I just came across a really cool scholarship opportunity for art students in the United States. Hyatt Hotels is sponsoring a contest asking students to create and submit a signature wine label for Canvas Wine bottles. Not only will the winning label be used on Canvas Wine bottles beginning in 2011, three winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship to any art school.

You must submit an original piece of art depicting the characteristics of one of the three Canvas varietals:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Chardonnay
• Merlot

The contest runs from June 15 to August 15, 2010, so get your entries in soon! Judges will select three finalists for each varietal whose art work will be displayed on the Canvas Wines website. Online voting for those labels will take place between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, 2010. One winner for each Canvas varietal will be selected by Nov. 1, 2010, and the signature wine labels will be introduced to Canvas Wine bottles beginning in 2011.

You can find more information here.

It’s never too late to go back to school, and Hazel Soares of San Leandro, California has proven this to the world. At age 94, Soares received her Bachelor’s degree in art history from Mills College this past weekend. Ms. Soares, who has six children and 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is the oldest person in the 138-year history of Mills College to earn an undergraduate degree. “Beyond raising my children, I am most proud of the fact that I finally finished school and got my degree,” Ms. Soares told The Oakland Tribune. “There was part of me all my life that wanted to go to college.” She graduated in 1931 from what was Roosevelt High School in Oakland.

Soars is also believed to be the second-oldest person in history to earn an undergraduate degree. In 2007, 95-year-old Nola Ochs graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas with a general studies degree. Even though Soares won’t make it into the Guinness Book of World Records, she is still getting a lot of much deserved attention. Congrats Hazel!

Source: Oakland Tribune, “San Leandro woman’s dream of college degree finally coming true” by Kristen Bender.

The fact that only 10 percent of the students graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s accessories program have found full time jobs is shocking but true. And, according to WWD’s Footwear News, only one of the ten shoe design students from Parsons The New School for Design has found full time work. It is certainly fair to say that times have been tough for recent fashion school graduates. But why?

It’s fairly simple: In order to cut costs, fashion companies are producing with fewer staff. To top things off, recent fashion school graduates are forced to compete with laid-off, more experienced workers for open positions.

Some students, like Jackson Moad, couldn’t find work so he started his own label. He launched Jackson NYC, and produces portfolios and clutches in a small factory. Of course not everyone has the funds to do what Moad did, but for him it was the best direction to take after he discovered that finding a job would be much more difficult than he had anticipated.

Others students have resorted to taking unpaid internships. While this is a great way to gain experience in the industry, you again need to have the funds to be able to support yourself on your own. This, too, is certainly not an option for the majority of recent college graduates.

What does this mean?

After hearing this news, many people jump to the conclusion that a college education in fashion is no longer worth what it used to be. I, however, think completely the opposite. Because competition for jobs in the fashion industry has become so intense, if you are looking to start a career in fashion you need to do everything you can to learn about the industry, increase your skill set, and enhance your resume.

A fashion degree is not only a great thing to put on your resume. By going to fashion school you will enter a community of designers like yourself. You will all work together, share ideas, and learn from each other’s different perspectives. It’s also a great place to make connections and be exposed to new opportunities that you may not otherwise see. Even though times are tough, fashion school is not something that you should pass up.

With that being said, you need to take time to set yourself apart from all of the other fashion school graduates. How do you do this? Build your portfolio. Showcase your best work and get it out there for the world to see. Look for internships while you are still in school and make your mark in the fashion world early on. Get noticed by those who are influential in the industry. Use your networking skills and make connections!

Perseverance is so important in this industry. If you are truly passionate about becoming a fashion designer, follow your heart, work hard, and don’t give up until you get to where you want.

Source: New York Fashion, Design Students Can’t Get Jobs by Amy Odell

Just came across a new scholarship program that any high school student who is thinking about going to art school should consider! While the program does require a small fee to join, they are offering tons of money so it could be worth the minimal contribution. Here are the details:

For more than 25 years, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) has been dedicated to nurturing and supporting young artists as they pursue their dreams. The NFAA’s core program, YoungArts, identifies high school seniors and other 17 and 18 year old artists in the disciplines of Dance, Film and Video, Jazz, Music, Photography, Theater, Visual Arts, Voice and Writing for scholarships and financial support. Through YoungArts, the NFAA annually awards up to $900,000 in cash awards (with individual awards ranging from $10,000 – $100) and makes available $3 million in scholarship opportunities to America’s most outstanding high school senior-age artists. Each year, approximately 6,000-8,000 students register for the YoungArts program and approximately 10 percent receive monetary awards.

You can register for the YoungArts program at the NFAA website. All you need to do is  provide some contact information, school information, choose your categories and pay your fee(s). Registration opens March 15 at a fee of $35 and will close October 15, 2010, 5:00 pm EST. There is a $10 discount for registering early. The early registration period is from March 15 through June 30, 2010, 9:00pm EST. A major advantage of early registration is that your name is immediately shared with colleges and universities offering scholarships.

Are you interested pursuing a career in architecture? The American Architectural Foundation, a national nonprofit educational organization based at the Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C., offers the Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship to architecture students working towards a career in historic preservation. The fellowship permits young architects from France and the United States to observe and practice the latest preservation technologies and techniques in each other’s countries.

The 6 month program sends young American and French architects to the opposite country to study the techniques currently being implemented to preserve architecture. It comes with a stipend of $25,000.

For more information and scholarship applications, please contact:

The American Architecture Foundation
1799 New York Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20006
202-626-7318
Fax: 202-626-7420
info@archfoundation.org

And don’t worry, we’re still on the lookout for other scholarships that might interest you!

