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Art and Design
SOME OTHER POSSIBILITIES
Have you always wanted to do an artistic sort of job, but never thought you could because art was not one of your options at school, so you have no qualifications in the subject? In fact, there are many jobs where qualifications in art and design are not necessary, but an eye for shape, colour and an overall pleasing effect is a positive advantage. Some of the jobs need other entry qualifications, though, in subjects like science, maths and English.
Landscape gardening and landscape architecture
Landscape gardeners are the people whose job is planting trees and shrubs, laying stones, building walls, and maybe even adding water, to make gardens and parks attractive to the eye. Landscape architects (who are graduates) may also come in at the design stage, though they usually work on larger projects such as landscaping a new stretch of motorway or a housing estate. Amenity horticulturists also do similar work with public places.
Architecture
You have only to look around you to realise how much architecture affects our lives and how important to our well-being pleasant surroundings are. An architect's job is to design a building which will look good, work well and stay up, �rom the humblest of homes to grand monuments. It takes seven years to train as an architect, and even then you would only be embarking on minor projects to start with, but it is a profession which you can enter with no qualifications in art or design or technical drawing. Architects often work closely with interior designers.
Backstage theatre work
There are numerous careers concerned with working behind the scenes in a theatre and, because the nature of the work is to display to the public, these jobs would need to attract those with an aptitude for making things look good. They include scenery design and building, costume design and making, and make-up. Although not a job which would immediately spring to mind, an electrician in a theatre must have a good eye for design and effect, as would the choreographer in a musical.
Making yourself and others look good Modelling
Having an artistic eye also means knowing how to make yourself look good and being a model certainly means living in the public gaze and having to look good at all times. It is very hard work, especially tough on the feet! It certainly isn't the glamorous life it is made out to be, although a few do manage to become household names and are paid huge salaries. In modelling, you are only as good as you look, so it is often a short career!
Hairdressing and styling
Hairdressers shampoo, cut, style, perm and colour hair. Opportunities are open to both sexes. There is plenty of scope for those with artistic flair. Although most customers know exacdy how they want to look, there are many who ask advice and leave the hairdresser some room for experiment.
Beautician
There are many different careers in beauty, all designed to make the customer look and feel good. These include body treatments such as massage, muscle-toning and slimming techniques and also facial treatments, including make-up, and manicures. To be a successful beautician, you would need to have a well turned out appearance yourself, as you would be an advertisement for your place of work.
Decorative work
Many jobs which make things look involve intricate decorative work. These are just a few examples:
Catering
In restaurants, managers, cooks and chefs are responsible for planning the menu, organizing the cooking and displaying the meals in such a way that the customers will be eager to buy. In fact, the presentation of food is what the customer first sees and often what choices are based on. If you host a banquet where you wish to impress the guests, the presentation of the food is all-important.
Baking and confectionery
Baking is not only involved with our basic large white loaf! There are many opportunities for decorative work, ranging from bread rolls to fancy cakes and gateaux. To have even more artistic freedom, how about designing and creating an elaborate wedding or birthday cake? Nowadays such opportunities exist not only with the small specialist baker and confectioner but also with the large supermarkets.
Embroidery, knitting and needlework
Most embroidery these days is done on a machine and worked to a specific design, but there are opportunities for specialist one-off items, most often made at home and sold through local retail outlets. This would also apply to home knitters who design and sell their knitwear, and dressmakers. Making soft furnishings like curtains, loose covers and cushions also requires you to use fabric to its best advantage and often to advise customers.
Picture-framing
If you like to see paintings, prints and photographs attractively displayed, you may enjoy being a picture-framer. Simple wood working ability plus an eye for proportion and colour might help you to get a job (or possibly employer-based training) with a picture-framing workshop. You�ll find names and addresses in Yellow Pages.
