BALANCE

Kitchen Mechanics

This was fun.  What interesting shapes could I find that weren't too hard to cut out?  I started with the long, 'thin' items first, and then added 'round' items to provide some balance.  The end result seems a bit like the cogs and pulleys of a machine.

Inner Mechanics

I tried and tried to do something with all the negative space pieces, but got nowhere with the huge blocks of negative space outside the mechanical 'monster'.  The inner negative spaces easily slipped into a spare design which reminds me of a Zen garden.  Creating a bit of a curve in the line of the 'round' elements helped to balance the sharp irregular outline on the left of the large piece.

Scale and Proportion

Emma's Loo - 2012
A semi-surreal still life

Emma's Loo with Emma - 2012

I was asked if I could create greater size difference to this "still life".  I did have a very small Emma which I had left out of the original because Emma is "live" and not "still", and I liked the arrangement without her so well.  I leave others to judge which is the better version. 

 

Emphasis and Focal Point

CONTRAST

Thimbleberry, Porcupine Mountains, Michigan, 2010 - Eleanor Rice

The white color of the single open flower contrasts with the overall green of the leaves and stems, and draws attention to the full cluster of blooms in different stages. 

ISOLATION

 Climbing Rose, Springfield, VT, 2010 - Eleanor Rice

The climbing rose is the main element of color in this picture.  The blue door is isolated far to the right, but adds a second major color focus enlivening the dull brown of the house.  Between the two is the small focus of yellow flowers, creating the full image of an early summer garden.

 

PLACEMENT

Toadstools, Porcupine Mountains, MI, 2011 - Eleanor Rice

This cluster of orange toadstools are placed with the middle one near the center of the picture.  The middle one draws the eye, which can then travel from the smallest to the most mature toadstool in a radial line similar to the lines of two of the roots.

ONE ELEMENT

Travel Mug, Ferry Beach, ME, 2010 - Eleanor Rice

The travel mug is a large, obvious single element.  The rock next to it provides some balance, and creates a conversation between human-created and the natural.

ABSENCE OF FOCAL POINT

Rock Surface, Canyonlands, UT, 1999 - Eleanor Rice

An overall pattern of sedimentary layers on a large stretch of surface rock. 

Unity - Grid

 

The grid in this page lay-out is simple, primarily three columns of text.  The grid is modified so that the top header extends into the second column and a graphic fills the top half of the second and third columns.  Minor notations are in small fonts on the side and bottom of the page so as not to distract.  What I especially like about the page is the conversation between the text and the graphic.  The subject is Moral Health, and the graphic is non-objective, interconnected, multicolored, and seems to be extending off the page.  Whatever the text says, the lay-out suggests that Moral Health is complex and stretches beyond what is said or this moment in time.

Unity - Figurative

My first thought of figurative unity was the Pilobolus Dance Theater.  Part of their dances involves flowing in and out of sculptures of multiple people, where the choreographer has clearly considered continuity of line.  In this particular image, the male dancers mirror each other and pull it together while the women parallel each other and flow out.  

The Dance by Henri Matisse captures so well the flowing unity of a circle of dancers.

Unity - Non-objective

World Day of Music 2010 flyer

by silva!designers

Unity is created in this flyer by several features.  All the shapes are rectilinear.  There is a predominance of red, orange and yellow, which are sometimes grouped as well.  The over all arrangement of the shapes is more clustered near the lower right hand corner and then spreading out in "rays" on various diagonals.  Variety is added by the additional colors and occasional smaller shapes turned in a different direction. 

Unity - Chaotic

Hellhound Rodeo by Aaron Johnson

This painting fits its name.  There is no easily discernible pattern.  Each element feeds and overlays other elements.  There are hints of repetition but nothing that creates a pattern.  I do recognize the various elements as similar to various demons in Buddhist art, so my overall impression is that here is the chaos wrought by the demons of our lives. 

Unity - Continuation

The local Rite Aid in Springfield VT caught my eye for the unity and continuity of the design of its facade.  The entire facade is made of horizontal and vertical lines, and all lines are repeated.  Although not very visible in my picture, the siding of the facade under the windows is also horizontal.  The font used for "Rite Aid" is a very straight-line font adding to the unity of lines.  The only break in the straight line emphasis is the font used for "Pharmacy".

I love this sign for a local business.  Unity comes in part from the close proximity of the letters, but is enhanced by the continuation of the layering of the letters.  The continuation of the layering allows the names to become a seamless unity.

Unity - Repetition with Variety

 The central image of this Tricycle cover is the very peaceful face of a woman illustrating the "Still Point" theme of the magazine.  Repeating the woman's face as both peaceful as well as one calm and one happy expands the image of the Still Point.  It's not just when we are at rest, but is present when we are more active.  It is not just about being peaceful, but about being calm and happy. 

In contrast, the repetition of hands and feet in An Tsherin Sherpa's painting is more jumbled and complex.  Specific hands and feet are repeated, but only once.  At first you don't even see that it overlays a stylized head of the Buddha.  This varied repetition makes me think of "monkey mind" and confusion.

Untitled by An Tsherin Sherpa

(card insert from Tricycle)

Unity - Repetition with Similarity

 

This M. C. Escher woodcut of swans repeats the same shape in two different colors, but then puts them in an endless loop pattern that suggests the movement of swans and which keeps pulling them back together again.  The fact that the pattern is the symbol used for infinity makes me wonder what Escher was thinking.  Does repetition lead to infinity?

Unity - Proximity

Proximity pulls a still life together.  In this painting by Louise Moillon (1630), the three dishes are grouped together.  In addition, each dish is full of fruit adding additional images of proximity, and the berries on the table top are also grouped together. 

In this photo from the magazine, Tricycle, the proximity of the hands focuses the attention, creating a visual image of human unity.