North vs. South - new MFa contender, UC Davis

Inbetween taxes, selling the Honda, and design work (dubbed "clicky clicky" for my time tethered to the mouse), I got an email titled CONGRATULATIONS. The use of all-caps seemed perfect for news from UC Davis to switch me from the Wait List status to the Yes List for their MFA program.
A week's mulling of Long Beach versus Laguna, left me leaning towards the private school, LCAD. I have a better grasp of LCAD's teaching style and like some of the teachers work a a lot. But my waffling is now distracted by the lure of the local... Davis is just a train ride away in a bikeable, beautiful town. It's hard to find out what the tone of the department is from the info online, since I can find the only report of student work is a write-up from 2004 MFA show involving piles of dirt and shovels. Very curious how much support there is for normal 2-d folks or if there a real new-genres bent.

An oddity of state school visual art departments is their lack of MFA show images online. All the Davis grad image links are dead. Lesson learned from grad school apps so far, is to visit the schools in-person. Very hard to get a feeling for it online.

The neighborhood is already planning a going-away party, so i'd hate to interrupt a chance for snacks and festivities. This time next week, I will have made my choice of where to paint in the Fall. eep!

where to hang my blank canvases - mfa 07

brewery art complex,
originally uploaded by robin kibby.

I can stop stalking my mailbox for academic letterhead and favorable replies. The final results are in from my MFA apps. I made it into exactly half of my schools (2.5 yesses, .5= wait list). The greatest shock is that I'll be migrating south. I've grown up in Northern Californian (have the palid complexion to prove it) so the southern part of my state remains a mystery.
The Prius was loaded up again for another road trip of visits.
School candidates are Laguna College of Art and Design, and Cal State Long Beach. In many ways the programs are opposites - LCAD, a small private school focused on representational & figurative art, and CSU Long Beach, a supersized art department with lots of interdisciplinary possibilities and facilities.
Considering how different the programs are, I thought my decision would be easy. However, they both seem good in different ways.
I took as many pictures as I could to aid with my meditation.
The Brewery pix are from the location where LCAD hosts their classes in LA, and the gallery shots are some spots where LCAD teachers are showing or grads have their shows.
LA MFA and Gallery Visit Pix
Lots of sunshine and good art all around. I am just beginning to wrap my mind around what it will mean to leave the East Bay for three years. and what it could be like to paint intensely over that span.
Our house is already filling with bubble wrap and tape as we start to clean house for the move.