Internship Success With Casey Sobel: The Martinsville Studio

by Britt Gettys

Photos Courtesy of The Martinsville Studio

            

              Sitting in the 12th fl

Casey Sobel in the Jewelry Studio

oor hallway of Willoughby Residence Hall, surrounded by scented markers and crate paper, sophomore Jewelry Major and RA, Casey Sobel meticulously assembles her bulletin board for the month of March.  While critiquing the shape of the letter ‘R,’ as only a Pratt Student would: “It’s the connection point where the leg juts off that makes it look strange,” her residents come in and out of the elevator; each well acquainted with her and talking to her like an old friend.  

Casey began her career at Pratt as a student employee, working early and late shifts at the Gym, before she became a clerical assistant in the Office of Residential Life and Housing.  Considering her avid participation on campus as a worker and volunteer (she served as President of WIlloughby Hall Council for a semester and Cannoneer Court’s Dining Rep for a year), it’s little surprise this dedicated jeweler became an RA.  On top of that, Casey belongs to a minority of college students who began interning while still in high school.      

The Martinsville Studio

Internships aren’t something many students start thinking about until their Junior year of college, however, Casey proves the value of taking on internships before college.  She began interning for The Martinsville Studio, owned by Jamie Lindholm, in New Jersey in 2008.  According to Casey, Lindholm is just as much of a do-it-all-girl as herself.  “She’s a painter and has her own studio [In The Martinsville Studio], but she also teaches classes for all ages, takes commissions, and allows local artists to rent out studio space so they can do their own work [a practice Lindholm has coined  'Open Easel’].”  Home of the Feathers N’ Fur Paintings project, Martinsville Studio also takes commissions for pet portraits, a percentage of which is donated to local animal shelters.  

Casey reveals that one doesn’t have to intern at a big name corporation or magazine to gain experience,  even the smallest businesses can provide a wealth of skills and prime one for success.  Considering that this past year The Martinsville Studio brought in more profits via Living Social than any other business in it’s area, learning how to succeed is something Lindholm no doubt taught Casey.  Living Social is an online marketplace with over 70 million members worldwide.  Its goal is to help small businesses draw in new audiences from around the area.  The site provides a variety of offers, including daily bargains, events and experiences, travel packages, and even take-out, each located within the user’s neighborhood.  The Martinsville Studio’s success on Living Social shows not only the quality of the establishment, but demonstrates how small businesses are branching out via the web to bring in customers.  According to Casey, the amount of traffic Martinsville receives via Living Social is nothing short of amazing.       

“I don’t think I’ll ever have a better boss than [Lindholm],” Casey says.  No internship is without it’s challenges, and there’s always a learning curve when it comes to a new job, but Casey talks casually about her responsibilities at Martinsville, not even blinking an eye at how many different roles she took on for the studio.  Aside from the office work necessary for running a successful business, such as making and taking phone calls, organizing supplies, keeping the studio spaces clean, running errands, and designing and distributing ads, Casey’s internship required her to work jobs for more artistic related endeavors.  “I helped with Feathers N’ Fur commissions, I made lesson plans, each of which Jamie had to approve, and taught children’s art classes on a variety of different materials and mediums.  I also occasionally ran Living Social classes.  The great thing though, whenever it came to my teaching classes, whatever profit we made was split fifty-fifty between [Jamie and I].  I even got to use the studio space for my own projects, and if I was ever interested in a technique or certain medium, such as oil painting, she’d give me lessons and tips in exchange for my working for her."

A Living Social Class at The Martinsville Studio

Casey’s work is specific and detail oriented, but she got the internship on a spur of the moment through a display of self-confidence and determination.  “I was driving down the road, thinking ‘I need a job,’ and saw this art studio in a strip mall.  I walked in, left a message asking if I could talk to someone about any potential positions, the next day Jamie asked me to come in and have a cup of tea with her.  I was going to get all dressed up, but instead ended up wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, which I advise against for professional interviews.  But it all worked out in this case.  I went in to meet with Jamie, and we didn’t have tea, but we did have great conversation.  The next day I got the job.”

