Winston Lee Mascarenhas in his studio at the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
Entering the Masters of Letters in Fine Art program at the Glasgow School of Art, I planned to integrate my passions for both the performing arts, especially classical music, and the visual arts. My intent and thesis for the program was to research and develop my own unique way of visualizing sound and the rhythms of music and life into alive, emotive abstract works.
During the course of the program I also came to realize the underlying current of influences of my previous professional life as an MD specialist in anesthesiology with a subspecialty of trauma/critical care. The management and monitoring of people’s lives and vital signs in the operating room was my daily professional practice, with an ever-present and constant vigilance of the human heartbeat—the rhythm of life.
From Doctor to Artist
I
did not all of a sudden tell myself in 2011, after retiring from my medical
career, that now I’m going to be an artist. I had already thought of myself as
an artist and had already started my professional pursuits in 2010. I've
been in the arts since the age of six when I started piano studies. This
continued for 12 years until college when I chose not to continue a musical
education and switched to a premed and science concentration. I went on to
medical school, specialty training, and an involved and satisfying medical
career. I started pursuing my art practice and interest in 1993 by taking
night classes. Much of my art experience and education has been paced and
self directed, so my art journey prior to my Masters program was about 22 years.
The change was that in retirement I had an opportunity for a full-time commitment to art. My
resume slowly grew with particular note: winner of the 2014 Hunting Art
Prize, inclusion in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, and inclusion in a museum show at the MFAH show, Line: Making the Mark. At that point in my art practice I had a strong desire to return to academia to pursue a graduate
degree in art.
Going to Glasgow
A
real but undercurrent obstacle faced me. I was concerned about ageism in my
pursuit and possible acceptance regardless of merit. I was considering
visual art-related masters programs besides the various MFAs, such as Low
Residency MFA Art Practice, Curatorial Practice, Art Writing, and Critical
Theory and the Arts. Networking over the years was of utmost importance in that
one of my dear art friends from Finland, whom I had met several years earlier in New York City at the
School of Visual Arts summer residency program, told me about the program at
the prestigious Glasgow School of Art. Having recently graduated from the
program herself, she told me of the diversity of her class as to age and
nationality. I immediately followed up and after submitting undergraduate
and graduate credentials, portfolio, essay, and a Skype interview, I was
accepted for the 2015-16 class. At the age of 62.
Left: The Glasgow School of Art
Below: Winston—back row, third from right—with some of his classmates
.
.
It pleases me to be an example of how one’s interests, passions, and education pursuits should never be dictated by age if the desire, health, and support is there. I loved the interaction with all my classmates who ranged from age 24 to . . . me. However, I did find it interesting that there were two other retired medical doctors who were also in the program. Of course all had previous undergraduate and/or postgraduate degrees, but there were a few without BFA or art-related degree backgrounds. The commonality of all the students in the program was the passionate pursuit of the arts and our individual unique contribution to the contemporary art discourse.
Left: The Glasgow School of Art
Below: Winston—back row, third from right—with some of his classmates
.
.
It pleases me to be an example of how one’s interests, passions, and education pursuits should never be dictated by age if the desire, health, and support is there. I loved the interaction with all my classmates who ranged from age 24 to . . . me. However, I did find it interesting that there were two other retired medical doctors who were also in the program. Of course all had previous undergraduate and/or postgraduate degrees, but there were a few without BFA or art-related degree backgrounds. The commonality of all the students in the program was the passionate pursuit of the arts and our individual unique contribution to the contemporary art discourse.
The course of study
The
course of study was a 12-month Masters of Letters in Fine Art Practice
with a selection of specialty pathways including painting, drawing, print media, photography and the moving image, sculpture, and performance. I
applied for painting but we were all encouraged to cross the lines in the
development of our work and studies. The academic and studio-based program provided the opportunity for pursuit of in-depth, subject-specific study in Fine Art Practice at a postgraduate level. There
were required academic classes in the first two four-month terms, with
concentration on research and critical theory/thinking, all requiring essays
and work projects. Throughout the year there were tutorials and critiques
with multiple staff professors and specifically focused lectures and seminars
dealing with conceptual and philosophical issues. All departments of the school
and workshops were available. The last four-month term was the consolidation period, which was devoted to the development of a cohesive degree-show body of work with
supporting thesis/essay.
A quiet (and neat!) corner of Winston's allotted studio space
Below: In the print room
Progress on The Beat: Samba, oil and cold wax
There
were so many positive experiences: the adventures of living in another country
and culture; the performing arts and museums of Scotland, the United Kingdom, and
parts of Europe; some traveling; new lifelong friends; and the honored
experience of being a part of such an esteemed and history-laden art institution.
