Ms. Karimi
By Elle Van der Werff
It’s common for students that are passionate about art to have trouble figuring out if they want to pursue it as a career. It can be a difficult jump to take, but I interviewed Ms. Sally Karimi about her art journey and what it was like, to show how art can be a realistic career.
Ms. Karimi started to take art seriously before university. She was studying math and engineering and was looking to major in engineering in university but she suddenly changed her mind to do art instead. Her father was an artist as well and enjoyed creating Persian miniatures, her sister was an artist and her mother taught sewing for 25 years, so she grew up in an artistic family and they were her role models. She wanted to go into applied design because it would be more applicable to her, so she chose to go into industrial design because it had aspects of both engineering and art. She then started to work in the industrial design department at a factory for 2 years at the same time as she was taking her bachelor’s, but it wasn’t a dynamic environment so she quit. When she started taking her Master of Arts, her sister was working as a university professor at the time. One day her sister invited her to observe her class. Ms. Karimi loved the energy and dynamic of the teacher and the students so much so that once she graduated from her Master of Arts, she decided to continue teaching art. She taught in universities in Iran for 8 years and then when she immigrated to Canada she started applying for high schools to see which she preferred. In her opinion, teaching students in high school was more fulfilling and satisfying because she could nurture the students and lead them. In comparison, adults already know what they want to do and what path they want to take. She also designed clothes on the side as a way to combine design and art.
Her advice for students, no matter their focus, is to follow your passion. For art students specifically, know that it’s not something where you go to a class and learn the information and that’s it. You have to be patient, and passionate, and practice. You need to dedicate a part of your life to art to truly be good at it. If you find art to be a subject you want to follow for years, follow it. Undoubtedly. She also recommends trying different majors if you go to art school so that you can learn about the differences between the different forms of art like graphic design or animation.
Ms. Karimi’s story proves that when you follow your passions in your career, you will have no regrets if you are truly doing something you love. It also teaches us that it is okay to change your mind about what you want to pursue within your life, as long as you are happy.
By Elle Van der Werff
It’s common for students that are passionate about art to have trouble figuring out if they want to pursue it as a career. It can be a difficult jump to take, but I interviewed Ms. Sally Karimi about her art journey and what it was like, to show how art can be a realistic career.
Ms. Karimi started to take art seriously before university. She was studying math and engineering and was looking to major in engineering in university but she suddenly changed her mind to do art instead. Her father was an artist as well and enjoyed creating Persian miniatures, her sister was an artist and her mother taught sewing for 25 years, so she grew up in an artistic family and they were her role models. She wanted to go into applied design because it would be more applicable to her, so she chose to go into industrial design because it had aspects of both engineering and art. She then started to work in the industrial design department at a factory for 2 years at the same time as she was taking her bachelor’s, but it wasn’t a dynamic environment so she quit. When she started taking her Master of Arts, her sister was working as a university professor at the time. One day her sister invited her to observe her class. Ms. Karimi loved the energy and dynamic of the teacher and the students so much so that once she graduated from her Master of Arts, she decided to continue teaching art. She taught in universities in Iran for 8 years and then when she immigrated to Canada she started applying for high schools to see which she preferred. In her opinion, teaching students in high school was more fulfilling and satisfying because she could nurture the students and lead them. In comparison, adults already know what they want to do and what path they want to take. She also designed clothes on the side as a way to combine design and art.
Her advice for students, no matter their focus, is to follow your passion. For art students specifically, know that it’s not something where you go to a class and learn the information and that’s it. You have to be patient, and passionate, and practice. You need to dedicate a part of your life to art to truly be good at it. If you find art to be a subject you want to follow for years, follow it. Undoubtedly. She also recommends trying different majors if you go to art school so that you can learn about the differences between the different forms of art like graphic design or animation.
Ms. Karimi’s story proves that when you follow your passions in your career, you will have no regrets if you are truly doing something you love. It also teaches us that it is okay to change your mind about what you want to pursue within your life, as long as you are happy.