Summer — 2011

Sarah Riedmann

Arts Mentor Program

“SMC is such a cultural melting pot, with people from all nations and with different mentalities. This all creates a very simulating atmosphere.”

If you’re a serious artist, Sarah Riedmann recommends you go online to www.ampsmc.com and look at SMC’s Arts Mentor. “This is an incredible program that the College has. It’s basically graduate school-level studies in a four-semester experience that gets you a professional portfolio and ready to transfer. It’s a situation where highly skilled students are paired with Mentor Program professors, who then guide and critique your work, take you to various studio and gallery settings, and seek to help you in every way possible to become a professional artist.”

As a fine arts student in both painting and sculpture, Sarah reports that SMC has surrounded her with some awesomely qualified teachers. “One of my Mentors is Kavin Buck, and he’s the head of Art School admissions at UCLA. So he knows very well who will fit into the program there. I also study with Ichiro Irie, who’s a gallery owner and curator. Kavin ran his own gallery, as well. So what I’m getting through my studies at SMC is a very high-level introduction into the local and the world arts scenes.”

Sarah also points to the importance of another professor in her program. “Ron Davis is the head of the program, and he’s heavily involved with all of us,” says Sarah, who migrated here from her native Austria to follow and hone her artistic muse. “In essence, what you get in this course of study is a complete immersion in the professional arts scene. Just check out that website that I mentioned, and you’ll be amazed about what’s on offer. Dig into and find the professors whose works and interests most closely align with your own. If you make the right choices,” she adds, “the Mentor Program can take you anywhere you want to go in the world of the Arts.”

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