A Variety Show
January 24, 2021
Design lessons
Last weekend I talked about contrast, a concept closely related to variety, which is the subject for this week. Understanding the difference between the two can avoid a lot of confusion so I’ll be referring to contrast a bit today as well. If you didn’t see the last post, give it a quick read here.
Now, what is variation?
Variation is the range or assortment of differences throughout a design. Now, didn’t contrast also speak to differences? Yes, but those differences were between similar types of elements while variation is the degree of difference between all of the elements, principles, and placement choices in your work. It is like contrast in that variation is also used to create interest or energy or to otherwise support your intention, however, while contrast is often the key to adjusting the level of variation, you can have a fair bit of variation with little or no contrast.
To put it succinctly, contrast is the difference between two or more related elements while variety is about the relationship between all the elements in a piece. So, let’s talk about those relationships and how they are used in design.
Picturing Variation
First of all, keep in mind that you can create variation with elements or principles or pretty much any visual or conceptual part of your work.
Take the gorgeous pendant that opened this post. Liz Sabol has variation in color, line, balance, repetition, rhythm and even types of composition. In fact, even though we can identify a use of the Rule of Thirds, a Golden Spiral, and use of the Focus to the Right principle, it’s the barely-there nod to centered composition, created by an implied line from the midpoint focused, and yet asymmetrical, balance of the bail to the centered tip at the bottom of the pendant, that is holding all the chaos at bay. This piece is an absolute celebration of variation.
Alternately, if you use a lot of the same elements or employ principles in the same way throughout a piece, then there would be little variation. You can see that in this simple but still striking little pendant by an undisclosed creative on VK.com. (If you know who made this, do let me know and I’ll update the post.) Here there is regular rhythm, an absolutely centered composition, and every shape is circular. The only variation is created by contrast in the value difference between the black and white and the textural difference between the smooth outer elements and the rough interior disc.
Now, looking at the two pendants, I’m sure you can see that there is a huge difference between the energy and feel of them, largely because of the level of variation.
It’s a Matter of Degrees
So, as you see, a piece can be interesting with little to no variation or contrast. These concepts add points and degrees of interest. It’s your intention that should determine what role they will play in your work.
Just think, if you want a piece to feel solemn and quiet, avoiding high contrast and keeping your variation quite subtle may be what you need. That calm could be very awe-inspiring in its subtlety. Alternately, you can have a piece with the points of contrast and variation ranging from subtle to obvious.
You see an example of moderation in contrast and variation in Amy Genser’s Eventide pictured here. Yes, the piece feels quite busy and has a lot of energy but the contrast and variation are not that dramatic. There’s a lot of texture but it’s all rough and predominantly created from the rolled-up paper elements. The rolled paper elements are all ovoid in shape but with variation in regard to the roundness and width. They also range in size and are very in color although, like the rest of the canvas, they are predominantly blue and cyan, keeping to the cool side of the color wheel. The canvas does open up into a brief mix of reds and yellows in the middle and the color values do range from a dark blue to white. But the variation is applied in a gradual and moderated way. Most of the energy comes from the texture, the repetition, and the sense of movement.
So, we see here that the degree of variation doesn’t have to be high to create energy or interest as other elements and principles can do that quite well. However, I do think in this case that the level of variation included boosts the energy of the texture and repetition. It’s a team effort.
So, unlike some other concepts, there is no way to really list the different types or degrees of contrast and variation and what they might mean for your particular piece. As you’ve seen, this is in large part due to how much these concepts depend on, and play off of, the other choices made in the design.
This is only a quick introduction to the subjects of contrast and variation but I’ll continue talking about them in many of my future posts. If you think about it, I’ve actually been talking about these ideas throughout the year as the differences in your choices for the various elements and principles is quite wrapped up in your decisions on how you’ll employ contrast and variation.
Some of your choices for contrast and variation will be made automatically if you make characteristic choices for your elements before specifically thinking about contrast or variation, like choosing just daisies for a flower necklace or choosing green and red as your color palette because it’s for Christmas. Repeated daisies will dictate rather low levels of variation because of the sameness of the primary motif so you’d have to work with contrast in things like value and size to take it up a notch. And Christmas colors are high contrast so it would be difficult to make the work also feel calm or serene starting from that color palette.
However, you might find it more advantageous to make choices about the degree of contrast and variation that would best suit the work and then make that happen through the characteristics you choose for your elements. In fact, knowing the degree of contrast and variation you want can help you make more confident and intentional choices for your elements, various principles, and composition. That’s how influential the concept of contrast and variation is in art.
