Learn a Skill, Learn Yourself, Learning for Life

Skiing, baking, coding, skating, filmmaking, knitting, sewing, speaking a new language, shooting a basketball, sculpting a mug—it’s all so overwhelming when one is faced with the wide world of learnable skills. However as a community of growing artists and people, let’s go back to the basics and start with just that one word: learning. Learning that progresses to trying, and trying that progresses to doing, and doing that progresses to experimenting, and in experimenting arises a completely new skill. Thus the cycle of learning a new skill ensues, and we find there is so much to be gained! 

So why learn? Across the board of medical institutions, it has been reported that learning a new skill boasts several benefits such as enhancing memory, flexibility, motivation, and relevancy. Furthermore, learning a new skill improves mental health and self-esteem because it can build confidence through advancing your skill set. Also it gives you a chance to connect with new people through the shared experience of learning that skill. 

There are many avenues one can take when pursuing a new goal. Here are a few jumping off points, but your process for learning can mean any combination of these or an entirely new method unique to you!

• Being taught by a professor, mentor, or at a facility
• Learning through doing and experimenting (similar to trial-and-error)

• Studying the works of professionals and the old masters and practicing the techniques used to achieve that work

*Remember to keep in mind that learning is not always linear. There are approximately a million different ways to discover and nurture a new skill, so don’t let the unconventional path discourage you and instead find what works best for you! Taking breaks and remembering to show yourself grace and kindness through the process is also essential.

I felt compelled to write this article because during my past senior year, I’ve been faced with a lot of learning and growing in my art practice outside of my major, illustration. In taking three print paper book studio electives, introduction to filmmaking, figure drawing, and an animation class, I’ve been grateful to have experiences as varied as mud stenciling and film editing. My horizons as an artist have widened to a more interdisciplinary practice as learning a new skill is like learning a new way to communicate through visualization. Several artists at MCAD also utilize the skills they’ve learned in building unique and often inspiring practices. For example, MCAD seniors Carly Gallant (they/she) and Mitzy Rivas (she/her) exemplify innovation through interdisciplinary arts in their respective practices. Gallant combines oil painting with their quilting skills while Rivas integrates printmaking such as intaglio and screenprinting into her graphic design work.

Carly Gallant, Found Between Beginnings and Ends, 2023, Oil on Wood, Acrylic on Muslin, Cotton Batting, Thread

Mitzy Rivas, Lively House in a Desert, 2022, Ink and Gouache

Not only have these experiences enhanced my resume but also my connections with my peers. Through trial, error, and experimentation, we’ve ideated together, exchanged tips, shared prints, and most importantly encouraged one another through the entirety of the learning and growing process. Over my experiences in these elective classes, my friends and my peers (and there are too many to name who are both) have proved to be some of the most supportive, resourceful, and talented people I have ever met. That just goes to show how the shared experience of learning a skill can cultivate something deeper, something that goes beyond a finished craft. 

As a fourth year student set to graduate this upcoming May, all I can say is I’m ready to finish out my time at MCAD with seeing everyday as a new opportunity to keep learning, trying, doing, and finally experimenting, but then again…they say learning is a lifelong skill…