A Life Changing Experience

I am an illustrator - I do comics, children's books, and freelance illustration. I applied for Uversity a year after getting a BFA in Illustration. There were so many aspects of the program that I loved. Studying in another country was very mind opening, it helped me reflect on my home, the United States.

Another aspect of the program that I loved was the freedom. I felt free to follow whatever path I wanted with help from the mentors. It was very easy to sign up for a class, then take the class, decide it wasn't the right fit, and find a new class that suited my needs much better. I personally didn't feel that there were as many barriers as a regular program where there are degree requirements. The MA in Creative Process is more about following your own instincts and creating your own education. It is very self directed and I think it helps to have an open mind and an independent spirit.

I attended the Burren College of Art for most of my time in Ireland. It is located in the Burren, which is in the West of Ireland. The landscape was extremely beautiful and unique. I felt very inspired by the environment. However, I lived in a town of 300 people where the main arts scene was the college. I also studied for 3 months in Cork, the second largest city in Ireland. I enjoyed that very much as well, though the transition was more difficult. It was very hard for me to come into the city to find housing during the second semester because the students had already taken a lot of the housing during the first semester. This was the most difficult part of living in Ireland, this transitional period. It was hard to leave the beautiful countryside and find a home in the city but I am happy that I did because I got to see another side of Ireland. I don't regret the move because my classes were very fulfilling, and showed me sides of my artistic process that I hadn't considered or understood as deeply. I have faith that Uversity will continue to make the housing situation easier on their students, it is a new program and as such it will take time to meet these challenges.

You learn about yourself as an artist and a person. It is a challenging program. Moving to a new part of the country each semester is not easy, but it is possible. Ireland is very small, and unless you are in a remote location in the country, it is easy enough to get around by bus. You will be challenged throughout the year, especially because this is such a new program (only in it's 2nd year), but that's part of the adventure - you are helping to create a new vision for education. Each year of students will be different, and the program will grow organically according to student need.