The Important Things in Life Essay Example for Free

The Important Things in Life Essay In life there are many things that we can get caught up in, but sometimes it is important to focus on the things that are really important such as family, friends and hobbies. By changing the focus in life from the every day hectic problems to these important things it is easier to survive the daily stress. Family is one of the most important things in life, because family members are the people who spend the most time with us and who help us through the stressful times in life. They are the people who understand and support us and accept us for who we are. Friends are another important aspect of life, because friends keep us grounded and can share the secrets we do not want to share with our family. They share many of our experiences and our dreams. Friends are important, because they are the people who choose to be around us. One additional thin that helps us deal with stress is to spend time with the things we enjoy such as studying or creating art. Everyone has some kind of thing they enjoy that can take the stress of the day away if the person takes the time to enjoy them. Every person needs to set priorities in life and take the time to enjoy the things that are important. The things like work, school and life will still be there the next day, but after taking time to enjoy a little time they will be easier to face. It is important for our overall health to take time out for the things we enjoy in life. Patterns in Art Anyone who is creative is fascinated with art. Personal studies in art are a way to learn about the world in which we live. One of the first and most basic studies in art is the use of repetition to form a pattern. It is human nature to group things together that appear to belong together. It is a skill most children master by the age of three. We must be able to group objects and text together, in order to make sense of the world or at the very least learn to read. Words are simply grouping letters together in a pattern devised by someone else. We learn to group things first by sorting out the items that look alike (squares in one pile, circles in another). As we get older, the sorting mechanics become more complicated, but the premise remains the same. We still sort items by what seems to go together. Some ways to do this are by drawing lines to section off groups, using color to blend the groupings, or simply by the use of spacing to separate groups. Repetition helps create unity giving the viewer a sense of completion. Use a quilt for example, one quilt block is interesting to see, but it doesn’t look complete, until you add on the other blocks. This helps if a design appears to need something to make it look complete, an artist can try repeating it. Similarity in shapes helps to create unity by playing to the natural human instinct that like things go together. Most people have an ingrained knowledge that stripes and flowers do not go together, but if you put big dots with smaller dots, it works. In order to make the design more interesting, the shapes could be changed somewhat (rotated, flipped, colors changed). This manipulation maintains the unity, but adds character. Again, a perfect example of this is quilt designs. They show ways that repetition and manipulation of shapes helps to make an interesting pattern (Rhine, 2004). Emphasis is created for many reasons maybe the emphasis is something of importance or interest. It may be the most creative part of the design or the part the artist is the most proud of. Placing the emphasis on a background that is either significantly darker or lighter than the emphasized item would make it stand out more. Coloring it in a bright, bold color makes it draw the viewer’s attention. Resources: Rhine, Marjorie, February 2004, Quilt Design Northwest, Retrieved October 25, 2006, from http://www. quiltdesignnw. com/ Art and Design What is the Difference? The first thing they teach someone in child psychology class is that children are not born with preformed ideas or images. Until a person sees something an image cannot be formed in that person’s mind. Therefore, if something has not yet been invented, its image could not yet exist. It may be true that the idea might exist (example. before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, probably most people had the idea that a better way to communicate was needed. Until, it was actually in solid form; however the image of a telephone did not exist). People build upon current technology to generate ideas for new art or inventions. An example of this is how Henry Ford used the idea of the wheel and horse drawn vehichles to create the first car. Art is defined as â€Å"the product of human creativity† or â€Å"the creation of beautiful or significant thing† (Farlex, n. d) Design is defined as â€Å"To create a detailed plan of something. (Encarta, n. d. ). In short, art means to create and design means to create a plan. The relationship between the two are obvious Both use human creativity one requires a clear thought through plan, where as the other may or may not be planned. A person can throw a paint can at a wall and call it art, but it is not a design. Drawing an animated movie requires thought about what needs to be done to create the precise scene needed to create the illusion of movement. Both are works of art and the creative process, but only one has design. The relationship between design and art has remained constant throughout history. For many years there has been controversy between abstract artists, whose work rarely required a plan and those who have spent time painstakingly getting every detail of a face correct. Both have always called their work art and both have been correct. In graphic design, a plan is needed to either tell a story or portray a specific idea; therefore both the creativity of art and the preciseness developed through planning are necessary for success. Leonardo DaVinci was an artist who used design and spent up to a few years on one painting trying to get it right. He was born the illegitimate son of a lawyer in the town of Vinci in the Tuscan region of Italy (Beckett, 1994). He became one of the most well known artists to come out of the Renaissance period. He was known for his attention to detail, which keeps people looking at his artwork for a great deal of time and finding something new each time they look. He takes the stiffness out of paintings that were so common in his time and before, by softening lines and using shadow (Gombrich,). This art was not created without using a thought out plan, or design. Artists today are still trying to copy his paintings and his style, but none have exactly matched his detail. His art leaves one thinking about the importance of design and planning in art. References: Beckett, Wendy. Excerpt from â€Å"Sister Wendy’s Story of painting†, (1994). Retrieved October 2, 2006, from http://www. artchive. com/artchive/L/leonardo/monalisa. jpg. html Encarta msn dictionary. (n. d. ) Retrieved October 2, 2006, from, http://encarta. msn. com/dictionary_1861604032/design. html Farlex. The FreeDictionary, (n. d. ) Retrieved October, 4, 2006, from, http://www. thefreedictionary. com/art Gombrich, E. H. Excerpt from â€Å"The Story of Art†, (16th ed. 1995) Retrieved October 2, 2006, from http://www. artchive. com/artchive/L/leonardo/monalisa_text. jpg. html