KIIS Paris 1 Study Abroad Summer 2011

Q&A: Why did you study abroad? And why should I?

Pointed graphite skims across my page; tracing out a feminine jaw and neckline. The point catches and spatters across the wet dots falling on the delicate paper. Her wings and feathers take shape, preparing for her first flight. Fly to heaven on great wings of silver feathers, Rest in peace and repose of the Father’s arms…Vivid memory overtakes my inner screen. Water droplets settle on her silver casket, disrupted by the rain bouncing off the casket spray of pink roses. I chisel her features out on paper. We will never forget, never neglect to remember one another, and the precious time we spent together… Sylvia Lawrence laid to rest February of 2004. She was Granny, not Sylvia, to me. Here in my sketchbook she was the drawn embodiment of my mourning, confusion and pain. Art is once again my muse of coping and the mode of communication for that which I have no words.

Since, I have sought to merge my passions for art and psychology into a career of art therapy. Imagine my surprise when I find a study abroad class entitled, "The Psychology of Art."  To have passed by this opportunity to study abroad would have been cheating myself out of the experience of a lifetime. As an artist, I believe that I need to learn from the best and experience my training directly. Professors in college and even my teachers from high school repeatedly told me to study abroad. And when I discovered a class that directly connected to my career, how could I resist? To me it seems there is no replacement for first-hand experience. This trip to Paris in summer of 2011 was everything I needed it to be and more.  I can almost guarantee there will be courses that will interest you.

The amount of experience and learning to be had from this trip was almost immeasurable.
 I had the passion and the desire, do you?