Eight Fold Show

My eight fold series (a series of geometric/Islamic designs all stemming from one base pattern) will be on view at the Sprague Library May through July 2014! I'm very excited.
Here's the artist statement for the series:
I love drawing with a compass and straight edge. I was introduced to the art of compass and straight edge construction in college; it was amazing to discover all the different shapes, patterns and designs that I could create with two simple tools. My delight and discovery continued and I eventually found the beautiful world of Islamic geometric designs and a whole new type of designs and patterns that could be created with my compass. I have been studying and drawing these beautiful and complex designs ever since. Recently I was introduced to a pattern base used in many Islamic designs from which unlimited patterns could be produced; I’ve undertaken to create as many different designs and patterns as possible from this base. I’ve thought I’d run out of possibilities a time or two before but it’s been interesting to see how new ideas have come to me while I’ve painted other pieces.

The only problem now will be deciding which pieces to put in the show, there can only be 15 pieces and there's almost double that right now. 

Exciting Developments

There are some exciting things happening for me and my art, I can't wait to share more about them. Also on a not so exciting note, I have no idea when I'll actually get around to making that website.

Framing

Last night, later than I was planning, I framed two pieces that I'm entering in a juried show. Some day I hope that I can out source framing because I hate it, if nothing else I hope to have a mat cutter. I dislike framing because it's stressful for me, everything has to be perfect, as good as possible and if there's a mistake, you can't really go back from that, once you cut a mat it's cut, if you mess up then you have to go through the whole process again.
I did have a break through though, I used my compass to make the cut out and to make it square.
Still haven't gotten to the website yet. Someday.

So I'm working on getting an actual grown up website and a new blog to go along with that, but I'm not there yet.
Also a drawing tip, da Vinci recommended studying and trying to recreate the work of the masters. Lately I've been attempting to recreate some of da Vinci's drawn studies. The things I've drawn leave a lot to be desired from the originals but I have found a real appreciation for his use of line and shading, he used so little to create such beauty. I'm working to follow suit.
Update: here's my website  http://jmfineart.weebly.com/

Apology. Posting has not happened of late. There's been a snag in things and I'm considering moving to a new blogging format. But I haven't been very focused in my consideration. Hopefully I'll get things figured out soon, in the mean time, sorry!

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

As promised, here's the list of books that make up my library on sacred geometry.

*Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code by Stephen Skinner
*The Golden Section: Nature's Greatest Secret by Scott Olsen
*Sacred Geometry by Miranda Lundy
*Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice by Robert Lawlor
* Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music and Cosmology
*Islamic Design: A Genius for Geometry by Daud Sutton
* Ruler and Compass: Practical Geometric Constructions by Andrew Sutton
*The Power of Limits by Gyorgy Doczi
*The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry by Jay Hambridge
*Geometry of Design by Kimberly Elam (this isn't the version I have, I have the older version I guess.)

Those are my geometry books, I really enjoy the ones from the Little Wooden Books series, there are a lot more books in the series that I want to get. I like that they're divided into sort of small bites and have lots of good and helpful illustrations. They're probably one of the best places to start your geometry research.
Sacred Geometry:Deciphering the code is also a pretty good one to start with, it does seem to focus a lot more on number than I really care for, but it does make a pretty good introduction to the subject. I do feel that Mr Skinner, or his writing style, have a tendency towards pretentiousness but, over all it's pretty good. Geometry of Design was an interesting one to look through, though as I mentioned above, I believe I have the older version and I don't know how the two versions differ. It's been a while since I read either Sacred Geometry (Lawlor) or The Power of Limits, I got lost a bit and overwhelmed when reading both of them, I don't know if that was me and where I was at or them. I haven't made it all the way through The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry, Hambridge seems to be more about the numbers and that's daunting for me.

What I'm about

I recently finally bought two books on sacred geometry that I've wanted for years, I just started reading one of them (I started reading it years ago, then it went back to the library...) and found this quote that I really liked.

"At a more exalted level, geometry distinguishes between the domain of the sacred and the profane."

-Stephen Skinner, Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code

Be on the look out for a post on my library of sacred geometry books. Also maybe just a run down of my art books in general.

PS I don't know about anyone else, but once people start talking about numbers in regards to sacred geometry, I find myself quickly getting lost or wanting to skip. Sometimes I can figure out what it's all saying and feel proud of myself but that's not all that often. Anyway, back to reading.