Competing With My Students

In his dual roles as a college arts professor and a graphic design professional, Cloudjammer principal J.D. Jordan often finds himself in the unenviable position of competing with his students for work – defending himself against neighborhood kids who market themselves for $35 and a six-pack. This Newsweek editorial takes a personal look at both sides of a problem in artistic education: the lack of creative business preparation in art colleges and the impact it has on working professionals.

Read "I'm an Artist, But Not the Starving Kind" online at Newsweek's website...

An editorial column by Cloudjammer Studio principal J.D. Jordan was selected from over six-hundred monthly entrants to appear in the September 19, 2005 issue of Newsweek magazine. The editorial, “I'm an Artist, But Not the Starving Kind,” appeared in the MyTurn column and takes a personal look at both sides of a problem in artistic education: the lack of creative business preparation in art colleges and the impact it has on working professionals.

This is the first time any of J.D. Jordan's non-fiction writing has appeared in print on a national level. He has previously been published as the first-place winner in Creative Loafing Atlanta's third annual fiction contest for the short story, “Hope Under My Fingernails.”

“I'm an Artist, But Not the Starving Kind” was written in March of 2005 while J.D. Jordan was teaching freshman-level electronic design and a senior-level web design courses at the Atlanta College of Art. Of his editorial inspiration, J.D. Jordan says, "In my dual roles as a college arts professor and a graphic design professional, I often find myself in the unenviable position of competing with my students for work – defending myself against neighborhood kids who market themselves for $35 and a six-pack. This editorial is an attempt to articulate this crisis of creativity and hopefully to stimulate discussion toward a remedy."

Newsweek is a national and international newsweekly with a worldwide circulation of more than 4 million and a total readership of more than 21 million. Newsweek offers comprehensive coverage of world events with a global network of correspondents, reporters and editors covering national and international affairs, business, science and technology, society, and arts and entertainment and features such notable commentators as Allan Sloan, Anna Quindlen, George Will, and Fareed Zakaria. Newsweek holds more prestigious National Magazine Awards, given by the American Society of Magazine Editors, than any other newsweekly. fb