ReinaGonzales.map1-25wdgzt

ReinaGonzales.map2-2m5z2mz

ReinaGonzales.map3-27htep9

 

1.How many hours of practice time per week would you consider excessive? How many hours would not be enough to create sophisticated work? Where are you situated?

I believe the more practice one can get the better, because one’s skill will develop very quickly. However I do think that if one is practicing to avoid other important work than that can become a problem. I also think if one practice to much and start to hallucinate then one should probably stop for a least an hour to clear their mind so you don’t go to crazy. In order to create sophisticated work you should probably be spending at least 1-2  hour per day practicing so at least 7 hours a week. I think that lately I have been devoting at least 7 hours a week of practice to graphic design.  

2. What does the “next level” look like? What would the next level in the designs of your maps look like?

Next level is going beyond what is asked from an assignment, paying attention to detail and using creativity to make an aesthetically pleasing product. I also think that revising editing is an important aspect when it comes to creating a next level product. I think that my maps are on there way to being next level. I think that to make them even more next level, I would need to continue to revise them. This year I have learned that it is important to trust my gut. If you I feel like something may be slightly off or look slightly weird there is probably a reason that I feel that way. My brain is trying to tell me that there is something not quite right that should be revisited and reworked. I tried to do this with my pieces but I know that there is still some detail that I could revise to be even better.  Also I have learned the importance of craft and attention to detail. I need to make several drafts or iterations to get the best finished product without spelling errors or sloppy work.

3.What was some meaningful feedback you received about the maps and what did you do with that feedback?

All feedback is meaningful feedback. Throughout this course I received a lot of meaningful feedback from my peers and professor. For the most part I took all feedback into consideration and tried to incorporate it into my work. The most meaningful feedback from my peers and professor their honesty and suggestions about legibility of my maps, especially in terms of my third map. Legibility was extremely important in the map projects so having an outside perspective help to make sure my maps were readable was what I felt improved my maps the most.

4. Describe what level of challenge you encountered in the creation of your maps. What was the hardest part / what was the easiest part? What was the most enjoyable part of the process?

There were many challenges that I encountered in the creation of the maps. The most difficult part for the maps was creating the concepts that I wanted to use to illustrate and convey my information. The easiest and most enjoyable part of the map process  occurred  after I figured out my idea, when I was able to create all the graphic design elements.  For example it took me a very long time to decide the best way to represent the second map but one I realized that a journal would be a visually interesting I was able to finally finish the map.  

5. Did you do anything else outside of class, extracurricular, related to art, design, or creativity?

I very much enjoy doing creative things outside of class, such as embroidery, drawing, painting, and photography, however I find it hard to find the time to do these things. I very excited to go on break because I will have a whole month to create. I also really enjoy taking my graphic design courses because they give me the opportunity to be creative.

6. Whether positively, negatively or neutrally, how has your life outside of school impacted your school work?

I would say my life outside school has affected my work negatively, and positively this semester. For example the drama of the Pavilions, the drama of society, people’s craziness, and meanspirtedness has been especially draining this semester. I think my work has suffered because of the stress of the outside world, not having a permanent place to live, and the fact that everybody wants to kill everybody else. I am very disappointed in the way the world is acting right now, and this has caused my work to suffer. I think that though there is so much negativity, I have learned a lot from my professors, from my mistakes. I believe the negativity of the outside world will helping me to grow as a person and cause my work to become more sophisticated as well.   

7. What does the most ideal classroom environment look/feel like to you? What does it mean to be part of a class? This semester, what was your part / role / contribution to this ideal vision? Looking back in the semester describe the physical location you think you were at your most optimum and flourished the most.

An ideal classroom environment is very similar to what we experience in our class now. Full participation, kindheartedness and respect from the classmates and professors which creates an environment where everyone is able to feel comfortable to learn and grow. To be part of a class like this means that a student is always eager to learn something new, always contributes what is asked, and is always supportive towards fellow classmates. This semester I tried to be engaged and present during class. I most definitely think I succeeded at the respect portion of the ideal class. Respect and kindness re extremely important to me and I would never do anything to make to feel like they were not valid. The physical location I think I was the most successful at were at the end of each project. This was when I felt I was the most engaged and involved in the class.  

 

Part 1: Based on the notes you took during class, write a brief description and response to each of the Faculty presentations.

For the faculty presentation this week we had Bob, Alex, and Jo present about their work and life. For Bob’s presentation, he talked about how his passion for gaming and how it became his career. I thought that it was clever how he related pinball throughout his presentation. For Alex’s presentation she discussed how her children have influenced her work. I thought that the fact that she was able to overcome some of the challenges that come with having children, grow from the experience, refine her work, and her method was very interesting to hear about. Jo presented from his photography series of family portraits. I thought that they were all very compelling and I thought that the setting of the portraits of made them very interesting.

Part 2: Reflection on this semester and course.

Overall I really like this course. Getting the opportunity to listen to artist, faculty, former students, and current students was a very inspiring and educational experience. There is nothing that I would really criticize because I felt like all the classes were well spent.