Perhaps this talk of contrast and variety will get you jazzed to try out some variations on variety your own self. So, while the sun is shining and the muse is calling, do try to have a wonderful, safe, and creative week!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like, just …
The Source of Her Quilling
March 12, 2015
Inspirational Art
The big, information laden and in depth technique tutorial in the spring issue is on polymer quilling. Quilling with paper has gotten quite popular and has gone beyond the realm of basic decoration into some truly museum-quality wall pieces. The art intrigued Beth Petricoin, and she wrote me last year to query about whether our readers would like to see this done in polymer. She had started working on the technique in the summer of 2013 and was needing that push to perfect it. So, with an enthusiastic “Yes!” from me, she worked on it until she streamlined the process and had developed several different approaches in order to provide a great variety of possibilities. The article in the spring 2015 issue includes these with everything from choices of substrate or none at all, closed and open quill work methods, and plenty of tips and tricks to get our readers started on this fun and beautiful technique.
In this article, we were able to show both simple and very complex pieces using this technique. What we didn’t have room for was the piece that rather started this whole journey for Beth. But, you see it here now. I believe this was her first full-scale attempt with this technique back in 2013, and it’s really quite well done. I love how the sky versus the ocean, both in shades of blue, are delineated by types of forms—round and rolling, accented with bubbles in the ocean while the sky is simple waves and white clouds. Zoom in on the turtle as well to see the whorls in the shell. There’s a lot of detail in this.
You can read about this first piece along with the Native American Indian story that inspired it on Beth’s blog. Take a look through some of her other entries and catch the broad range of her work with a little perusal around her Etsy store.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
;
Outside Inspiration: Continuous Curling
February 27, 2015
Inspirational Art
This piece is going to be a bit more complex than what we have been looking at all week, but I wanted to share it because I could see it inspiring repeatable forms in polymer. This is a stitched paper necklace designed and constructed by Luis Acosta who lists his work on his site in English and Spanish but looks to hail from the Netherlands. Makes me curious to hear his story but more curious is his work.
A complex piece like this could take upwards of 60 hours to create. That is dedication. But, the end result is quite mesmerizing. The repetition of that curl layered in the same repeated stack makes for a controlled energy that comes across as beautiful, concise movement. I like that although the paper starts out layered in the same sequence, the curls end up a little mixed on the top. Kind of a controlled confetti party. How fun would this be to wear!
Luis’ work is all about repetition. Take a look at more of his rather extensive collection of forms on his website for more great inspiration.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Last weekend I talked about contrast, a concept closely related to variety, which is the subject for this week. Understanding the difference between the two can avoid a lot of confusion so I’ll be referring to contrast a bit today as well. If you didn’t see the last post, give it a quick read here.
Now, what is variation?
Variation is the range or assortment of differences throughout a design. Now, didn’t contrast also speak to differences? Yes, but those differences were between similar types of elements while variation is the degree of difference between all of the elements, principles, and placement choices in your work. It is like contrast in that variation is also used to create interest or energy or to otherwise support your intention, however, while contrast is often the key to adjusting the level of variation, you can have a fair bit of variation with little or no contrast.
To put it succinctly, contrast is the difference between two or more related elements while variety is about the relationship between all the elements in a piece. So, let’s talk about those relationships and how they are used in design.
Picturing Variation
First of all, keep in mind that you can create variation with elements or principles or pretty much any visual or conceptual part of your work.
Take the gorgeous pendant that opened this post. Liz Sabol has variation in color, line, balance, repetition, rhythm and even types of composition. In fact, even though we can identify a use of the Rule of Thirds, a Golden Spiral, and use of the Focus to the Right principle, it’s the barely-there nod to centered composition, created by an implied line from the midpoint focused, and yet asymmetrical, balance of the bail to the centered tip at the bottom of the pendant, that is holding all the chaos at bay. This piece is an absolute celebration of variation.
Alternately, if you use a lot of the same elements or employ principles in the same way throughout a piece, then there would be little variation. You can see that in this simple but still striking little pendant by an undisclosed creative on VK.com. (If you know who made this, do let me know and I’ll update the post.) Here there is regular rhythm, an absolutely centered composition, and every shape is circular. The only variation is created by contrast in the value difference between the black and white and the textural difference between the smooth outer elements and the rough interior disc.
Now, looking at the two pendants, I’m sure you can see that there is a huge difference between the energy and feel of them, largely because of the level of variation.
It’s a Matter of Degrees
So, as you see, a piece can be interesting with little to no variation or contrast. These concepts add points and degrees of interest. It’s your intention that should determine what role they will play in your work.
