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It’s been a while, 20 days in Italy, mid review…but I’ve got a lot to say…much has been going on, and the majority of it…has to do with school. I wish I was writing more so I could keep track of how my day to day activities influence my life. This is the start again. I can remember I *used* to write every day…back on it

Anyway, I STILL don’t have a job for the summer, and I’m struggling (to put it bluntly) to make rent every month. I feel very qualified for a whole slew of jobs, but I feel at the mercy of those who would hire me. I have been trying to get a part time job at Comp USA for a long time now, and it’s driving me crazy as it’s been a month, and still no word. (except the forms, drug test, etc., etc.)

Art and life are pretty close right now…and I feel like a lot of times that being here at SFAI is not worth it, so I’m investigating my options, as I’m 25,000 in the hole for this year, and tutorials are rediculous…I’ve been blessed in that I feel like I can do anything, but that’s not why I am at school, it’s for the teachers, community, academics, and facilities.

SFAI is so much like a soap opera, that it detracts from the student experience. There are so many worries, about money, and there are so many half truths and lies. So much so (with the driama) that Ella King Torrey hung herself last week…and the school is not saying anything about it (in regards to the suicide) I’ve had to deal with similar things at CU but it’s always acknowledged, so the community can start to heal…This is a dysfunctional family…and the kids are suffering. I’ve never heard a single person, when I ask about school say that they really like it or are having fun. There was a ton of bitching at my last school, but *student experience* was usually positive. Not so here. The ship is sinking here, and I refuse to go down with it.

I’ve been to Stanford, and financially it’s a great option, my portfolio is stronger and it’s close to here so moving costs would be minimal. I’m also considering UH, UT, UCLA, UCSD…I would have to take a year off in all cases, but I think for the 25,000 it will save, as well as the teaching experience it will provide…

I’m not completely discounting SFAI yet…I still have three months to roll it over in my mind.

Published by Pete Ippel

Pete Ippel, the son of a dancer and a musician, was born in Oak Park, Illinois and has been surrounded by the arts since birth. He moved to Morris, Illinois in 1989 and started to participate in athletics rather than dance. After high school, Pete attended Cornell University where he received a BA in psychology and a BFA in photo / digital art making. He continued to follow his sporting dreams in the high jump, which culminated in a school record leap of 7 feet 1/2 inch in 2001. In May 2004 he attained an MFA degree in the New Genres department of the San Francisco Art Institute. Presently Pete is a practicing artist whose work is in numerous private collections and has been exhibited in New York, California, and internationally. Mr. Ippel resides in Working Artists Ventura, a sustainable artist community in southern California. In addition, he teaches art, is a web developer, an active blogger, and still high jumps from time to time. As a passionate problem solver and a pragmatic optimist, Pete’s art and his life are full of exciting challenges.

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