AIFD Let's go for it!

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what about mentors right here on flowerchat?? those of us who are interested can upload images to those who are willing to critque our work and let us know our strengths and where we need to improve..

anyone willing?
 
I know one AIFD/ flowerchat member who said they'd help me.. Don't know if I should give out any names though...

But that would be nice if more flowerchatters that are AIFD would like to help..

Just remember to put on your big girl/boy panties... You may not like what you hear..

Be careful what you wish for..
 
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This sounds like something I would like to do also but I believe I will try to get a mentor and wait till 2010. I need a lot of book smarts!!lol and cash helps to..:smoke
 
I will be glad to offer critique to any designer here on Flowerchat.

However, I can give you a piece of advice that will help you all greatly.

The camera sees things in two dimension, that is height and width. The camera does not 'see' depth. The human eye sees things in three dimension. That is Height, Width, and Depth. Because of this....The camera sees things the human eye CANNOT.

Get yourself a good high quality digital camera and printer or a polaroid camera.....With ANY design you have questions about or any design at all. Take a snapshot of it and then IMMEDIATELY print it out or develop the picture.

Trust me when I say, You will see a lot of mistakes yourself.
 
twiggy said:
one thing I learned at the new applicants meeting is the process is not as subjective as I had thought.. What was explained to me by a very nice guy (I wish I could remember his name) is your designs are judged by your use of the design principals, as long as you have a good grasp on balance, scale/proportion, mechanics etc.. etc, then you should have no problem..
(AIFD members on this board please correct me if I'm wrong)

so what I've done is print out the judging criteria from the AIFD site and refer to it when I'm working..

like I said I would love to go to an evaluation workshop, I'm even a little nervous about that..when I design, so much of ME is in there too.. I just don't have a very thick skin I guess..
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twiggy, don't be so intimidated by the whole process.You are right about the principles of design....really helps to know how to use them as you are designing. Your creativity does play some part in your scoring. I learned long ago when I was in art school, that any contest or exhibition with a jury, is a crap shoot. People have different tastes,and you can't please all the people all the time.You just do your best. When I did my portfolio(2000) they tossed out the highest and lowerst score to blance everything out. Plenty of people do not pass the first time they take the AES. Hopefully you will be one that does pass the first time. :)
 
AIFD is a dream of mine, but my set backs are TIME and a fear of committing to the certification and finding out that I do not have time to study and train to my satisfaction.

I'm in the process of hiring and hopefully that will alleviate a lot of the stress and I will be able to focus on my own accreditations.

If I am able to find the time to focus on this, I would love to try for 2009 with everyone.

For someone who is shooting for 2009, what is the deadline for registration? For those who are AIFD, how long did you "study" for the test beforehand?
 
shannonlovesflowers said:
I know one AIFD/ flowerchat member who said they'd help me.. Don't know if I should give out any names though...

But that would be nice if more flowerchatters that are AIFD would like to help..

Just remember to put on your big girl/boy panties... You may not like what you hear..

Be careful what you wish for..
Click to expand...

Shannon, I think most of us AIFD members would be more than willing to help in any way. I have looked at some of Shannons work and given her some of my views and I would be more than happy to do this for any one that wants help.

Don't hesitate to ask many member that posts on Flower Chat. Only good Aifd members post here. Please fell free to email me or send pics if you want my opinion. I love to see people succeed.

Carol Bice
 
I would love to get critiques here; Rick and Carol, I may take you up on it! Guys we can't be too thin-skinned (talking mostly for myself here) or we will never improve. :)
 
Those of you who are already AIFD, thank you so much for the willingness to help us discover our dream as well. Would you all like to share (in what you have seen) the most common thing, (design flaw, etc) that you see people making when they go for testing?

When I went to the AIFD Across America I was really surprized of some of the stories of the failure of designers. One told a story of a designer who snuck in after hours and made a shrine to himself. Another told a story about a lady who failed because she used product that was not provided. Specifically she made a beautiful butterfly but then put some sort of eyes on it. Since they weren't part of the materials given and approved, she was failed.
 
Many of us are happy to help and want candidates to succeed, but please remember that only the Membership Committee scores designs. The AES candidate's designs are displayed at the opening reception of Symposium, however the scoring is not, nor is it divulged by those on the Membership Committee.

All AIFD members have been in your shoes at one time and consequently have a good grasp of what the Membership Committee expects, but any guidance we offer is just that, guidance.

I think some of the incidents you mentioned were probably cited somewhat as a parable. For instance, follow directions!! (Don't put eyes on your butterfly if they were not provided for you.)
You are only allowed to work for a specified period of time.. .(And please don't build a shrine to yourself--that's weird!)

Be who you are and do YOUR best work--don't fret about anyone else's
style or ability. Know the elements and principals of design and make them work for you.

We once did a program at a regional mini-symposium that was titled: "Bill Bill, Patty Patty, David David David." All were AIFD members and each name received the same materials and flowers to work with.
The resulting designs were completely diverse, very different styles with a single thing in common: they all were well-executed and technically sound work. That's the message here.

So . . .ask away and I'm sure we'll attempt to offer constructive advice.
In the end, the decision is yours alone so trust your own perceptions based on your knowledge, instincts and any advice you choose to take.

I hope you have fun with this process and have outrageous success!

Patty
 
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One thing I heard from an AIFD member/teacher was that lack of depth was a common problem. So, since then I've always worked at putting dimension into my designs.
 
Mocha Rose said:
AIFD is a dream of mine, but my set backs are TIME and a fear of committing to the certification and finding out that I do not have time to study and train to my satisfaction.

I'm in the process of hiring and hopefully that will alleviate a lot of the stress and I will be able to focus on my own accreditations.

If I am able to find the time to focus on this, I would love to try for 2009 with everyone.

For someone who is shooting for 2009, what is the deadline for registration? For those who are AIFD, how long did you "study" for the test beforehand?
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Mocha -
You are correct. It takes a lot of time and effort to study and to get ready for this test. It is NOT an inexpensive endeavor, so naturally, one would like to pass at the first try. However, being one of those who did NOT pass at the first try, I decided to go "all out" and find the best mentors I could to set me on the correct path. I will say that for the year following my first test, I spent hundreds of dollars on workshops, both sponsored by AIFD and private ones, airfare, hotels, and everything else that goes with it to study and feel confident enough to take the second test.

I did study on my own and take photos and have another AIFD review them but as Rick stated, depth does not come through in a photo and it is not the best way to critique a 3-D object.

However, everyone is different and what worked for me may not work for you. To answer your question, it took me 24 years to take the first test and one intense year of study before I took the second test.

The best way to find dates of various deadlines is by going to the AIFD website: www.aifd.org and go to "membership" and then "accreditation." There are different deadlines depending upon what you sign up for.

Hope this helps somewhat.
Deb
 
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