Category Archives: Design Basics

Awesome carved bowls

Posted on January 13, 2015 by walkerg

Last year I had the pleasure of spending time with Dave Fisher in his workshop. It’s a feeble attempt to try to explain his work with this photo. You only get  this one static look that doesn’t capture the sparkle … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, design workshops | 4 Comments

Design workbook coming in 2015!

Posted on December 30, 2014 by walkerg

  Jim Tolpin and I are in high cotton. Even before By Hand & Eye was finished we sensed there was still a critical missing piece. That missing piece was a bridge that linked the head knowledge of design with … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, Design Book, proportions, Resources | 10 Comments

Design Workshops Far and Near

Posted on October 28, 2014 by walkerg

Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know. Daniel J. Boorst   Game changer! That’s the comment I hear most often during a “By Hand & Eye” workshop. Lights click on, gears start to mesh, and frustration … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, design workshops | Comments Off on Design Workshops Far and Near

Visit the Design Graveyard…

Posted on October 22, 2014 by walkerg

With Halloween just around the bend I’m reminded of one of my favorite haunts (no pun intended) for thinking about design – old graveyards. The monuments in all shapes and sizes are like a lexicon of design, sort of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design Basics | 5 Comments

Training your eye for Design

Posted on October 15, 2014 by walkerg

“We need to be willing to let our intuition guide us, and then be willing to follow that guidance directly and fearlessly.  Shakti Gawain If you are new to design, telling you to trust your eye sounds like some joke … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design Basics | 10 Comments

What do you do with design failures?

Posted on August 27, 2014 by walkerg

I’m a firm believer in re-visiting work after some time has passed. Be it writing or woodworking, a few years allows for a more disinterested judgment. If it holds up, you may be onto something. If not, there may be … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Learning to See

Posted on May 1, 2014 by walkerg

An artist and teacher I respect told me that anyone can draw. He said, “You can pick up a pen and write letters on paper, that’s drawing – you did that in the first grade. Drawing isn’t the barrier people … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design Basics | 3 Comments

Break the curse of the blank sheet of paper

Posted on March 31, 2014 by walkerg

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly”. Lauren Bacall   I remember a time when a blank sheet of paper had the power to chase away every creative thought. It’s a mind trick. It seemed like a mirror reflecting dead air … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, design workshops | 5 Comments

What’s in your Tool Kit?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by walkerg

I enjoy a trip to an art museum. It’s more than a chance to examine great furniture on display, but to see the interplay between art, architecture, and furniture.  There is a craft element of art that applies directly to … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, tools | 1 Comment

Compass layouts on Youtube

Posted on January 22, 2014 by walkerg

Nearly every guide to the building arts going back to the dawn of printing included a series of geometric layouts with a compass. A challenge to the decipher, these lessons were shoehorned together, and made worse with a flurry of … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, Design Book | 7 Comments