            According to Casey, what made working for Jamie so rewarding was that she wasn’t just performing grunt work.  “The greatest aspect of this internship was that I learned, not only how an art studio functions, but how a small business works.  It was the best way to learn how to work with people and clients, from someone ordering a commission to a five-year-old’s parent.”  Casey learned on the job, through hands on work, and none of it was meaningless to her.  Even though she got paid as an intern, Casey stresses that the most important thing she gained from the experience was a set of applicable skills.  “I worked in a fine arts studio and it helped advance my skill set regarding fine art based areas and mediums.  Now I feel I have a broader range of applicable skills.  Even though I specialize in jewelry I’m still graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts, which means people will expect me to have knowledge in arts beyond jewelry.  This experience has given me exactly that.”

  

            Even though she got the position before coming to Pratt, Casey has maintained a strong relationship with Lindholm and the studio.  “I still continue to work there, over the summers, and I even do some work for her while I’m here in Brooklyn.”  Even now, after a few years of interning and working, Casey’s advice rings true to how she got her first internship.  “Go in confident and don’t second guess yourself.  Just trust that you have the ability and skills to do what the company is asking of you.  And yeah, this sounds like an Oscar speech but it’s true.  Don’t settle for less than you’re worth.”

Interviewed by Britt Gettys March 1, 2013

Internship Success with Ali Sharpe: Sweet! Actors Reading Writers

By Britt Gettys

Photos compliments of Ali Sharpe and Sweet!

 

Ali Sharpe

It cannot be stressed enough that networking is a crucial step in the fulfillment of one’s career goals.  Junior Writing Major Ali Sharpe is perhaps one of the best examples of this fact.  Currently an intern for Sweet! Actors Reading Writers, “a reading series that pairs amazing fiction and poetry with actors who can bring the words to life.”  Founded in November 2009, by Pratt Professor, Shelly Oria, and Annie G. Levy, Sweet! is a reading series with a performance twist.  Instead of authors reading their work aloud, actors perform the fiction, delivering a fresh layer of interpretation to poetry and narrative.  

According to Ali “The readings are really entertaining and fun.”  But the pink haired writer isn’t just there to observe the events.  “Readings are a big part of being a writer in the city, so it’s helpful to learn more about the process.”  Readings are a way for authors to not only promote their work but connect with their readership and other people working in the industry.  It’s one of the most valuable of networking spaces for any writer.  Ali’s internship isn’t just a learning experience but an opportunity to build connections with professionals in the publishing field.  

On the first Thursday of every month, a variety of publishers, editors, authors, actors, and people out looking for something fun, collect in the East Village’s Three of Cups restaurant and lounge for Sweet!  Ali’s position allows her to interact directly with these individuals, enabling her to foster an invaluable network of writing pros who can mentor and help her with writing and getting published.  “It’s great to meet the excellent writers that are having their pieces read.”

While the series itself only takes place once a month theres a lot of work in between each reading.  Ali spends most of her internship “running the Sweet! twitter and Facebook page, as well as working on website upkeep and design.”  Aside from social media outreach, Ali also coordinates grants for the series.  “[I do] research into finding grants for the series and will be applying for those grants sometime in the near future.  The biggest surprise so far has been to find out that there's an entire library dedicated to different types of grants. I've learned a lot about that process and that interface.”  For Ali this is one of the most useful skills she’s acquired from her internship.  “Grant money will give me time to write,” it’s one of the ways an artist can support him or herself, allowing them to focus on the project he or she is passionate about.    

Nat Cassidy reading Birds of Africa by Mary Morris at Sweet!

Ali’s experience is one that is distinctly unique to Pratt.  Not only because she’s working with one of Pratt’s writing professors, but because she landed the internship through her internship course with Anna Moschovakis.  This two credit course is offered to Writing Majors and teaches students how to build an effective resume, interview skills, as well as providing them with countless resources for finding an internship.  One such resource is Pratt’s own network of creative professionals, all of which are looking for student interns, and are willing to provide class credit for work.   

However, just because there’s a class on interning doesn’t mean it teaches you everything and does the work for you.  Ali’s advice to students looking for an internship is: “Don't be shy!  Ask your teachers and people you know if they're looking for someone. Even if they're not, they probably know someone who is. Also, send follow-up emails!”