As for the program, the main design and gain was developing confidence in
conceptualizing an idea and body of work, doing the research, and defending
my work in tutorials and critiques. I think the point of any graduate program
is to be able to defend your thesis and or body of work. I listen and
speak, but now I further trust my instincts.
The ebb and flow of encaustic
The
majority of my work over the course of 2010-2015 involved encaustic as my
medium of choice. I purposely went to the program to work in all mediums other than encaustic to push
myself. My developed work over the course of the year involved sketching
and drawing, mixed media works, wood sculpture, screen printing, and painting
with acrylic, watercolor, and oil with cold wax.
After returning to my studio in Dallas I continued to pursue several works directly related to the Beat series. For the rest of this year I have concentrated on expanding and developing a series of dimensional wall paintings that incorporate corrugated and archival cardboards with encaustic, and one large wall sculptural work incorporating wire, burlap and encaustic for a solo show at the Texas Art House Gallery in Johnson City, Texas, titled Life Forces–Kinetic Rhythms. I continue with my smaller encaustic works on panel.
After returning to my studio in Dallas I continued to pursue several works directly related to the Beat series. For the rest of this year I have concentrated on expanding and developing a series of dimensional wall paintings that incorporate corrugated and archival cardboards with encaustic, and one large wall sculptural work incorporating wire, burlap and encaustic for a solo show at the Texas Art House Gallery in Johnson City, Texas, titled Life Forces–Kinetic Rhythms. I continue with my smaller encaustic works on panel.
I
entered the program to be open and available, to participate, and to absorb as
much as physically possible. I loved being in the academic milieu. I loved
being in the library or in the cafeteria studying or discussing art with my
colleagues. I loved the sense of belonging to history, with many Turner
Prize recipients being graduates of Glasgow School of Art. And I loved the
surrounding architectural masterpiece of the original art school, designed by
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (now under reconstruction to original plans after the
2014 fire).
I
am very happy to be back home with my husband (who deserves kudos
for all his support and understanding of this opportunity and its importance
to me) and back working away in my new studio. I continue to develop work
that speaks directly to my recent degree show in addition to developing new ideas as
I go forward. I continue to network with my GSA colleagues, and just
recently returned from a granted residency from the Royal Drawing School at
Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and a pop-up show in Glasgow with one of my fellow classmates.
Inset: Winston at his thesis show
To
summarize the benefit of my post graduate experience would be to say it has
further strengthened my development in learning to trust myself. I
returned home with a stronger resolve and confidence. We all carry within
our brains those invisible frames of reference that filter our experience and
shape the way we see the world around us. Those frames are the product of
many things—our cultural experience, our education, our assumptions, our
relationships, and our innate biology. My frames are centered by the
senses, and paintings have become the physical manifestations or examinations
of the senses; listening, sighting, in addition to my sense of the specific
human condition weighing in on my mind at the time. Multi-referenced and
influenced, irrational at times, I have allowed the physicality of painting to
manifest its gestures, its mark making, its scarring, its rhythms, its beats.
. . . . . .
Considering an MFA?
In
comparison to the MFA in Art Practice that I was considering at the School of
Visual Arts in Manhattan, it was much more affordable. For an
International student, tuition was a bit over 13,000 pounds, the equivalent at
the time of about $18,000. Plus room and board and travel expenses for
the year. I think you could do it for $30-35k for the 12 months but more
comfortable around $35-40K. I had set aside my prize money from the
Hunting Art Prize and used it to fund my masters education. Money
well spent.
As
for advice for those over 40, what first comes to mind are the following:
. Let your partner know about your interest early on because if you apply you might get accepted
. Let your partner know about your interest early on because if you apply you might get accepted
. If it is important to you it will be important to those that support and love
you, so do it
.
Work within your finances and make wise choices that do not leave added stress
or debt
.
There are many ways to expand your art practice, and a Masters program may not
be the answer, however if being at educator at the university level is important to you, you are unlikely to get a job without one
Over to you, readers: Do you have an MFA? Do you consider the time and money well spent? Or did you participate in a program that paid you to teach at the institution where you were matriculating? Have you explored alternatives to degree programs, such as self-directed residencies or specifically allotted time for grad-style research and pursuits?
Over to you, readers: Do you have an MFA? Do you consider the time and money well spent? Or did you participate in a program that paid you to teach at the institution where you were matriculating? Have you explored alternatives to degree programs, such as self-directed residencies or specifically allotted time for grad-style research and pursuits?
