Alumna Creates Woven Works, Studies New Practices

Laura Fischer (Visual Arts 2002) received her MFA from San Francisco State University in 2013. She concentrated her work on New Practices, an area established for students wishing to work cross-media. Here she shares words of wisdom and why going to Perpich was a great fit for her.

A sampling of Laura Fischer’s MFA work

If you have any words of wisdom for current Perpich students, what would they be?

Well, they probably already have full appreciation for what a privilege it is to be at Perpich.  That’s one thing I find really unique about the school—that the student (high schoolers!) have enthusiasm for being there.  My biggest piece of advice as you continue making art, within the context of art school or not, is to never look sideways.  Don’t compromise your work by comparing it to other people’s and try not to be too influenced by what someone has already done and how they have done it.  Keep it fresh and keep it your own. Work. Work. Work.

What (if anything) about your experience attending Perpich aided you in becoming the artist you are today?

Perpich is awesome and I sometimes I think back to my interview, think about how lucky I was to have been accepted, and think about how different my life might have been if it weren’t for that great fortune.  While I was there I felt such a strong sense of a community, and one that grew from mutual respect between the faculty, staff and students.  For me this enforced the feeling that what we were exploring as young artists was valid and worthwhile.  I didn’t attend a private art school for my bachelor’s degree, but even in my first semester on a liberal arts campus, within a sea of Economics and Geology majors, I felt a strong sense of purpose in my choice to make art.  Without a doubt, that confidence, insight, and sense of validation came from being a student at Perpich.