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Design Articles
Where the Earth Meets the Sky Meets the Sky
A while ago now, driving through the outskirts of Las Vegas NM, I came across this artifact in a large, empty field...
Your Town, USA
Driving across America, it actually isn't unusual to end up passing through several towns with the same name. (For example, there are at least 25 Springfields alone, one reason Matt Groening chose it as the hometown of the Simpsons.)
The Sharpest Tools in the Shed
Driving through the middle of Ohio, somewhere in the small town of Logan you see a small shed with brightly colored pencils painted on the outside. You might think "oh, what a nice space for art classes!" or "my, what a quaint art supply store!" Both excellent guesses. But if you instead said, "I bet that's a pencil sharpener museum!" then you were spot on.
Valentines of Yesteryear
With Valentine's Day now behind us, the big box stores have already cleared out their seasonal shelves for the next holiday. At the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, however, I found myself surrounded by several hundred years of old valentine cards and mementos adorning the walls, halls, and chairs.
A Small, Polychrome Palace
Just down the street, I stumbled on this unique piece of ...art? Graffiti? Visual goodness.
Polychrome Paths
While New Year's is now behind us, I was reminded of the holidays while looking at this vintage game board sitting on my shelf. Games have always been a staple of my family's gatherings, when we let go of our differences each year to compete over a rainbow-colored board with a common set of rules.
Bradley’s Tinted Drawing Papers
Sifting through ephemera in a used bookstore, I stumbled on a beautiful "tinted drawing papers" sample pack for the years 1924 and 1925. Manufactured by the Milton Bradley Company, this pack (with its now somewhat faded papers) is a beautiful construction.
Ceiling by Design
Tucked away in a rural corner of America just at the edge of the woods sits a small, unassuming red house. It is a house like any other, decorated tastefully and well kept--with one very unusual feature. The ceiling, from wall to wall throughout, is plastered with stunning World War 2 era posters.
The Beauty of Boxes
Earlier this week, as I struggled to open a package from the mail, I sighed and wished that boxes were better designed. But with it being almost Thanksgiving here in America, I knew the stores would already be full of Christmas wares. And, accordingly, some very interesting boxes!
Malevich Moves!
Untitled by Liubov Popova (1917) / Suprematist Composition (blue rectangle over the red beam) by Kazimir Malevich (1916) / Proun GK by El Lissitzky (c. 1922) Please scroll down after reading this article to view the videos mentioned therein. Part of my joy [...]
The Beauty of a Cribbage Board
Holed up at the Wurlitzer Foundation in the early months of the pandemic, another artist taught me the game of cribbage. Cribbage was invented by the poet John Suckling in the early 17th century, and was featured in The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. Today, it continues to be a favorite pastime for sailors, especially on American submarines.
How to Draw America
Drawing by Joseph Kosuth Although I am not a teacher by trade, I have been fortunate enough to adjunct or lead a special projects class here and there. My favorite part of teaching has always been lesson planning. (This is one of many wonderful [...]
The Fire Hydrants of Taos, NM
What is the appeal of typologies? (Here, fire hydrants of Taos, New Mexico.) Is it bringing things across geography and squishing them together visually? Is it the delight of seeking and finding? Or maybe it is the joy at human inventiveness within specific limitations?
A Paint By (Only) Numbers
Erasure art is a special pleasure. Different from collage, which often assembles things from various sources, the act of making art through erasing depends on the form of the original to (some extent) staying intact. This week, we wondered what would happen if we erased the lines of a paint by number.
The Power of the Empty Page
For a very long time, I was obsessed with beautiful little notebooks and sketchbooks—Moleskins, Field Guides, Composition Books, you name it. The potential of an empty book is enormously satisfying. It sits waiting to be filled with art, ideas, to-do lists, poetry, particular projects, or anything else you can come up with.