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Monthly Archives: July 2015
A Maker of Useful Things: Eva Zeisel
At age 94 the ceramist Eva Zeisel gave a Ted Talk where she said, “I call myself a maker of things” not an industrial designer who wants to make novel things, adding that innovation is not part of the aim … Continue reading
Nothing is Something: The Importance of Negative Space (Part 2)
A few posts back I talked about negative space as it appears in two-dimensional artwork. As I mentioned in that discussion, negative space is the “empty” space in an artwork. It’s the space between and around objects and shapes. It … Continue reading
Posted in Artists and Designers, Elements and Principles
Tagged architecture, negative shape, negative space
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Off at the Margins: Visionary and Outsider Art
In our last blog post we began a series about sources for art and design instruction. Let’s step aside for a moment and look at art that is created by a specific group of people who have not had an … Continue reading
How to Become A Famous Artist in One Week – And Other Myths
It takes work to become a famous artist or designer. In fact, it takes work just to become a mediocre one. But it is worth it. For those of you thinking about pursuing a career in art and design – … Continue reading
Design Exercise: Emphasis and Value
Today I thought I’d offer you a useful design exercise centered around value and emphasis•focal point. For those of you who have a copy of our book Design: A Beginner’s Handbook I suggest you review chapters 3 (shape), 6 (value), … Continue reading
Posted in Elements and Principles, How-To
Tagged design element, design exercise, design principles, Emphasis, Focal Point, value
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Nothing is Something: The Importance of Negative Space
As we discuss in chapter three of Design: A Beginner’s Handbook negative space is the area around and between the objects in a composition. Negative space is not just stuff left over after items have been sized and placed, it … Continue reading
Conceptual Collage: The Art of Alex Dipple
Last month I discussed the art of collage and promised to include more collage posts. If the word collage derives from the french to glue then Alex Dipple has got to be the queen of the glue pot. In the … Continue reading
Allan McCollum: Unity and Variety in Art
As we discuss in chapter 8 of Design: A Beginner’s Handbook, unity and variety are two of the most fundamental principles of design. On their own, each can make strong and compelling compositions. Together unity and variety create visually rich, … Continue reading
Design Exercise: Trompe l’oeil Texture
Those of you who’ve read Chapter 5 of our book Design: A Beginner’s Handbook know that trompe l’oeil is a type of visual texture that involves extreme realism. In fact, the term trompe l’oeil translates as “to fool the eye.” Artists … Continue reading