Today is Darwin Day
Today, remember Charles Darwin whom proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from one or a few common ancestors through the process of natural selection. Feel free to spread these Darwin day e-cards to celebrate Darwin’s discoveries.
13. February 2008 um 19:18
Your work is amazing! If you would allow me to be so bold to ask, where were you trained in graphic arts/website design? Also, did you have any mentors? I ask this out of “impure” curiosity as I have a family member actively involved in graphic arts and will soon be returning to college to complete a degree in web design and some other form of printing (using plates, typesetting, and presses instead of …??? my memory fails me now as I type this. Please forgive). I know so little about this. (Ask me a psychology question, I may be able to answer.)
I do not expect any reply if you feel these questions are out of line.
Regardless, thank you for sharing your talent with the masses. Your images are, once again, amazing, and greatly appreciated.
13. February 2008 um 20:15
Thank you Bonnie. I don’t mind confiding in you as I have no special secrets. I have no formal training and have had no mentors in graphic arts, website design, music composition, poetry, or philosophy. I am completely self-taught. I do a tremendous amount of rigorous studying on my own through books and internet resources. I have always been very meticulous in my observations and experiences in life, and I think this has contributed greatly to my creativity. While I think that college is great to learn “how to” create websites and arts, I think the biggest challenge is learning how to harness one’s own unique creative potential. While one can be inspired and influenced by many others creative works, I think the trick is in seeking out one’s own unique style. This can be done through experimentation and exploiting what one finds is their particular strengths. Mastering these strengths will give ones design a unique character that reflects the artist. While mastering ones strengths is important to finding ones style, ones weaknesses need to be practiced as well to give a healthy sense of balance to compliment ones strengths. Sometimes I start with a blank canvass and I just let my mind go where ever it likes… soon an image appears and takes shape, and this shape takes hold of me and directs me to shape it’s next element. Other times I already have a direction in mind, I start designing with my direction in mind, but as the image forms, I allow it to go in other places that I did not originally intend. This allowance to the design to take over itself creates wonderful artistic surprises.
I am always careful not to be too influenced by a particular piece that I like which is not my own. I will examine the details of what I find makes the piece special, yet I am careful not to allow it to overly condition and influence me. I think with too much influence, there is potential to be polluted, resulting in being misdirected away from one’s own strengths and style. When the time comes, I remember those little details and allow them only if they compliment the direction of my particular design, I often even improve upon them to fit the style of the design.
I hope this helps.