Interviewed by Britt Gettys March 3, 2013

Peer Book Report - No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers by Larry Volk and Danielle Currier

Reviewed by Britt Gettys

The main goal of any portfolio isn’t just to display your work in a comprehensive manner, it’s to communicate to prospective employers the value you place on your work as well as showing them who you are as an individual.  As such, No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete 

Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers begins by assisting one in figuring out who he or she is as a creative and helping them establish an aesthetic identity.  

When it comes to the presentation of your portfolio, plastic is a real faux pas.  For art directors, editors, and other creative professionals, plastic sleeved portfolios are looked upon as the worst of all portfolio styles.  Not only do they lack creativity, but they’re generic, and show a lack of commitment to one’s work.  If you’ve thought about sending one out, stop now, instead pick up No Plastic Sleeves and start constructing the perfect, creative portfolio.

Authors Larry Volk and Danielle Currier have created a book that isn’t just a “How To,” but an interactive process.  Both have a background in art education and as such No Plastic Sleeves places an emphasis on how art students, just entering the job market, can go about building and presenting a portfolio of their work that will nail them the job.  In fact, the majority of the book's high quality examples come from students who’ve proved to find success in their chosen field.

After that, No Plastic Sleeves covers:

Branding

Cover Design

Images and Iconography

Composition

Layout

Construction Techniques (Remember no plastic sleeves allowed!)

Building an Online Presence

and Promotional Materials

But, if step by step isn’t your style, despair not.  No Plastic Sleeves strays from convention in that one doesn’t have to read it chronologically.  If there’s an aspect of your portfolio you wish to focus on, be it the color pallet or creating an online portfolio to match the physical one, just skip to that section of the book and start reading.     

Metal Fan Photo Portfolio by Karyne Bond 

Apart from glossy, high-res, photo examples of successful portfolios and step-by-step tutorials on bookbinding and web creation, No Plastic Sleeves includes interviews with industry professionals on what makes a good portfolio, and disperses inspiring, feel good quotes from notable creatives throughout it’s pages.  The book is designed to get you in the mood to build and create a portfolio that’s a perfect representation of you.    

For more information on No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers, and tips and tricks on building a comprehensive portfolio visit book’s companion blog: No Plastic Sleeves.  

To view this book, and other texts related to career and professional development, visit Pratt’s Center for Career and Professional Development Library, located in East Hall 001 (first floor).  For a full listing of books and resources check out our Online Library Catalogue.   

Student Leader Art Exhibition

Reviewed by Britt Gettys
Photos by Darryl Halickman


November 2012  through January 2013, the The Fish Bowl Gallery played host to a collection of work created by Pratt Institute’s student leaders.  The Student Leader Art Exhibition not only celebrated the work of our student body’s leaders but created a forum for Pratt students to learn about the different leadership roles on campus and what each role entails.   

Fingers Free Flatware by Samantha Nania

The opening night of the exhibition saw a turnout of some fifty plus students, mixing and mingling with Pratt’s Resident Advisors, Peer Councilors and Advisors, Greek Life, Orientation Staff, and Student Government Officials, as well as various other leadership representatives.  In an atmosphere of celebration and community, leaders mentored freshman and encouraged upperclassman to participate in student leadership roles, all the while surrounded by an impressive mix of artistic works.

Student Leaders Mingling with Pratt Students

The works themselves spanned a variety of mediums, from sculpture to printmaking, as well as a multitude of forms.  Christina Bull’s Pratt Map, a hand drawn, geometric map of Pratt’s campus, adorned a wall with Tri Vo’s Do Ask Do Tell, a pastel commentary on a gay rights, alongside Britt Gettys’ graphic novel panel, Titanium Screw.  While small alcoves on the adjacent wall showcased Samantha Nania’s Fingers Free Flatware, silverware one can wear as jewelery, Samantha Harvey’s Underwhat?, a pack of flash cards depicting different underwear styles, and Darrly Halickman’s Comfort Zones, three color darkroom prints excerpted from a larger body of work. 

Diagnostik in Yellow, by Carolyn Osorio 

Underwhat by Samantha Harvey

Printmaking Quilt by Casey Sobel

The edgy, the conceptual, and the traditional all came together for The Student Leader Art Exhibition, an event that did more than showcase artistic expression, it showed the ways in which different types of art can fit together into a whole and bring a community of leaders closer together.