Just think, if you want a piece to feel solemn and quiet, avoiding high contrast and keeping your variation quite subtle may be what you need. That calm could be very awe-inspiring in its subtlety. Alternately, you can have a piece with the points of contrast and variation ranging from subtle to obvious.
You see an example of moderation in contrast and variation in Amy Genser’s Eventide pictured here. Yes, the piece feels quite busy and has a lot of energy but the contrast and variation are not that dramatic. There’s a lot of texture but it’s all rough and predominantly created from the rolled-up paper elements. The rolled paper elements are all ovoid in shape but with variation in regard to the roundness and width. They also range in size and are very in color although, like the rest of the canvas, they are predominantly blue and cyan, keeping to the cool side of the color wheel. The canvas does open up into a brief mix of reds and yellows in the middle and the color values do range from a dark blue to white. But the variation is applied in a gradual and moderated way. Most of the energy comes from the texture, the repetition, and the sense of movement.
So, we see here that the degree of variation doesn’t have to be high to create energy or interest as other elements and principles can do that quite well. However, I do think in this case that the level of variation included boosts the energy of the texture and repetition. It’s a team effort.
So, unlike some other concepts, there is no way to really list the different types or degrees of contrast and variation and what they might mean for your particular piece. As you’ve seen, this is in large part due to how much these concepts depend on, and play off of, the other choices made in the design.
This is only a quick introduction to the subjects of contrast and variation but I’ll continue talking about them in many of my future posts. If you think about it, I’ve actually been talking about these ideas throughout the year as the differences in your choices for the various elements and principles is quite wrapped up in your decisions on how you’ll employ contrast and variation.
Some of your choices for contrast and variation will be made automatically if you make characteristic choices for your elements before specifically thinking about contrast or variation, like choosing just daisies for a flower necklace or choosing green and red as your color palette because it’s for Christmas. Repeated daisies will dictate rather low levels of variation because of the sameness of the primary motif so you’d have to work with contrast in things like value and size to take it up a notch. And Christmas colors are high contrast so it would be difficult to make the work also feel calm or serene starting from that color palette.
However, you might find it more advantageous to make choices about the degree of contrast and variation that would best suit the work and then make that happen through the characteristics you choose for your elements. In fact, knowing the degree of contrast and variation you want can help you make more confident and intentional choices for your elements, various principles, and composition. That’s how influential the concept of contrast and variation is in art.
Perhaps this talk of contrast and variety will get you jazzed to try out some variations on variety your own self. So, while the sun is shining and the muse is calling, do try to have a wonderful, safe, and creative week!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like, just …
Read More
The big, information laden and in depth technique tutorial in the spring issue is on polymer quilling. Quilling with paper has gotten quite popular and has gone beyond the realm of basic decoration into some truly museum-quality wall pieces. The art intrigued Beth Petricoin, and she wrote me last year to query about whether our readers would like to see this done in polymer. She had started working on the technique in the summer of 2013 and was needing that push to perfect it. So, with an enthusiastic “Yes!” from me, she worked on it until she streamlined the process and had developed several different approaches in order to provide a great variety of possibilities. The article in the spring 2015 issue includes these with everything from choices of substrate or none at all, closed and open quill work methods, and plenty of tips and tricks to get our readers started on this fun and beautiful technique.
In this article, we were able to show both simple and very complex pieces using this technique. What we didn’t have room for was the piece that rather started this whole journey for Beth. But, you see it here now. I believe this was her first full-scale attempt with this technique back in 2013, and it’s really quite well done. I love how the sky versus the ocean, both in shades of blue, are delineated by types of forms—round and rolling, accented with bubbles in the ocean while the sky is simple waves and white clouds. Zoom in on the turtle as well to see the whorls in the shell. There’s a lot of detail in this.
You can read about this first piece along with the Native American Indian story that inspired it on Beth’s blog. Take a look through some of her other entries and catch the broad range of her work with a little perusal around her Etsy store.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
;
This piece is going to be a bit more complex than what we have been looking at all week, but I wanted to share it because I could see it inspiring repeatable forms in polymer. This is a stitched paper necklace designed and constructed by Luis Acosta who lists his work on his site in English and Spanish but looks to hail from the Netherlands. Makes me curious to hear his story but more curious is his work.
A complex piece like this could take upwards of 60 hours to create. That is dedication. But, the end result is quite mesmerizing. The repetition of that curl layered in the same repeated stack makes for a controlled energy that comes across as beautiful, concise movement. I like that although the paper starts out layered in the same sequence, the curls end up a little mixed on the top. Kind of a controlled confetti party. How fun would this be to wear!
Luis’ work is all about repetition. Take a look at more of his rather extensive collection of forms on his website for more great inspiration.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
