Actress Sissy Spacek--who currently spends part of her time in Florida filming the hit Netflix series Bloodline--made her way north this weekend for a stop at Ringling College of Art and Design.

The purpose of Spacek's visit was to check out the college's film program and was arranged in partnership with David Shapiro of Semkhor. During her time in Sarasota, she got to tour the campus, speak with students and see snippets of some of their work. 

 "It's incredible. There are so many Apple computers!" Spacek, who's starred in movies like Carrie, Coal Miner's Daughter and The Help, says with a laugh. "The equipment was amazing, and I can imagine, as a student, it would be like a carnival here with all this technology. I hope they all take advantage of it and enjoy it." 

And she's excited about the relationships Ringling students are building in the TV and film biz. "We always need more fresh, exciting, creative young people in the film industry," she says.

For her part, Spacek has loved working on Bloodline in Florida--the show is shot in the Keys. "I've been so taken with the Florida film crews. I'm supporting film in Florida," she says. Of the film incentive program currently in state legislature, she says, "We need to send a message--'help! We need you!'"

She also acknowledges that it's a great time to be working in television. "It is so different [from film]," she continues. "Film is finite. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. This experience has been wonderful and challenging for me because you don't know where you're going to end up. I'm growing new brain cells with this experience. And I'm interested to see where the show goes, where my character goes."

"Film is a director's medium," she continues, "and in television, it's a writer's medium. [Bloodline] was my first time out doing something like this. The whole new template also pulled me in."

And she has some tried-and-true career advice for Ringling College students, too. "It's survival of the fittest--you have to believe in yourself," she says. "I work under the assumption that whoever has the best idea wins."

"In the business, they love for us to pay our dues--they love for us to suffer and work really long hours, and that's all a part of it," she continues. "But it's all about passion. You can't be doing it for the money. I tell young people starting out, 'Save your money, because you'll need it.' But if you love your art, you're going to live that life. Everyone in my family is an artist of some sort, and we're happy and doomed to the art life."