Art in Asymmetry

by Staci Louise Smith

Why asymmetry in design?  Well, when you switch up the color, the texture, the direction and flow of a piece, it creates interest.  It keeps the viewer looking at it, and back over it, following little details, back and forth and through it.  It makes it stand out from other designs, it makes it unique, original.  It gives it a natural organic feel, since nature is not symmetrical.  

Art is not symmetrical.  Whether you are viewing a painting, or a sculpture, the subject keeps your eye moving around, up and down, and through the entire piece.  This is intentional, it is the composition of the piece.

Sculptures are made to be viewed from all angles, keeping interest the entire way around the piece, as Steve Frank certainly does with his piece below.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/151412336/modern-abstract-wood-sculpture?ref=shop_home_active_4

There are ways to get the eye to do that.  Repeating things is one way.  You can repeat shapes, colors, or textures throughout a piece.  This will keep the eye traveling around the piece, as well as create a visual balance in an asymmetrical design.  Also, adding some contrast in your piece will continue to create interest and make the pieces that are repeated pop.

I love this lino cut by Jess Freeman.  It uses vertical free form trees repeated to move your eye across the picture- and contrast is added by horizontal lines in varying thickness'.  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/88851195/abstract-landscape-linocut-print-9?ref=related-2

I also picked this lovely painting by Amanda of Earth Angels Art.  Look at how she uses the moths, and dots throughout the picture to keep your eye moving around.  They are lighter color, to contrast the dark sky, and repeated, to keep your eye looking for them.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/99101108/the-owl-and-moon-art-print-by-amanda?ref=shop_home_active_5

I think that often we do these things while designing without even knowing it.  However, it helps to know and understand these things, because sometimes we are stuck, sometimes we just can't figure out why something doesn't look right, and then we have these rules and guidelines and tips to fall back on.

Lorelei did a great job using repetitive shapes in this piece.  The similarity in shape keeps your eye moving right through the necklace, and the variety of textures and color hold your interest.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoreleiEurtoJewelry

It's also a good example of visual balance, as it has the appearance of being symmetrical, even though it isn't.

Visual balance can be created in many ways.  This piece / style below is one of my favorite pieces.  It is in no way symmetrical, yet, it is balanced using muted colors, and basic shape and size.  It comes to a focal point at the bottom center, and graduates by size on each side.  Swirls and repeated shapes and colors pull the eye through the piece.

I think that for those of you who gravitate to symmetry in your designs, this is a great way to start trying out asymmetry.  Try to create that visual balance while at the same time, adding interest by using different components, with varying texture, shape and color.

I also like this piece by Glowfly, which is just a very intricate pendant.  It looks very symmetrical at first glance.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/175524562/vday-sale-in-the-field-necklace-poppy?ref=shop_home_active_7

However, it is not symmetrical.  They have used the flowers and leaves and lines of the stems to create repetition in the piece, though it is definitely not symmetrical.  It creates a wonderful feel of symmetry while adding the interest of an asymmetrical piece.


Now- you can also do a great asymmetrical piece that is not visually balanced.  However, there still needs to be some sort of cohesive nature to  make the piece work.  I often like to make pieces that are bold, and unbalanced.  With only a couple components- you don't have much to work with to create flow.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

This large chunky one works, and its one of my favorite pieces.  With only two large focal components, there is still enough flow so that it doesn't look awkward.

www.stacilouiseoriginals.com 

I really encourage you guys to try out some asymmetrical designs.  It is very freeing, once you start to see that they can be balanced, without ever having two of the same bead in the entire piece!

Monday we will be talking about physical balance in a piece to bring your designs home.

Remember to share you progress in our Flickr group!  We'd love to see what you are up to!



Boot Camp: Hoops and Negative Space

by Staci L. Smith

I was going to do a little tutorial on soldering hoops, but MaryAnne posted this great video that did all the work for me!  Thanks MaryAnne!

 

So it allows me to talk today about why I love using hoops / loops in my designs and some ideas of how to use them. 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always been drawn to hoops, whether in the form of wire or a donut bead.  They offer endless possibilities in design.  They can be a focal piece or an accent.  The can be connectors, or made into chain.  The form of the hoop, can give you an array designs and styles to chose from.

 

I personally like the negative space it creates.

Negative space is a space that is not occupied, or taken up by a focal piece.  It is used in great paintings, to push your eye to the main focal point of the picture, or to keep your eye moving around the piece. 

 

I find that water color artists often are the masters of negative space in paintings.  Below is a good example.  See how the negative space between the trees allows you to focus on the trees themselves? 

 

 

Painting by Pat Howard of the Painted Prism

http://thepaintedprism.blogspot.com/2012/05/watercolor-workshop-negative-painting.html

 

In jewelry, not only does a hoop provide negative space, but it can also lighten up a large piece of jewelry by occupying more area, using less material.  Using heavy stones, ceramic and glass can weigh a piece of jewelry down.  Especially if you like your jewelry large like I do.  Hoops allow me to make the pieces more wearable.

 

Creating a large focal using hoops, like this piece, allows you have a large piece that is very light, both in actuality and to the visually.

 

 

 

Adding negative space can also break up a flow of solid chunkiness, to give the eye a break from the heaviness, and since its a hoop, it carries the eye through the piece, without creating a break that is unappealing.

 

 

 

In fact, I am so drawn to negative space, I even started adding it to my beads, as in these skeleton hearts I created in polymer clay.

 

 

 

I have used hoops this year, to allow me to make some simpler pieces, that can still be funky.  In this piece, I used a simple loop to hang a bead I loved from.  That way, the focus is the paisley bead (by Diana of Suburban Girl Studio).  A very simple design, that is light and chunky at the same time.

 

 



Here I soldered some loops together and gave them a verdigris patina, and they have become the focal point.  I made it asymmetrical, so it could still be funky, yet it is light and simple at the same time.

 

 

Hoops don't have to be empty though, and I have also used them to frame beads that I want to accent, like in this piece with a fancy Joan Miller Bead

 

 

I hope you enjoyed a little trip through my mind, and how and why I love the shape of the hoop.  I also hope its inspired you to use them in jewelry creations.  Hoops span all styles of jewelry.  It is the most basic form.  It can be simple or complex.

 

Please share you hoop /loop creations in our Flickr group this month for the current Boot Camp.  I also hope you will join us on

 

October  14th for the blog hop, and show off what you have been making with hoops!