Welcome to the first Student Spotlight of the Spring 2025 semester! This week’s artist stood out to me from our very first critique in our shared Concept and Design class. I immediately noticed her craft and attention to detail in the work she presented and admired how passionate she was about every project we worked on. I was always interested in how she created her work and where she drew inspiration from for each assignment. This creative artist is…
Emma Kim
Major: Graphic Design
Minor: Illustration
Year: 2027
I am majoring in Art because…
art allows me to express myself through my creativity, encourages me to look at the world from different perspectives, and teaches me to take time to appreciate what life presents to us. I’m happiest when I can put on some headphones, get out my art supplies, and just let myself be creative. The fact that I can have a career doing something that I love makes me even more motivated and allows me to translate my passion for art into my work. The Arts have taught me unique ways to problem solve, allowed me to find more appreciation for the things I have, and helped build my confidence, so I want to be able to give back with my art and what I learn.
What excites me most about art is…
just having the ability to put something that you’ve imagined onto paper is something I cherish. I’m a quieter person and my thoughts tend to be very jumbled which can make it hard to talk with people. Through my experiences with softball and school I’ve gotten a lot more confident with it, but art to me has always been a clear way to communicate with others. A way to show other people how I perceive the world, and how I think of things.
The kinds of things that inspire me are…
from the things around me, I’m a maximalist so I like to fill my walls and shelves with dozens of images, art, and subjects that I love. For instance, posters of my favorite art pieces, examples of designs that I love, little figurines, and plants. I want my room to feel like a mini museum that represents me, and so when I get stuck on not having an idea or feeling unmotivated I look around at everything that’s surrounding me.
My favorite art class so far has been…
Conceptual Design Thinking with Prof. John Meza, truly it has been my favorite class. I loved the thought and planning that went into each piece as I was making it. I learned new techniques and terms in the class such as the golden ratio, 14 line perspective drawings, and anthropomorphism. I’ve always enjoyed contemplative and critical thinking, so to be encouraged to look at a piece with more intent and reasoning was really fun for me. I felt like I really improved in the class and I think the fun I had in the class translated in my art.
When I am not in class…
I love reading and writing. In the future I’d love to write and publish a book. I also enjoy practicing making art and scrapbooking, taking care of my houseplants, and playing Animal Crossing. I used to play softball, but now that I’ve stopped I enjoy practicing with my little sister. One of my favorite pastimes is thrifting. I like that it’s good for the environment and it’s fun to go to see if I can find anything cool. Eventually I have a dream of having an entirely thrifted wardrobe.
The coolest thing I have done at Marywood so far…
was playing on the Marywood Softball team! I absolutely loved the experience and my favorite part was when we got to go to Florida over spring break to play. I’ve made some amazing friends through softball, and while I chose not to continue it’ll always be an experience that I’ll remember.
When I graduate…
I’m actually not quite sure what I want to do yet. I know I’d like to find something that incorporates more illustrative qualities to my designs and work. I’ve considered greeting card design, packaging design, book design, or maybe going into something a bit more illustrative. But I haven’t quite pinned anything down.
A New Year’s resolution for my art would be…
to put in more time practicing and making work. No one is ever perfect but the way to try to get there is through practice and repetition. Admittedly I’ve gotten a bit carried away with other aspects of my life and forget to take the time to refine my skills and techniques from now and then. So for the new year I want to pour more focus and effort into my work so that I can make more things to be proud of.
->->-> Check out some other works by Emma!
“Tunnel book” -Emma Kim
“A Tale of Light & Shadow” -Emma Kim
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I hope you all enjoyed Emma’s creations! I believe Emma has definitely found her style within the art world and would love to see where concepts go in the future. She has a really good grasp with metaphors within art and believe it will go well with her desire to illustrate in the future. What inspires you to create? Dasvidaniya!