In Art 490: ePortfolios for Artists this semester, 32 CSULB School of Art students created online portfolios. Here are links to our work:

TOC

Monday

• Aldair Solis
• Arturo Juarez
• Brandon Giles
• Brent Tabuso
• Christine Kim
• Cynthia Antonio
• Diana Lopez
• Erin Reyes
• Ivan Hernandez
• Jared Hughes
• John Nguyen
• Maria Mata
• Michaela Grant
• Sarah Nam
• Sarah Wolff
• Simon Tafoya

Wednesday

• Amber Castillo
• Arlene Vazquez-Sanchez
• Ellen Wong
• Emily Chu
• Ismael Castro
• Jasmyn Soltero
• Jiwon Lee
• Julie Pavlacka
• Karen Ramirez
• Paul Kim
• Savannah Paul
• Sergio Arcos

Staff

• Glenn Zucman (Instructor)
• Marina Vilhena (Graduate Assistant)

S3: Monday

Aldair Solis

Soccer, Photography, Film & Tacos
Design has the power to be projective rather than reflective. We project our emotions, knowledge, and experiences in our work. Art has always been present in my life. Photography has always been an interest in my life and graphic design has become one of my passions.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, I pull inspiration for my projects from my culture and things around me, or things that I experience on an everyday basis. With my work, I want to project my culture and various interests, such as soccer, photography, film, and tacos.

Arturo Juarez

Brandon Giles

My Future Clothing Line
I’m a fifth-year student at CSULB majoring in art with emphasizes on Graphic Design. I enjoy various art styles which allow me to branch out to other art fields such as fiber sculpting, painting, and woodwork. I am also working on designs for my future clothing line.

Brent Tabuso

Unique Experiences
A native to Southern California and raised with a skateboard under my feet since the third grade, it was natural for me to find art. For me, art is like skateboarding: it’s open to interpretation and has no rules. Whether I’m designing footwear or clothing, shooting photos, or silkscreening prints, my goal is to push boundaries and create something that will engage the viewer.

When I’m designing shoes I want the viewer to experience colors and materials. With photography I work like an actor, trying to tell stories through my camera. When creating a screenprint I use gesture and collage to express ideas. I want viewers of my work to have their own unique experience with it.

Christine Kim

Metal is Life
I am a designer for the home and the body. Whether raising vessels or creating wearable art, metal becomes an expression of my hand. My aesthetic focus is on subtle yet dynamic forms. My practice is driven by a desire to work with the fundamental elements of nature.

I gravitate toward the materiality of metalwork because it mimics everyday life. Skills like problem-solving, perseverance, and patience are refined and polished in life as they are in metal. Being able to create allows me to work through emotions and the world around me.

Cynthia Antonio

Graphic Design LA
I’m a graphic designer based in Los Angeles. Apart from creating digital work, I also enjoy traditional hands-on work. I like getting my hands dirty, whether it’s with paint or clay. I like exploring new forms of art that extend outside what the computer can do. I base a lot of this work on my life and in the now.

Diana Lopez

Remixing Art & Culture
I am a Mexican-American artist and illustrator. I was born in Los Angeles and raised in Mexicali. Since the age of 16, I’ve lived in different California cities. My work is influenced by my Mexican-American culture. Being an artist means that I explore media. I love remixing and mashing up media in the same way that my culture is a mashup of two countries.

Erin Reyes

It’s about the Letters
I fell in love with the letters on the page. Not the words, but the letters. My love for typography and graphic design has grown immensely in the past few years. Graphic design is everywhere, in our homes, on the street, in stores and in endless amounts of places. My goal is to present design and typography like no one has seen before. I want to portray my work as a piece of art and thrive in the industry for years to come.

Ivan Hernandez

Jared Hughes

Developing Relationships
I am at my core a communicator and graphic designer. In all I do, I strive to be analytic, concise, and intentional. My design style stems from the examination of concepts and ideologies and is finalized by the minuscule refinement of every line. Developing relationships with new people is in my nature, and studying the diverse range of personalities, perspectives, and cultures around me is a true pleasure. For the sake of my designs, self-improvement, and personal enjoyment, I am drawn to the call of adventure and travel.

John Nguyen

Comic Books & Cartoons today
I’m a dude who loves to dabble in concept art and storyboard. I hold a studio art BA degree emphasizing Illustration & Storyboard. I focus on adult-rated themes that seem to hit the mark with comic books and cartoons today. I don’t necessarily mean erotic. I try to stay close to reality, with a fictional dimension.

I have a passion for nitty-gritty works and film noir. I have a fixation with line and concepts. An eye for scene and worlds. I love collaboration.

Maria Mata

The Road Ahead
I’ve loved the arts since childhood. Art became the world I wanted to explore and the world I wanted to live in. When I discovered photography I found a hidden passion that grew over time. I want to continue exploring many art media. I can’t wait to see how my art road ahead unfolds.

Michaela Grant

Creative Graphic Designer
I am a Creative Graphic Designer with over 2 years of experience in developing digital and print designs. Exceptional collaborative and interpersonal skills; dynamic team player with well-developed written and verbal communication skills. Highly adept at visual strategy, layout development, branding, print, and media design. Demonstrated success working in collaborative environments. Accustomed to performing in deadline-driven environments with an emphasis on working within budget requirements.

Sarah Nam

Good Design is a Good Experience
My focus is User Interface (UI) design; my goal is ease of navigation. Like design in life, elements of UI design should be motivated. Have you ever tried to open a door and pulled when you were supposed to push? That’s poor design! I love to focus on details. I strive to create a user-friendly environment. Good UI design is the result of many small factors, for example, how the size of an icon effects the user experience.

