Part 1:

Last Monday, 6 VISU majors at St. Edward’s gave presentations to my Visual Studies Seminar class. They talked about their work, upcoming projects, and gave some advice to the class of young artists. Below in this post, I have made some bullet points of major ideas expressed by each presenter.

 

Rachel Broussard — Art Major

– go see art around Austin (Harry Ransom Center, UT Landmarks, EAST, Pump Project, etc)

– inquire about Student Professional Development Funds, due Oct 1

– visit shows, on campus and off

 

Caelan Navarrete — Art Major

– Make outside work, and document your progress

– Experiment w different materials to find your own “style.”

– Make mistakes.

– Take all the classes you can — take advantage of the courses you take, and try new ones that interest you.

 

Shelby Savage — Graphic Design Major

– Influences help with creating a consistent design (hers include Wes Anderson, nostalgia, and old film)

– All visu majors (not just GDES) should go to Tuan’s workshops!

– She uses Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc to create her work

 

Paul Young IV — Graphic Design Major

– He’s currently making a book (inspired out of his love for typography)

– H did the music dept. posters and logo for first-year writing course

– Join the AIGA (Paul Barnes speaking at next meeting) and network with fellow graphic designers in Austin

 

Crissy Smith — Photocommunications Major

– Did a photo series with the Austin Fire Department, did a ride along (made documentary out of the experience)

– Photography has grown with lots of hours put in, patience, persistence

– Ask questions, talk to profs, make connections (learn outside classroom)

 

Juliana Ramirez — Photocommunications Major

– Sarted art collective (FiC) with some friends from UT, grew it into the Mom Gallery, where she is creative designer.

– Learn to talk about your work: what interests you? why do you do what you do?

– Constantly think about your portfolio

– Create something you wouldn’t normally — go outside your comfort zone

– Don’t be afraid of critiques, ask questions

– Utilize professors + sketchbooks (make lists, drawings)

 

Part 2: Post the links for four websites that you find compelling. Add a summary for each link explaining why you chose them.

http://byhula.com 

Hula (real name: Sean Yoro) is a painter that I came across very recently–he’s been in the media lately for his exquisite hyperrealist paintings done whilst standing on a paddle board. In addition to an appreciation for his work, I’m intrigued by his website due to its stark contrasts. The palate used in his site is sharp blacks and whites, which allows the paintings themselves to command attention.

http://justinwebbstudio.tumblr.com

I’m drawn to painter Justin Webb’s website mostly because of the type of scrolling experience one has while browsing the tumblr account. Unlike most other websites, one just scrolls to the right / left to view his playful indoor scenes. The whole experience is one of whimsy and nostalgia.

http://www.kinfolk.com

In a bit of a departure here, Kinfolk is a lifestyle magazine aimed at young creatives. It advocates a slow lifestyle of careful balance. I’m drawn to the typeface and inviting neutrals used on the site. The whole aesthetic is one of coziness–achieved in soft grays, dull blues, off-whites, and faded tans.

http://www.hauscollectivesa.com

This website belongs to an art collective / pop up shop in San Antonio that was started last year by a dear friend of mine. I love the color scheme used throughout site (which also translates to all of their physical materials–posters, cards, etc). The light pink, balanced by elegant black font and delicate black and white photographs, inspire me to utilize high contrast colors in my own work to add visual interest.