ART 130 Process Book by Kenzi Gummin

The Process of a Perfectionist Kenzi Gummin

Art 130: Introduction to Design St. Norbert College Fall 2023

Table of Contents Crash Course

Dot/Line

Letterforms

Iterative Illustrations

Who Designs?

PSA Poster

Vocation Questions

Crash Course Objective: Create a piece based on the answers of your partner. This activity is a multi-step process in which the time limit for the steps ranges from 3-10 minutes. The purpose of the composition is to solve a problem that your partner has.

The other aspect that made

experiences on campus. The

me uncomfortable was that

factor that greatly affected the

I don’t like sharing works-in-

answers I received from my

progress in general, so it felt

partner was that they are only

embarrassing.

a freshman, so they have only been here for a short time. The

The pace made me feel rushed early stages of the Freshman because I like to take my time

things— new friends, new living situations, new classmates, to name a few— so it’s difficult in a way, to see the “bad” (i.e. friend groups fading, the laundry room

The influence of a real person’s

is always full, classmates who

answers to my interview

don’t already know each other

questions measured to be heavy

struggle to interact). In addition,

on the direction I wanted to take

the prototype I created had one

when creating my prototype.

major design flaw. The tape I

I took the sentimental route

used to create my attempt at a

with my creation because they expressed how they considered working as an assistant for the St. Norbert College Women’s Basketball team.

experience are full of new

basketball didn’t stick well, so it was a challenge to not only try

when creating things so that the to finish the prototype within finished product looks uniform. the time limit but keep the tape If I could redo the project or

It felt strange to share

continue the process from

since I didn’t know my partner

more questions to my partner

incomplete work, especially

where I left off, I would ask

very well before this exercise.

regarding their more negative

from falling off, too.

Center: Joey’s Basketball, August 2023, magazine paper, black painter’s tape, orange painter’s tape

Dot/Line Objective: From a list, choose three words and create three abstract compositions to represent each of the words. The purpose of this project is to make these pieces using a limited amount of dot/line combinations that include: 1 dot + 1 line, 2 dots + 2 lines, 1 dot + 2 lines, 2 dots + 1 line, all dots, or all lines. The best way that I can describe Gestalt is that

it’s the concept of how we organize things to better

The first task was to create

the dot/line project because we had to use only

possible dot/line combinations.

understand what exactly they are. This relates to

certain shapes to organize what we felt best fit our understanding of certain words.

Terror

Joy

Exhaustion

thumbnails using any of the

Dot/Line cont. It’s extremely hard for me to not want to create “well-crafted” objects. I’m a perfectionist, so I would much rather prefer to take my time with getting all the details down in my work.

I tend to avoid abstraction

because it’s not as easy for me

Terror

to comprehend as realism is. I still appreciated completing this project, because I think

that making abstract pieces is an important part of being an artist. I found it difficult to not

illustrate my ideas because, as I said before, abstraction

Joy

is something that I don’t comprehend as well as realism. As you can see in my final designs, the content leans

Exhaustion

heavily towards illustrative.

After the initial round of thumb-

nails, I chose which concepts I liked best. I modified each of them by

changing the orientations and sizes of the dots/lines.

Dot/Line cont. Another way I might use what I learned from this project in the future is when I make more

abstract pieces. The main thing that I know I have to prevent myself from doing is illustrating the content in abstract works. This page and the next feature the

final renditions of my compositions.

Along with my final thoughts on each of them.

Below: Terror, September 2023, black cardstock, gray cardstock, white drawing paper, black foam board

There was a largely positive

reception from peers regarding this piece. Many people said that they

felt uneasy looking at it because it

reminded them of spider eyes. Funny enough, my intention with this image was to create the feeling of being watched. However, this idea was ultimately too illustrative.

Dot/Line cont.

I chose to portray the feeling of

overcoming an obstacle for this piece. The best representation of this is the

metaphor of reaching the top of a tall

mountain. Unfortunately this idea also proved to be too illustrative, so I’m not satisfied with it.

Top Right: Joy, September 2023, black cardstock, gray cardstock, white drawing paper, black foam board Bottom Right: Exhaustion, September 2023, black cardstock, gray cardstock, white drawing paper, black foam board

I found this to be the easiest word to work with. During critique a

classmate said that the layout of the dots and lines resembled a lounge

chair and because of that they could feel a sense of exhaustion coming

from the image. I wouldn’t say this is my favorite of the three but I do like how this one turned out.

Letterforms Objective: Choose a word to display on drawing paper or cardstock. Aside from the relief printmaking method, you may also use photocopying, photography, or any other means to show the word. The purpose of this project is to experiment with different depictions of your word.

I chose “fall” as my word to work with. To the right is my mind map of ways to depict the word.

By working with letterforms, I learned how to carve linoleum stamps safely and cleanly. I also

found ways to play with modifications and typographic variations. My favorite work I produced was my typographic variation. I took advantage of the “chatter” from the linoleum surrounding the letters that wasn’t shaved down enough. By working with letterforms, I learned how to carve linoleum stamps safely and cleanly. I also

Letterforms cont. The following pages contain many different versions of my typeface variations and modifications.

