Ruth Flower-Davies (AOCA, Design, 1977)

I chose to go to OCA after having experienced a year at another community college. OCA had instructors that were working commercial artists. Any magazine that I opened usually had work by one of the instructors. This gave me confidence in their guidance to be successful in this very small highly competitive field that I was wanting to enter. 

I remember that instructors of OCA as being so good at what they did for a living and how patient and willing they were to share with us, their students, that knowledge. It is something I have tried to play forward in my own career. 

I remember the abundance of diverse creative opportunities within this non-descript building on McCaul: sculpture, costume design, painting, life-drawing, layout, typography, pre-production and assembly work. This was an opportunity to find my own career pursuit over the next number of years. 

If I had something to say to today’s students it would be not to squander this time by being immature or distracted. I would also say – that upon graduation to go where the work takes you – whether that be within your artistic expression or geographically. My own 30+ year career took me across Canada, I met amazing people and had a lifetime of experiences.