More and more schools are finding that by offering video game design degree programs they are attracting more student interest than they ever would have expected. At George Mason University, for example, the popularity of their video game design bachelor’s degree program has far exceeded expectations. A recent Washington Post article explains that at George Mason, the anticipated enrollment in the program for the fall is 500 percent higher than the school had planned for. The article also quotes a couple of students who have nothing but good things to say about the program, and it appears as though everyone is very excited to take advantage of what it offers to students pursuing careers in the gaming industry.

The full article can be read on the Washington Post website: New Video Game Design Degree Popular at GMU.

To learn more about video game design degree programs, check out these available programs.

Attention all Film Students!  Kodak is offering cash awards and grants to talented film students around the world. These prizes are for fulltime undergraduate and graduate students only, so if you are currently enrolled in film school be sure to take advantage of this amazing opportunity!

Prizes are as follows:

• Gold:   $1,000 cash award and $5,000 KODAK Motion Picture Product Grant
• Silver: $4,000 KODAK Motion Picture Product Grant
• Bronze: $3,000 KODAK Motion Picture Product Grant
• Honorable Mentions: Two $2,000 KODAK Motion Picture Product Grants

To enter, you must be nominated by your school’s film department or an official contest representative. The entry form and a list of official reps can be found on Kodak’s website.

If you are nominated, you must send in two copies of your registration along with two copies of an original DVD of your work.

Your entry must:

• show a story or theme
• be submitted in its entirety (no film clips or shorts)

Send all entries to:

KODAK Scholarship
Michele DeLano
343 State Street
Rochester, NY 14650-0315
USA

The Deadline is June 14, 2010!!

Winners will be chosen based on:

• Academic Achievement
• Creativity
• Technical Ability
• Communications Ability

Get Started Today!

It is true that some of the most famous fashion designers of all time did not go to college and earn fashion degrees. Alexander McQueen, for example, dropped out of school at the age of 16 and learned everything he needed to know in apprenticeship and internship positions. Coco Chanel, another huge name in fashion, learned to sew in the time she spent living in an orphanage after her mother died of tuberculosis. While neither of these big names in fashion earned college degree, it is not fair to say that going to school for fashion is a waste of time. In fact, the skills you will learn in fashion school could be just what you need to get to the top.

Famous Fashion Designers Who Did Go to College

Christian Lacroix is a well known high end French fashion designer. He first earned a degree in Art History at the University of Montpellier. He then enrolled at the University of Paris and worked on a dissertation on dress in French 18th-century painting. Later, Lacroix pursued a program in museum studies at the École du Louvre. His aspiration during this time was to become a museum curator. After graduation, however, his focus shifted and he began working in the fashion industry. Today, Christian Lacroix is often referred to as one of the most influential designers of the time.

Donna Karan, head designer and founder of DKNY, attended The New School University’s famous art college, Parsons The New School for Design. From there she went on to work for Anne Klein, and then eventually launched her own label, DKNY.

Marc Jacobs also attended Parsons The New School for Design. During his time at Parsons, Jacobs won the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award in 1984 and in the same year was also awarded the Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award and the Design Student of the Year Award.

Michael Kors began designing clothes at the age of 19 and studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. His first label, titled Michael Kors, was launched in 1981 and is now one of the most popular lines among celebrities. He has since expanded his line to include multiple labels.

Reasons to Go to Fashion School

• Fashion degree programs will prepare you to reach your big picture career goals. You may be naturally talented, but do you know how to market yourself and your designs?
• Fashion school will help bolster your credentials and build your profile. The fashion industry is competitive, so having that extra edge will be very important to your career.
• Fashion school will allow you to explore a full range of possible careers. If you have an eye for business as well as design, perhaps a career in fashion merchandising would interest you. You can also learn the skills you need to become a product promoter, wholesale merchandisers, or a successful stylist, among other options.
• Fashion school is an excellent environment to network within the industry. You will be surrounded by designers who you can not only learn from, but also make connections with. Networking is a huge part of success in this industry.

What do you think?

Want to win a $10,000 academic scholarship? Each year, Penny Arcade recognizes one student to have shown to have the most potential to positively impact the game industry. Applications must be in by May 30. If this is something that you would be interested in, make sure you act now!

Are You Eligible?

• You must already be enrolled in an accredited college program in the United States. Unfortunately, high school students are not eligible.
• You must have some intention of a career in gaming; however, you can be majoring in any subject.
• You must have a minimum GPA of 3.3

How to Apply

Visit the Penny Arcade Website and download the application. You must submit your entry by May 30,2010.

Because color plays a huge role in designing a room, many interior designers use color scheme guides to map out color usage for the spaces they are working with. A color scheme guide is a collage of sample colors that the designer can use to present their ideas to a client. The colors in the guide can represent paint, fabric, flooring and other features of the room. Not only do color scheme guides help designers plan out a room, they also allow the client to get a feel for how the room with look before the project is kicked into action.

CAD programs are also very useful to interior designers. They can be used to generate blueprints of the project space. CAD designs are easy to generate and edit, and because of this, interior designers are able to make changes and experiment with new ideas much quicker than drawing by hand. This then allow for extra time to focus on the smaller details of the project.

Although basic, a measuring tape is another very important tool for interior designers to have access to at all times. Measuring tapes can help designers ensure that all of the elements of the room will fit together in the available space.

Levels are also very useful. They are necessary to hang items on the wall in a straight line. Examples of items would be shelves, pictures, and light fixtures.

Some other basics that interior designers need:

• Graphing paper
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Rulers
• Compasses
• Protractors