Nature's Design

March 22, 2021 by natalini in design, nature

“Everything is Design.” - Paul Rand

Paul Rand, legendary graphic designer (1914-1996) is famous for creating the logos for IMB, UPS, ABC among many other recognizable logos and layouts over his sixty year career. Rand understood and taught his students the value of looking at the world with a fresh eye, because “everything is design.”

Design is everywhere. Everything we interact with in daily life has been designed by a human or developed naturally way before we came along. Have you ever stared at a butterfly’s wings in awe and wondered how and what created their unique pattern? How about the color gradient of flower petals or how amazing it is that food and medicine grow from the earth? What about the evolution of human shelter and the materials that have been used before engineers, architects and builders streamlined the process? Next time you see a bird’s nest or a beehive, take a minute to observe the structures, patterns and materials that birds and bees use to create their homes. Their instinctive physics and math skills are impressive.

As you’re moving about your life, try to notice the design of each thing you see, touch, use and desire to acknowledge the impact of design.

I took the above picture of a beautiful encased butterfly that I purchased at a festival in San Diego.

Weekend Design & Wellness Project

March 19, 2021 by natalini in design, wellness

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, TUNE IN & ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU NEED AND WANT?

This is a great opportunity to write a letter to yourself. It can be addressed to the child you once were, to the older person you hope to become or to your current self. Include advice, praise or explain a situation or circumstance in terms that you at any age will understand. The purpose of this exercise is to connect to the you that doesn’t have the world depending upon you or the titles you carry in your social and family life. This is about your relationship with yourself, the most important relationship you will ever have. The creative part of this exercise is that you are to tune into your inner knowing (that little voice or feeling in your tummy that says “yes” or “no.”) Ask yourself what would bring you the most joy this weekend. It doesn’t have to cost anything or take up too much time, but if those things are available to you, then go for it. This is all about you feeding your soul with what lights you up so you can be an even better whatever you are to others. Love all up on yourself and know that you are beautiful/handsome, talented, strong, intelligent, lovable, creative and worth the time it takes to work on loving yourself. Did I say love yourself enough? Okay, so do it. You will feel amazing when you wake up Monday morning.

Self Portrait

March 17, 2021 by natalini in design, art

3 STEPS TO DRAW A SELF PORTRAIT & A DEEP DARK SECRET

Decided if you’d like to use a photo of yourself as a reference or use a mirror. If you choose to use a mirror, you will need to sit very still just moving your eyes to capture your features and angles properly. It’s helpful to stare at your face in the mirror before you get started to get familiar with small details that you may have always overlooked. Step one is the most important step and it is also the deep dark secret. Shhh

STEP 1: The secret in truly capturing a person is finding their “high” eye. The eye line is what makes each person unique so if you use a flat straight line to set the eye upon, the face will not look like yourself or the person you’re drawing. To find the “high” eye, look in the mirror and see if you can find which of your eyes sits higher than the other. Everyone has one eye slightly higher than the other. Once you find this on yourself and on anyone else, you already have the essence of their unique face started. This angle is used in creating the horizontal line for the eyes. Get that angle just right and you’ll save yourself a bunch of frustration and erasing when you’re further along in the portrait.

STEP 2: Create the oval, the center line and the horizontal eye line that is unique to your face. Then, draw the triangle measurement from the center of the eyes to the base of the lips which should be the same length on all three sides. In the third image below, you’ll see a bunch of eyes all over the face. Another trick is that the measurements of the face are in “eye” width. For example, there are five eye widths from temple to temple. The nose is one eye wide and there is one eye’s width from eye to the edge of the nose and one eye’s width from the corner of the mouth to the jaw. Of course there will be some variations with each face so use this as a guide to see how this works for your face.

STEP 3: Study the basic lines and shapes of your features for now. Leave the shading and ultra fine details for another time. At first, these sketches may resemble some of Picasso’s or Matisse’s work (enlarged, flat and asymmetrical shapes). Practice the basic shapes of the eyes, nose, lips and maybe ears outside of the oval. This will help you feel more relaxed and fluid with your sketching experimentation. Some of my favorite sketches happened when I was practicing before the “real” drawing or painting was underway. Once you feel as though you have the shapes of your face captured, use those sketches as a reference and add them to your oval face shape. Be sure to use light strokes if you use the guides so they can be easily erased.

NOTE: As with all creative exercises, have fun and go easy on yourself. It takes a lot of consistent practice to make something look effortless. If you find this portrait activity enjoyable and want to take your drawing to the next level, check out some videos from talented artists on Skill Share or YouTube.

Enjoy my sloppy and creepy sketches to get started.

POMPEII

March 15, 2021 by natalini in design, architecture, ancient art

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and left Pompeii buried under 13 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice that would lead to the preservation of the foundation of the region, artifacts, mosaics, frescoes, pottery along with human and animal remains. Archaeologist are still uncovering treasures and remains of the once thriving region with a population of about 12,000. Just about 1,200 (and counting) human remains have been discovered. The most recent findings were of a ceremonial chariot made from bronze and tin, in March 2021.

I had the honor of visiting Pompeii in 2018 where I stood in complete awe over the lasting structures, fountains, pigments in the wall art and mosaic floor tiles. While walking the streets—where water once carried sewage—imagined what life was like back then just as everyone else does when touring Pompeii. As I imagined the furniture that filled the rooms and the accessories that adorned the tabletops of Pompeii, I had a profound analogy to humans having an inner “Pompeii,” making new discoveries every day, year or decade of life. It’s kind of cool to think of self discovery as a never-ending excavation and we get to be the archaeologists of our own lives.

Please enjoy these pictures of Pompeii that I took on my most memorable trip.

Weekend Design & Wellness Project

March 12, 2021 by natalini in design, wellness, art

Create Abstract Art!

That’s it. Go make a mess with some paint on any surface you can find. Yes, you can use the 75 paint sample jars you accumulate trying to find the perfect color for your home office. Have fun and don’t forget that blindfolding yourself makes this activity free from self judgment. Want to make this even more fun? Rope your family, partner or a friend in to join the creative fun. I promise you will start to belly laugh at some point. If not, well, this was a free activity so this is a no money back situation. Enjoy.