Sarah Wolff

Tiny Brushes
My artwork is inspired by my family, friends, my beautiful home town, and my many adventures throughout my life. My love for art blossomed as a young child and throughout the years my passion continued to grow and mature. As of late I tend to work traditionally by hand drawing and painting my pieces. However, I do intend on branching into the world of digital art in the near future. My artwork tends to be very clean and detailed. I live to utilize my tiny brushes and other mediums in order to create the fine, intricate details seen in all of my art.

Simon Tafoya

California Illustrator
My name is Simon Tafoya. I’m a California artist specializing in illustration and acrylic paintings. I’ll be finishing my BA degree in studio art from CSULB this fall. My focus is on a career in illustration. I’ve always been inspired by film, television, video games, and comic books, and would love to work for a studio in any of those fields.

S1: Wednesday

Amber Castillo

Design Can Change the World
Hi, I’m Amber and I’m a Graphic Designer. I believe that Design can change the world. Graphic Design is not just about making things look pretty, but about problem-solving and designing for a target audience. I aim to help companies and nonprofits be able to share their message through creative design and marketing efforts.

Arlene Vazquez-Sanchez

The Power of Color
My earliest memories have always included bright beautiful color. Growing up I found color as a way of expressing myself. I loved being able to apply my ideas with an active force like painting. I began to explore different media and different ways to convey meaning without words. I am graduating this year with a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art. I’m excited to see how far my future projects can go.

Ellen Wong

photo by Julie Pavlacka

Illustration Tells Stories
I am an illustrator because I want to share how powerful art is as a language, and how much it can say without using words.

Art is a different form of language. Art tells stories. An engineer uses drawings to present ideas that words cannot convey. Early humans told stories on cave walls before written language existed. I create illustrations to express ideas powerfully and simply.

Emily Chu

Esports!
Hi, my name is Emily Chu. I’m an Esports fan, video gamer, and graphic designer. I love creating eye-pleasing and innovative graphics. As a graphic designer, I look for simple, clear, and compelling graphic solutions. My work in visual communication strives to bring the Esports community together and provide platforms for interaction and connection. Sharing this passion with others is what gets me up in the morning.

Ismael Castro

photo by Julie Pavlacka

Jasmyn Soltero

photo by Julie Pavlacka

Art History and Inclusive Content
Art truly rules everything around me. From an early age, I found myself orbiting around the art scene. I spent most my life trying to figure out how I could share this fascination with other people, and with the introduction of social media, I have discovered my outlet. I look to provide inclusive content for art appreciation through my passion and knowledge of the arts and will continue to see the art in everything, while documenting along the way.

Jiwon Lee

Fostering Communication
I see my role as a graphic designer as fostering communication between a company and their customer. My work can include presenting values, contextualizing policies, and amplifying customer interest.

Julie Pavlacka

Concert & Portrait Photography
I attended a ton of concerts when I was growing up. I’ve made life-long friends all over the country because of concerts and bands. I bought my first camera in 2010 and I couldn’t wait to start documenting these fantastic events that I had been attending almost every weekend since I was 12.

Photographing the connection between musicians and their fans has become one of my favorite things. I love the energy that performers, and crowds, create — It’s very unique; I have yet to experience similar energy anywhere else.

Karen Ramirez

Illustration, Storyboard, Background, Character Design
I am a digital 2D artist who focuses on illustrations, storyboards, backgrounds, and character designs. Currently, I am working on my thesis film that will exemplify both my skills as a pre-production artist and as a filmmaker/animator. I am also the producer and background artist of a student film called “Pinheads”, which will be released December 2017. I hope to build a strong enough portfolio from these endeavors in order to work in an animation studio!

Paul Kim

Music Inspires
I have always been compelled to express my identity through art. It is a fundamental need, like hunger or sleep. Music is the center of inspiration for my illustrations. There is not a moment in my day where I am not listening to music. My illustrations center around artists that inspire me through their life experiences and how I can relate to them. Whether it be a print of myself sharing a beer with my favorite rappers or my favorite childhood characters, Frog and Toad posing in the latest streetwear, my musical inspirations always manifest themselves in my work.

Savannah Paul

Metal Work
I began my formal art education in drawing and painting. Through the years I felt a pull toward other media. When I explored metals everything clicked. Since then I have developed exponentially as a 3-dimensional artist.

I love how metal can be manipulated and transformed in a very physical way. It is this physicality that bonds me to my practice and allows me to find an emotional connection with such a challenging and unforgiving medium.

Sergio Arcos

Graphic Design
I have been fortunate to work with many media throughout my art practice. From 2D, to wood, metal, and digital. All of these media have taught me new ways of approaching projects. I feel I am a well-rounded artist. My focus has become Graphic Design.

Graphic Design is the ability to create things from scratch. I love this. In the 21st century advertising has become something everyone uses to reach out to others. I have worked to become the gateway for those who need help creating compelling media. I love helping people tell their story. Let’s create something together.

Glenn Zucman (Instructor)

photo by Julie Pavlacka

Sharing our Stories
My favorite part of the CSULB School of Art (SOA) is visiting the SOA Art Gallery Courtyard each week. Every week 5 more student artists share their unique lives, experiences, and aesthetics with the campus community.

My one disappointment is that so many of these engaging artists don’t have websites. I’m fortunate this semester to be teaching the SOA’s first ePortfolios for Artists class. If the students have learned half as much as I have this semester, then they have learned a lot.

A portfolio is a never-ending part of an artist’s life journey. I feel privileged to have helped these students launch web portfolios. I am excited to see where the sinuous paths of their careers take them in the years and decades to come.

Marina Vilhena (Graduate Assistant)

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