How Having a Fine Arts Background Can Shape a Paper Florist
Example of lines, an element of design, being drawn by the stems of these paper muscari and tulips, so that your eyes are drawn from the right to the left. Also an example of a balanced composition where positive and negative spaces balance each other out so neither overpowers the other. The Rule of Third also applies as the closest muscari sits in the intersection of the lower third line and left third line.
This week, Quynh and I had a conversation with a fellow paper flower artist, Inga Peterson. We invited her to be on our Paper Talk podcast because she’s a friend and she was one of the attendees of our Seattle Masterclass back in April 2019 (Inga’s podcast will drop in January 2021). I was particularly interested in knowing from her whether or not her fine arts degree background helped or hindered her paper flower art. Recently, I have been binging Susan Nethercote’s Studio Insider podcast and one of the episodes (Episode 51) talked about the pros/cons of having a fine arts degree as a professional artist.
Contrast is key here to drawing your eye to the focal points, the lighter parts of this bouquet. The darker bits look like they’re receding and the lighter bits jump out at you.
So, of course, as someone who didn’t finish fine arts school, this topic interested me immensely. Many of us who make paper flowers do not have a fine arts background, and most of us picked it up as a hobby and crafter before seriously turning it into a business.
Even though I am only partially trained as a graphic designer, I think the training nurtured and/or reinforced my understanding of design/fine art elements/principles. To that extent, I found art school helpful. I always talk about how my life went around in a circle - I started by pursuing art, then went to be an academic and lawyer, and eventually returned to art.
I initially pursued graphic design because I was interested in layout design. Editing newspapers and magazines seemed like a really cool job. I loved making things look good on a page. I had been in the yearbook committee in high school helping with laying out the pages (it was done all by hand those days). But I finished only 1 year of a four-year undergraduate program before I knew that graphic design just wasn’t for me. Although I made some good friends, I felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like I was limiting myself, both creatively and academically. The deal was sealed when I took Anthropology 101 as summer course. Everything I learned in that course blew my mind!! It firmly reminded me that I had a lot to learn about the world. When school resumed in September, I changed the majority of my courses to the humanities. I eventually graduated with an Honours Bachelor in Arts (Psychology) and then a LL.B. However, I didn’t forget my first love. In law school, I joined the Osgoode Hall Student newspaper as a layout editor; then later, I became one of the editor-in-chiefs. It was the highlight during my three years as a law student. Law school was intense and at the school newspaper, I found like-minded people who found interest at the same things that I did (and laughed at the same jokes as I did).
Little did I expect that my life long attraction to the principles of design would be put to use to create magical paper flower compositions. Layout design involves arranging parts of something in a way that achieves the purpose of why you’re laying it out, for example, you want a headline to stand out, or you want to be able to read a tagline properly, or you want the eye to go from one spot to another to another, or you want it to look clean and not busy etc.
So how does this apply to paper flowers? Well, when I place paper flowers in a vase or on a flat surface, I’m thinking about how to arrange the paper flowers or lay out the elements so that the overall composition has something to say. For example, how to make sure this one flower is the centre of attention, how to draw the eye towards it, how to create visual interest around it, how to create a certain mood etc.
A really easy way of familiarizing yourself with design principles is by analyzing images and noting which principles are present in the image (or not). It will give you an idea of which elements you like to focus on and which ones don’t speak to you as much. For example, I know I’m keen on creating lines to draw your eye in different directions and using it to create movement in my bouquets. I am not so keen on symmetry and I prefer balanced asymmetry.
I think it’s important to discover what design elements you’re drawn to and which you aren’t. It makes it easier for you to maintain consistency in your artwork and frankly, it’s just easier to master a few things than a lot of them! Most importantly, it’s a reflection of your voice and artistic style. After awhile, you’ll find you start using the same “tricks” with your paper flower to create an element like movement or depth.
If you’re interested in hearing more on these topics, drop me a comment! Let me know what you think. If the topic of how art school may influence your art resonates with you, look out for Inga’s podcast dropping in the new year.