use.

We passed through classes in sound, lighting, and magical realism.

RISD has a new library in a former bank building across the river.

It feels like a train station with shelves. Any destination is possible.

As we climbed back up College Hill, I pointed out this house, where H.P. Lovecraft lived long ago. Our tour guide, Ali, lives here now with other RISD students. He says it is haunted.

This is one part of RISD that hasn’t changed: the beach.

After dinner at the Met, we left RISD as the sun came out.

We met up with Annie Gusman, fellow RISD alum, and Dave Joly.

Thanks for the sweet evening of catching up! We left pronto the next morning to visit MassArt on the way back to Maine. Ah, spring in Boston!

The school is stacked yet expansive, with incredible views from every angle.

The Treehouse residences are shiny new.

Students can take classes at a ton of surrounding schools.

We met a friendly student in the Animation Department’s blue room.

What’s not to love about art schools? The possibilities are infinite. Tomorrow my own class of MECA illustration seniors will trek to Peaks Island for a final outing, and then we’re off to Brooklyn for another tour. This college decision doesn’t come easy.