{"id":17820,"date":"2021-03-14T01:55:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T09:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepolymerarts.com\/blog\/?p=17820"},"modified":"2021-03-13T23:38:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T07:38:50","slug":"contrast-of-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepolymerarts.com\/blog\/contrast-of-self\/","title":{"rendered":"Contrast of Self"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Would you call yourself a selfish person? I doubt very many of us would think that way about ourselves. Yet, as artists, we often find ourselves \u201cstealing\u201d time away from others or other things to do what we love, reveling in it when we have it. Is that selfish? I mean, it is more about us than anyone else, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Yes, it is about us, and that is as it should be. In the requested comments for last week\u2019s giveaway (scroll down to see the winner and this week\u2019s giveaway), participants mentioned some version of the \u201cme time\u201d aspect of getting to sit down and create more than anything else. I mean, I know we create because it is something we enjoy, regardless of what anyone else thinks, but I just love that so many people acknowledged and celebrated it. We should!<\/p>\n

I strongly believe that everyone should have something of their own, something they can turn to in order to express themselves or at least put something out into the world that would not have existed without their desire to create it. The art we create gives us purpose, exercises a uniquely human part of our brains, and helps us to love ourselves. Not to mention that we deserve the joy we get from it!<\/p>\n

But, by definition, that is selfish\u2014doing something because it\u2019s what we want. I wish our society would get over the idea that doing something for ourselves is bad. I think not doing things for yourself is self-negligence. Why is that not a commonly understood thing?<\/p>\n

This also highlights the bigger, contradictory world that we inhabit. We live in such strange societies where selflessness and humility are expected or requested, and yet we are also pushed to strive for excellence in what we do. How do we reach excellence without focusing on ourselves? And then there is this silliness where we are not supposed to acknowledge when the work we do is good or that we\u2019re proud of it. If we do, others may think we\u2019re being arrogant or grandiose.<\/p>\n

So, do we strive to be great and then pretend that we\u2019re mediocre? We talk about contrast being good in art, but this is so not the right kind of contrast!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve long found the dichotomy of these contradictory but societally prescribed behaviors beyond aggravating as well as having the potential to be debilitating. I think that is why it made me so happy to see so many people acknowledging their creative hours as me-time, self-care, and a time of wonderfully selfish joy. Keep it up, I say!<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about the good kind of contrast in art.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Design Refresh<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a>Let\u2019s look at the beautiful brooch by Lyne Tilt<\/a> that opened this post. What do you notice first about this? There\u2019s a lot going on in this little space, isn\u2019t there? What are the three things that jump out at you as far as design elements?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to say color, shape, and texture. Did you come up with the same three? There is also a lot going on with marks and size. So, any combination of those would be spot on.<\/p>\n

How about design principles? What do you think is the number one principal used in this design? Sure, we could refer to scale and proportion considering all the different sizes of the layers, or we could talk about focal point or even just key in on the centered composition. But the one thing this has in spades is contrast.<\/p>\n

Obviously, there is color contrast in all the major color characteristics\u2014she has a vibrant trio of warm colors contrasting the cool of the blue and cyan; color values range from the dark blue and deep red to the moderate orange to the light yellow and pale polished silver; and, if you check your CMY color wheels, you\u2019ll see that the color of the bottom layer is a blue-cyan whose complementary AND split complementaries are the yellow, orange, and red that you see in the upper layers.<\/p>\n

But doesn\u2019t a color palette have to have at least one common characteristic between all the colors? Well, ideally, yes, and this does. Here it\u2019s saturation. These are not muted colors. The orange may be slightly tinted (has some white in it) but not enough to feel it\u2019s gone off base from the saturated characteristic that ties them all together.<\/p>\n

Now, look at the contrast in the textures. The top and bottom layers might have the same texture, but the rest are vastly different. There are even different materials\u2014metal and clay. But they work together pretty well, don\u2019t they? Why?<\/p>\n

The textures work together in part because they are all drastically different\u2014the wide variety is part of the charm of this piece. But, like color, they need something to tie them together.<\/p>\n

Did you notice that the textures are applied to the entire layer from one edge to another? Thier differences are connected because the application on each layer is the same. That does seem to be enough to allow them to exist in the same piece and not have it feel completely chaotic.<\/p>\n

The shapes, on the other hand, are not completely different but they are not the same either, right? They are all some version of a hand cut circle, but some of them are definitely more oval. I think pulling back on the amount of contrast between the shapes also helps to rein in the potential chaos all this dramatic contrast and color and texture could fall into. The centered composition also adds a bit of calm to the piece.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take this week to consider the design principle of contrast. Would your pieces benefit from more contrast, or do you need to rein some of that in? Remember, it all depends on your intention. There are no wrong levels of contrast, at least not in art.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last Week\u2019s Giveaway<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Drum roll please\u2026<\/p>\n

This last week\u2019s randomly chosen winner is Eloise B! I\u2019ve spoken to her and her clay is already on the way. Congrats Eloise!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Week\u2019s Giveaway<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week\u2019s giveaway through comments on the post. As mentioned above, it really made me happy to see all the fantastic, positive and self-caring observations. I also hope it gave you a moment to focus on and appreciate what you love so much about creating.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s do this again.<\/p>\n

The Goodies<\/strong>:\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n