The above composition was featured in a display in the Bush Art Center alongside compositions of my fellow classmates’ words. I strove to depict the action of

falling for this variation and it turned out to be a very successful decision.

If I were to continue working with this project, I would figure out a method make sure my stamps

lined up along the baseline when making my straight print, as that was the most challenging part for me. Something that I didn’t do for the modification piece that I would’ve done if I had the resources is carved my letters into a pumpkin.

Letterforms cont.

Iterative Illustrations Objective: Choose a subject which can be observed in multiple positions. The purpose of this multimedia project is to use many mediums and illustration styles. After working with each of the mediums, showcase your creations together on a final poster. To the left is a reference image I used for this project. I think the

hyena anatomy is super unique and would prove to be an interesting thing to try and tackle with my iterations.

Below is one of my attempts at the continuous line iterations. I found working with a pencil to be more difficult than a Sharpie marker.

I still like how this drawing looks nonetheless. I chose the Spotted Hyena as my subject. I learned that they

have complex social systems. Their groups are called “cackles,” and the social structure is matriarchal because the females are larger and more dominant than the males. They’re both hunters and scavengers. The pitch of their laughter indicates age, and they’ll often use their laughs when they encounter other species of hyenas, lions, and humans. The collage work was the most challenging medium for me. I

enjoyed working with the continuous line, especially when it was scanned and I could clean up my work on Photoshop.

Iterative Illustrations cont. I learned so many new things because this was my first time using Photoshop. I think that curve adjustments and the lasso tools are tools that I will gain a better grip on over time.

I don’t like how my magazine

clipping collages turned out. They don’t look enough like Spotted

Hyenas to me so I didn’t want

any of them to be featured in my iterations poster.

If I had to continue with the Spotted Hyena for the rest of the

year, I would make a “child-like” crayon drawing or work on other

“master artist” renditions to represent my subject in new ways.

Iterative Illustrations cont.

This was my first version of my Spotted Hyena iterations compiled together. The main thing I had to change was the “Curves” setting (aka contrast) for a few of these images in Adobe Photoshop.

Iterative Illustrations cont.

Above: Spotted Hyenas, October 2023, multimedia printed on cardstock

PSA Poster It was extremely challenging

With the information on what

more information on what is

to include in my poster, I knew

presented on the poster not only

wanted to incorporate graphic

that the heading was the most

adds an aesthetic appeal but

elements related to the content

important piece to display,

makes the text pop because it’s a

I was presenting. The purpose

so I kept the scale of that text

stark contrast to the black space

of the poster was to encourage

the largest of all the given

it appears on, thus drawing the

to be limited to type because I

St. Norbert students to attend

text. I worked to establish

sporting events, and I feel that if a visual hierarchy with the we were given the opportunity

orientation of the text based

to incorporate more than just

on what essential phrases/

type in our posters, the addition words the audience should take

eyes of viewers. Although the final draft of my PSA poster doesn’t feature this skill, I learned how to make text fall on a curved

of sporting equipment graphics

away from the poster. I also

baseline. It makes text appear

would grab the audience’s

felt that placing the title and

more dynamic and attention

attention easier.

the blurb about how to find

grabbing.

The first thing to do was make

thumbnails of any ideas for the

posters. The starred ones were the concepts I liked the most.

PSA Poster cont. COME SUPPORT YOUR GREEN KNIGHTS! Show your school spirit SNC sports fans!

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This was my first attempt at the PSA

poster’s final layout. One main suggestion I got from critique were that I should change

the inline version of the “Phosphate” font in

#gogreenknights to the solid. Another important

try

suggestion was that I take away more of the

ENT ID

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#GOGREENKNIGHTS

negative space by making the text larger. There

was also a positive reception regarding the bleed I did with the oval on the top half of the poster.

for more information and upcoming sport events visit athletics.snc.edu

I’m satisfied with the edits I made to the

poster. It looks a lot fuller because I went

with the suggestion mentioned before about increasing the size of the text.

COME SUPPORT YOUR GREEN KNIGHTS! Show your school spirit SNC sports fans!

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try UDENT

NC ST SHOW S

#GOGREENKNIGHTS for more information and upcoming sport events visit athletics.snc.edu

Vocation Questions What is the greatest failure you’ve experienced in your life?

The greatest failure I’ve experienced in my life is succumbing to college burnout. It’s something that I’ve dealt with every semester of my schooling at St. Norbert thus far. As the semester progresses it gets more difficult to cope with and it affects my overall performance. And since I’m a perfectionist, I can never be satisfied with my work when it’s degraded by my experience, so I don’t want to show off finished compositions that look like they weren’t done with care and precision.

What’s something you’ve made in the last two years that you’re proud of?

When I took Basic Drawing in the Fall of 2022 our final project was to create a series of four compositions of a subject of our choosing. I chose to portray the symptoms of college burnout in my works and felt that charcoal was the best medium for this subject. Of the four pieces I created I was the most proud of the one I titled, drowning. (2022).

This book was made as a part of Introduction to Design at St. Norbert College in the Fall of 2023. The fonts used include Athelas, Copperplate, and Noteworthy. It was digitally

printed and saddle stapled at the college’s print center.