Responses to Upperclassmen’s Presentations

Rachel Broussard

I really enjoyed Rachel’s advice for art students. As cliche as this is, hearing it all from someone who’s made it to their senior year of the program is really encouraging. Sitting in Drawing I, sketching out what seems like the 500th cube, the prospect of studying art for four years can seem daunting. Rachel gave me tools – taking advantage of the art around me, setting up studio space, and making time for my art – that will help me make my education in art extremely engaging and successful.

Caelan Navarrete

Caelan made me realize the importance of making outside work. I think I’ve gotten really caught up with making deadlines and driving myself crazy to try and complete projects to my professors liking. I need to make an effort to put time aside to do what I love – make art. Another thing Caelan emphasized was the importance of an internship. I’m really excited to learn by doing and really get my hands dirty in the real world of design.

Shelby Savage

I was really interested in the places that Shelby drew her inspiration from. She put an emphasis on using the past as a pushing off point. I really like the idea that the conversation around any topic is just that – a conversation. In order to form an opinion, or a piece of art, we have to see what other voices, or artists, have said about the subject. Another striking aspect of Shelby’s presentation was how pretty it was. While all the upperclassmen’s work and message was beautiful, I was most impressed by the way that Shelby presented her work. I could see the intentional choices behind the design of her slides. I really liked that.

Paul Young

Paul’s work was really interesting to me because I could see its real life application. I really enjoyed seeing the work that he has been commissioned to do for music events. Thinking about how design work is applied in the real world is really interesting. The impression that I was left with from Paul’s presentation was the need to make time, make work, and make connections.

Crissy Smith

Crissy emphasized the importance of knowing how to present yourself as an artist. This makes me think a lot about the conversation we had about the relationship between artist and entrepreneur. It’s so important to know how to talk about your work and to have a portfolio that presents you and your work accurately. If you can’t talk for your work, it won’t matter that your work speaks for itself.

Juliana Ramirez

I learned a lot from Juliana’s presentation. I really appreciated her emphasis on keeping a sketchbook. I like the idea that a sketchbook is full of lists and ideas that can be used later on when you have the dreaded “artist’s block.” I think I need to revise the way I use my sketchbook. Often, I focus too much on making each drawing look like professional work, but a sketchbook should be a more natural flow of ideas and concepts.

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