From a young age, Chelsea Stingel wanted to be an artist. But she knew that to get into one of the leading art schools in the country that offered larger scholarships, she would have to build her portfolio.
SUNY Ulster’s Fine Arts Program helped her do just that, earning Stingel a $45,000 scholarship to the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan.
Through the college’s new capstone art classes – Advanced Studio 1 and 2 – Stingel got the time to devote to working on independent portfolio pieces in a mentoring environment with professors and peers, which she says made all the difference for her to reach her transfer goals.
SUNY Ulster added the advanced studio offerings two years ago, after hearing feedback from the top art schools that said its students were producing high-quality work but weren’t doing enough independent projects.
Taught by adjunct arts instructor Chris Seubert and Art Department Chair Iain Machell, students learn how to photograph their work (with photographic equipment supplied by a Title 3 mini-grant), create an online portfolio, write an artist’s statement, and create a successful transfer portfolio and application for a four-year college. They also have the opportunity to work with faculty at the Woodstock School of Art through a partnership. Other community colleges now are creating similar portfolio-building classes.
After graduating in May with her Associate’s in Fine Arts, Stingel will enter SVA as a junior in Illustration and have about half of her tuition paid for by the scholarship over three years. She was awed by the artwork she saw at Acceptance Day and is looking forward to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from gifted working artists in NYC.
Stingel will pursue a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in illustration and aspires to work in the commercial side of art doing commissions for movies or games.
The Saugerties resident originally chose SUNY Ulster to make the transition to college life easier and excelled in the fine arts program here.
“I was really impressed with the art program at SUNY Ulster,” she says. “The professors are helpful with our work and easy to talk to outside of class.”
Stingel’s self-portrait currently is on show at the SUNY Spring 2015 Student Art Exhibition at the Plaza Gallery, SUNY Plaza in Albany. This is an exhibition that highlights the projects of art and design programs throughout the SUNY system. Her art work won a further accolade and has been selected for the Best of the Year SUNY Student Art exhibition that will take place at the NY State Museum in Albany in June.
