Illustrating the principles of design
Twelve small collages inspired by the elements and principles of design
Elements of design
Line
Shape
Color
Value
Form
Texture
Space
Principles of design
Balance
Contrast
Emphasis
Movement
Pattern
Rhythm
Unity
Twelve small collages inspired by the elements and principles of design
Elements of design
Line
Shape
Color
Value
Form
Texture
Space
Principles of design
Balance
Contrast
Emphasis
Movement
Pattern
Rhythm
Unity
I have dealt with skin problems my whole life. When I was a baby I had rashes on my face and my mom took me to the Chinese herbal doctor. She gave me a cream which resolved the rash and she told my mom, this kind of skin problem means that they will “grow up to be really smart". I’m paraphrasing here because I was just a baby and don’t actually remember, but my mom manages to tell me the story most times my skin problems come up. It’s nice to think that there’s a benefit to being in such discomfort, that my knowledge-seeking brain makes up for the way my skin reacts and is sensitive to it’s surroundings.
It is a curious little shop that transports you to another time and place with sensory magic. The smell of incense and vintage jazz playing on a record player, racks of vintage clothes and kitchen wear, displays of brass, ceramic and wood curiosities. The shop is lit throughout by sculptural lamps of paper and linen. As we chatted, Sheri showed me around the back area of the store where she reupholsters furniture on a work bench makes jewelry out of metal, feathers and bones.
Finally today was the day I set aside to process all the tomatoes. Waking up in the morning, I already knew that each task that day would feel like a struggle. A struggle to finish the chores and the tasks so that I could just lay down. Amidst the folding of laundry, washing of dishes, taking of shower—my usual day off tasks—I applied myself to the tomatoes.
At the end of April 2024 I packed up all the cute fun things I could fit into my Toyota Prius and drove with my cat Mei Mei from Chicago to Vermont. This permanent move was a really big decision for me, considering I had lived in Chicago for almost seven years.
I’ve been drawing a connection between these eczema flare ups and emotional health as well. One of the common triggers for eczema is stress. There has been a lot of change, upheaval and transition in my life and the world recently, and this may be my body’s expression of trying to hold it all. In any case, grasping for meaning is part of the human condition that is sometimes futile. Life has meaning because people are storytellers, and having a story to hold on to feels better than the endless void of empty universe.