design

Art & design, musing no. 1

Art & design, musing no. 1 

I've been thinking a lot about my efforts to balance emerging art/collage interests with my long-established design practice. There have been times when I felt I could walk away from design and focus completely on collage. Then I have moments, like today, when I'm mulling over how to visually re-position a business and can't imagine not having that interaction and challenge in my life. 

I'll always think like a designer. It informs everything I do. It certainly contributes significantly to who I am as an artist. 

Balance could be wildly over-rated. Heading full-tilt in the direction of what I'm most interested in at the moment may be the best approach. One creative endeavor feeds the other. At this time of hybridization and collaboration, perhaps a renaissance approach suits me best. 

And then there's the overlap. Many of my design clients also collect my artwork, while many of my artist friends ask for design advice. My card says artist/designer. Maybe it should say artist+designer... It's all connected. 

(Photo is a pattern of light through moving tree branches, cast across a wall, just another random but visually intriguing moment in my day!)

Collage, applied: Custom Keds® (or my pedestrian gallery)

Janice_McDonald.directions
While I love to work with original collage, I'm also interested in its application for reproduction and potential use in illustration and public art. So, when I heard that Keds shoes could be custom-designed, I was excited about using my imagery to create a pair. (What a fun blank canvas and certainly a good conversation starter!) The shoes arrived today and I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. 

Above is the original collage, "Directions," measuring 36 x 24" that was used to create the design. Below are the resulting Keds, size 8.5. This design is available through Zazzle for order, should you want an identical pair. If you are inspired to design your own pair, please send me a link/photo so I can see your creation. Meanwhile, I'm considering my next collage-inspired design(s)!

Directions.keds