May 16, 2021 Design lessons

To all my fabulous readers: I apologize for not having a post last week and for the lack of much of one this week as well. I am overwhelmed and exhausted as the first half of this month has been a rough one.

Still struggling with the loss of our brother-in-law and childhood friend to cancer last year, we found out last week that my baby sister is now also faced with a cancer diagnosis although the doctors are fairly positive about her prognosis. On top of this, my mother’s situation is deteriorating more rapidly although she is hanging on and literally every other member of my immediate family is dealing with some trauma or fresh tragedy aside from the bad news we’ve gotten. I spent the last two weeks in Colorado and Kansas just trying to be there for everybody. I’m back in California now but then, today, my cat, who we also found out had a large tumor just a couple weeks ago, passed away today. I wasn’t ready for that. We thought she had months, not weeks.

So, today’s image is a lesson in contrast. I’ve actually posted and blogged about this image before because I love the quote so much. The quote speaks to the same concept as yin and yang, that balance is found in the interconnectedness of opposites, that all light needs dark and dark needs light in order to be understood and appreciated.

In design that’s the concept of contrast. Dark colors make light colors seem lighter and vice versa. Rough textures emphasize the evenness of smooth textures and vice versa. The more contrast you have, the more the opposite characteristics of your colors, textures, shapes, forms, etc. stand out.

As you might have surmised, this photo is of the cat I lost today, the incomparable Cleo. She was not even a week old when we rescued each other—she was to be sent to a pound to be destroyed and I was being destroyed by depression. I was just trying to do the right thing for the innocent creature, but didn’t realize how she would change my view of my own life through the act of helping her and receiving so much love in return.

Being allergic to cats, I had planned to find her a home when she was well and old enough, but she crept into my heart. She was the friendliest and most empathetic cat I’ve known, but she also didn’t put up with any crap and ruled the dogs. And, honestly, the humans too. In like fashion, she decided not to put up with this tumor crap and left us on her own terms.

So, of course, I’m sad—heartbroken to be truthful. But it was such a wonder and privilege to have that little creature in my life that I am as grateful as I am sorrowful. And, maybe, it’s not until we feel the absence of those souls that touch us that we fully understand and appreciate the importance of their presence. That’s the contrast we find in life and death and in so much of our own lives, a contrast which we can express in our own art.

I would like to say that I will be able to continue with my posts as usual as of next week but I am honestly not sure how the rest of this month is going to go. If nothing else happens and my sister’s doctors continue to bring us hopeful news, I think I should be able to continue writing posts each weekend, but if I miss one, know that I will be back and am thinking of you.

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May 2, 2021 Design lessons

What kind of things do you do when you have had a really bad day or week or month? Sometimes we can be helped just by looking for the beauty in the world. That has been my solace this week.

It’s just been a rough week for me and my family and I’ve heard a few too many stories from friends who are having a hard time as well. It’s almost like 2020 hasn’t ended quite yet. So, when I sat down to work on this blog, all I wanted to do was find something to feed my spirit. As a result, I decided to look through images of artwork I’ve collected and find pieces that I find particularly beautiful.

The necklace here, by Kaelin Cordis, is the piece I decided to post as a representation of my idea of beauty. No, it’s not polymer but, as you know if you been with me a while, I don’t think, as a polymer artist, we should just look at polymer. There is so much inspirational artwork in all types of mediums that can spark ideas for us as well as help us understand and appreciate different types of beauty.

I don’t know that anyone’s been able to identify why some people find one thing beautiful and others find the same thing dull but I find it very interesting that each of us can be mesmerized by a beauty that only some of us see. For instance, although I think most people will be able to see beauty in this piece, I am certain that a lot of you would’ve chosen pieces to epitomize beauty that are much different than this. So, what is it in the pieces that we choose that defines our idea of beauty?

To me, the beauty in this piece is in the movement created through the use of lines and edges. I am also drawn to simplicity and although this isn’t a super simple piece, it is not complex, certainly not in terms of color. Accented only by the blue stone, the particularly white silver reins in the energy from the movement with its absence of color, conveying a calm and grace that I find entrancing.

When I think about the artwork that I have always been drawn to, the principle of movement in the form of curvilinear lines and shapes is almost always present. I think there is also a dominance of limited color palettes. Although it was not difficult for me to come up with that conclusion, I’m not sure I really recognized the root of my aesthetics before writing this just now. It’s interesting what we can learn about ourselves when asked just the right questions.

So, do you know what primarily defines beauty for you? If that’s not something you have defined for yourself, consider looking around and see if you can find the elements, principles, or compositions that you are most drawn to. Not only will it give you the opportunity to exercise your design knowledge, but you may find that spending time with beauty will refresh your mind and spirit as well.

You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…