I came to the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) this semester to study industrial design. I was first unsure as to what to expect, since I transferred here from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. At first I was nervous going through the whole orientation thing, which was actually really quite good. we played games, they had a little play about the dangers of sleeping around, we had gourmet sandwiches and we had some older kids tell us what was what when all that was done, a sort of "you can ask us anything right now because the teachers have left" thing. I asked about the availability of beer, she said there were some beer parties. One girl asked if there was a women's clinic, and there is one 2 blocks away. Stuff like that. Everything we could think of they had in the CIA,all the answers were there.

After that they gave us a weekend to relax and make friends. Everybody who gets out there and doesn't hide makes friends. Don't be too shy. Otherwise you'll be lonely.

I live in the dorms in Taplin House. It is okay. Most of the rooms are two people rooms, on every floor there is one quad room and 2 rooms for one person each. On the second floor where I live it is the all guys floor, where only guys can use the restrooms, and the same goes for the fourth floor which is the girls floor. the third floor is co-ed, and there is both a girls and guys bathroom. The bathrooms are nice here. We have a total of 4 toilets, 4 showers, 4 sinks and one bath tub. There is a bathroom n the first floor too. The common room consists of a lopsided pool table, a ping pong table and several large couches for watching an oversized TV. The work room has tables and chairs for you to work in as well as chalk boards and a place for you to keep hazardous materials and is the ONLY lace where you are allowed to do any work with the exception of pencil drawings in your room. Every floor for living on has its own balcony. There is no smoking on the balcony. There is no smoking within 50 feet of the building either, and they'll bust you if you do. I was fined $50 for smoking 43 feet from the building. Dorm life gets old very quickly I would say. It is just dull. There is a cafeteria close by that we get a meal plan in. The dorms and cafeteria are located on the Case Western Reserve University campus.

The first building the CIA owns is the Gund building, a three story building with a library and student lounge. The admissions office is here as well as the office that deals with financially support. There are several majors located here, Industrial Design, Jewelry, Painting, Interior Design, Art History and Fabrics and there may be more but I'm not sure. Parking is ample and is a short walk from the dorms, as well as being located near the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, it has its own movie theatre built in it showing awesome independent films and other popular films. It is also near the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Orchestra. Actually, when I say near, I mean literally right across the street or next door to.

The second building is called the Factory. It has a real name but no one knows it. The factory is called that because it is the place where Ford used to make his famous model T cars before car production moved to Detroit. It now houses the classes for Photography, Glass Blowing, Ceramics, metal working, Medical Illustration T.I.Me, Illustration and Drawing. Painting majors also have their work spaces here. The factory is by far everyone's number one choice as to where they ant classes to be because it is an awesome building. Most Classes have floor to ceiling windows, huge work spaces, tall ceilings and you can really be creative here. It is a very inspiring place to be. It is also across the street from a good local food grocery store called the Food Co-op. Also the office of student affairs is held here, where you can go to find out anything about Cleveland, enter a raffle to win free orchestra tickets or pick up some free condoms (for your artwork I'm sure). They also give you year long travel passes on the busses and subways through all of Cleveland.

I am as I said a sophomore here and I will be going into Industrial design next year. I am taking a 5 year program that they no longer offer since they became a 4 year program this year. All of y current teachers are nice. Some are crazy, some are intimidating when you make them mad by slacking off, but they all are nice and they all are professionals. My human Factors teacher Richard is a top notch guy who knows everything about drawing in perspective without a computer or rulers. Because of him I can now draw any shape in perspective using only a pen or pencil. I don't have to measure any lines or angles, and I can do it quickly, which is important for ID majors. My glass teacher Brent has taught me the basics to glass blowing and more. I can make perfect bowls or plates or cups or vases and almost anything you can name. Yesterday melted down 18 beer bottles in an over at 1650 degrees to make a garden piece... just because I could. I am also learning how to make a chair out of glass right now. It isn't a project I have to do, I just have the time to do it and it'd be cool. That’s how much free time I have and how easy it is to do artwork I want t do, and I've learned all these techniques so quickly. Everything about the CIA has been great so far. I have no complaints. it is ranked as one of the top 3 art schools in the US and one of the top 5 in the world. That means I'm getting a great education and I will easily get a job when I graduate. I love it. i have great friends, great classes, not too much work and I am in a fantastic city.

Now If you don' t mind, I have to go to the CIA pumpkin pie carving contest so that I can win a job getting paid $20 an hour to carve pumpkins! I hope I win!


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