Hello! This is your new student spotlight blogger, Sephora here! I am honored to be a part of this crew of hardworking individuals to make sure you all get some content!
For my first student spotlight blog, I wish to introduce someone who is silly and has fun with what she does! Which I find to be a very important element in being an artist.
But a bit of backstory, a few weeks ago small doodles would appear seemingly out of nowhere in my philosophy class. I’d always come in a few minutes before class started so I could never catch who drew these really cute pictures. The doodles would range from a bust of Socrates, Hatsune Miku, or a doodle of Hello Kitty saying her philosophy is friendship. No matter what I always smiled seeing the doodles and so did many others, especially my professor who I caught taking a photo and even using the doodles to explain one of Aristotle’s theories.
Eventually, I ended up finding out who the doodle master was and it was none other than…
Esther Korkuti!
A Freshman Illustration major and animation minor, Esther has brought smiles to all with her silly little doodles.
Major: Illustration
Minor: Animation
Graduation Year: 2027
I am majoring in Art because…
It is something I always really enjoyed doing, everything about it is extremely fun to me. Something about having a silly idea and putting it out of my head to see more clearly is super entertaining, as well as further pushing it from my initial ideas.
Art is just so versatile you are able to create ANYTHING and just stick it out into the world!”
The kinds of things that inspire me are…
Cartoons, movies, and comics! To be more specific the spider-verse movies fully rewired my brain, the artwork in those movies is absolutely gorgeous and super creative. The mix of 3-D models with 2D line work really made me want to experiment with my work more and try out using more 3-dimensional techniques in my work (while still being 2D I have not worked up the courage to start making 3D models quite yet).
My art favorite class so far was…
This is a super difficult question but for Marywood, my digital design class and basic drawing are both classes I’ve learned quite a bit from so far this semester!! For example, I’ve never used Adobe Illustrator before this year, and while my knowledge is extremely basic it’s quite a bit fun to use and figure out, my favorite thing being the ability to make patterns which I’m sure I’ll use more in the future (I love making silly creatures and making them a whole pattern will be so fun).
When I am not in class…
I draw mostly funny creatures and silly guys, funny creatures being these little blobby guys or more animal-based (most of the time kitten-inspired) characters that just hang out in my sketchbooks. Silly guys are most of the time fanart of my favorite characters but I do like to make original work as well. Right now I have a little story about aliens and monsters that’s less of a story and more so just a lot of doodles.
The coolest thing I have done at Marywood so far was…
Probably this interview! Learning about how to use different art programs on the computers is also pretty cool too! The whole going to college experience is super new to me so to be honest everything’s the coolest thing to me it’s all so interesting!
When I graduate…
I would love to work on a cartoon (or be a librarian. Maybe both) Since I was a kid I always loved seeing those clips of people who work on cartoons showing the whole process and I hope to one day work on a cartoon or some sort of project like that! As for being a librarian, I loved going to libraries and as a child, I said that was my main plan so it’s always an option I keep in my mind.
I would recommend the Art program at Marywood because…
It’s an extremely welcoming program and I’m having so much fun in my classes. The professors and students are all super nice and it’s overall extremely pleasant. Not only that but I’ve noticed my art has improved since I started here due to what I’m learning in my classes, specifically with color pallets and how I place my subjects in my work.
What excites me most about Art is…
You’re never really done learning, there are always new techniques you can learn and new materials to use, it’s never-ending!
Time for the wildcard question! The answer might make you a bit nostalgic!
Which fictional character best describes you?
Oo that’s a tough question! I have so many characters I could list, but I’d have to say Sportacus from Lazytown because I think I’ve annoyed most of my friends with fun facts about that show that it’s just a part of me now. I just draw him whenever I need to get something on the page and he just pops up almost automatically!
Esther’s Gallery of Silly Guys and Creatures!
Esther is a reminder that it is okay to sit down and make silly little drawings of characters that inspire us. The fact that her chalkboard doodles can make a class smile shows that one day she can make the world smile and appreciate the art of drawing silly little guys.
I hope you all enjoyed the world of silly creatures and the mind of the doodle master, Esther Korkuti! I sure did and I will catch you next time on Student Spotlight!
Sephora, out <3