Monthly Archives: August 2012

Crossing the Line

Posted on August 28, 2012 by walkerg

Have you ever winced when someone admired your work and declared you an artist? I take it as a sincere compliment, but I think of my work as craft. If done well it extends our craft tradition, a reward in … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions, The Classic Orders | 7 Comments

Designer’s Alphabet D is for ……

Posted on August 21, 2012 by walkerg

is for dividers, aptly called the tool of the imagination. At it’s simplest it’s a pair of sticks joined at a fulcrum, but this simple tool is one of the most profound of human inventions. Dividers give us the ability … Continue reading →

Posted in Designer's Alphabet, tools | Comments Off on Designer’s Alphabet D is for ……

Design Critique Revisit

Posted on August 16, 2012 by walkerg

Back in May, Robert Horton asked for help designing an alter table for a church sanctuary. Link to original design critique. It was a unique situation, trying to satisfy the needs of a committee, and in this case explore the … Continue reading →

Posted in design critique | 6 Comments

There is No Accounting for Taste

Posted on August 14, 2012 by walkerg

Pre-industrial design literature speaks of the importance of “taste” as a virtue to be cultivated. Today we speak of taste much less frequently, especially when it concerns aesthetics. Perhaps we associate it with the elite class, snobbery, or someone attempting to force … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Designers Alphabet – C is for …..

Posted on August 7, 2012 by walkerg

is for cyma (Si’ma), a wave or “S” shaped moulding profile. The profile is called a cyma recta when the ends of the profile extend in a horizontal plane and a cyma reversa (or lesbian cymatium) when the profile extends … Continue reading →

Posted in Designer's Alphabet | 6 Comments

Inch or Metric?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by walkerg

Machinists are spinning in their graves at what I’m about to share and I can’t quite believe it myself. It’s hard to explain the attachment one gets to a measuring system when you’ve made a living dodging hot steel chips … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, Design Book, proportions, tools | 7 Comments