Maze vs. Labyrinth

[Images: From "Labyrinths, Mazes and the Spaces Inbetween" by Sam McElhinney].

I love mazes and labyrinths!

Here is a link to a post about a study by architecture student and researcher Sam McElhinney on mazes and labyrinths and how they may impact architectural and urban design.

Fascinating, a little dense but the gist of the proposition is that mazes have branches and dead-ends designed for confusion. The labyrinth has paths that twist and turn, but still stay consistent --- therefore yielding a more pleasant experience.

The site has many beautiful images of both.......enjoy:

http://www.bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/switching-labyrinth.html

3 Voices: Art Quilts

by Katherine K. Allen, Valerie S.Goodwin and Kent Williams
May 7th- July 25th
Visions Art Quilt Gallery
2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92106
619-546-4872
www.quiltvisions.org























Tale of Two Campuses by Valerie S. Goodwin











Tangle by Katherine K. Allen



















Hip to be Square by Kent Williams
Three master artists, three distinct voices, three unique concepts. Katherine K. Allen incorporates the flowers and foliage from her Florida garden in quilts that reflect her love of nature. Architect Valerie S. Goodwin combines city grids, maps, and structures in quilted maps evoking a place - imaginary or real. Kent Williams uses geometric patterns inspired by Op Art and Japanese woodcuts in vibrant, large format quilts.

Join us for the opening reception on May 7th from 5-8 p.m. at the Visions Art Quilt Gallery. It is also Friday Night Liberty at the NTC Promenade in Liberty Station when all the galleries and artist studios open their doors free to the public.

The Jacksonville Workshop

GOOD TIMES!





















The ladies and I had a good 2 day workshop on the 7 Principles of Design. The members of the Fiber Artists Network (FAN) in Jacksonville invited me to join them for the week-end.



One of the participants, Jayne Gaskins was kind enough to write the following:

I just returned from an outstanding workshop on the elements and principles of design by Valerie Goodwin and anybody who thinks these are dry boring concepts hasn't had Valerie's class. She gave them life I haven't seen since my freshman year of college (I DID have some good teachers!). She taught the concepts and then did everything Sara said above to create an atmosphere where it was safe to relax and explore a myriad of ways to employ them. Some things worked; some didn't. But it was all OK and we learned as much from what did work as what didn't. Teachers like Valarie and my freshman professor are woefully under-appreciated by our society. When they open the door to artistic creativity they also open the door to free thinking that extends to all aspects of life. What a wonderful gift!

Jayne Bentley Gaskins

http://jaynegaskins.com

Here are some examples of the mixed media (fabric, paint thread) compositions done during the workshop: