I have created an online survey to assist me with gathering information on how people perceive. Below is the link and you will be directed to look at eighteen compositions then answer a question following each. Thank you for taking the time to participate in my survey.

~melissa

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22942RMQWKJ

Web Interface

"Fibonacci Poem"

"Pryamids"

"Phi"

"Fibonacci Poem" - Color Version

"Pyramids" - Color Version

"Phi" - Color Version

Artist Statement

“Phi” is the ninth in a series of compositions to be developed for my thesis and by far the most complex of the concepts that I have explored this semester and yet the most fascinating. How does one go about explaining a number that encompasses so much of life around us; it is found in art, music, architecture, poetry, anatomy, religion and science. We know it as the Greek symbol Φ with it mathematical calculation being 1.61803. How can such a number have such an impact on so much? It is the Divine Proportion, the Golden Proportion, the Golden Mean, and the Golden Ratio.

According to Golden Number.net the description of this proportion as Golden and Divine is fitting perhaps because it is seen by many to open the door to a deeper understanding of beauty and spirituality in life. That's an incredible role for a single number to play, but then again this one number has played an incredible role in human history and in the universe at large.

The compositions that emerged this week are clearly in my blue phase but the colors feel right. An explanation for the original poem that I wrote; it is a Fibonacci derived poem, therefore in Divine Proportion, where the first line is a single syllable, the next single…add the two lines together to get the syllable count for the third line which is 2. The number breakdown is as follows: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and 34. I feel very exposed by this poem for it reveals what I go through with this life threatening illness on a day to day basis; it is simply my truth and it is what came forward this week. Life changes when you are faced with your mortality but I am truly blessed for it has changed who I am and because of it I am on this amazing exploration into Divine Proportion.

Works Cited:

AU. “Phi for Neo-phi-tes.” Golden Number.net(2007) http://goldennumber.net/neophite.htm

Hemenway, Priya. Divine Proportions: Phi In Art, Nature, and Science. 1st. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2005.

More Previous Work

This work was produced during my first studio class; the beginning of this journey.

Thesis - Outline

Thesis Chapter Outline

Abstract

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter I – Compendium of Research Methods
· Analytical and descriptive

Chapter II – Overview of the Divine Proportions
· What is Divine Proportions?
· Historical perspective
· Impact of Divine Proportions in Art and Achitecture
· Examples of Artisans that were influenced by Divine Proportions

Chapter III – Overview of the Principles of Gestalt
· What are the Principles of Gestalt?
Break out and explain Gestalt concepts: proximity, similarity, closure, continuation, figure/ground, symmetry, simplicity, repetition and motion illusion
· How do they factor into design?

Chapter IV – Overview of Jung’s Collective Unconscious
· Background information on Carl Jung
· What is Jung’s Collective Unconscious?
· How does this concept factor into the idea of perception?

Chapter V – Overview of the Eye
· How does the eye perceive?
· Perceiving optical illustions

Chapter VI – Research Procedures
· Explanation of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator
· Layout what is being measured and how it will be measured
qualitative research to determine how individuals perceive
quantitative research to measure the results.
· Background information on Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Chapter VII – Presentation and Analysis of Evidence
· Detailed explanation of the art project
· Defense of the art project

Chapter VIII – Conclusions
· Summary, and Presentation of Information to the Industry

Notes: For footnoted entries in document

Figure Table: For visuals and placed art examples.

Bibliography: Work cited and sources.

Previous Work - Mandalas

"Quiet/Mind"

"Knowledge/Wisdom"

"Reality/Believe"

"Truth/Conviction"

"Silence/Soul"

"Change/Inside"

"Healing/Within"

"Meditate"

"Listen/Silence"

"Breathe/Alive"

These compositions were created in my illustration class. All illustrations are hand drawn in Adobe Illustrator and are intended to be printed in large format up to six feet. Patterns seem to be the common theme for my studies during graduate school.

Revised Visuals - Spiral

"The Atom, Shell and Galaxy1"

"Triskele Fern1"

"DNA1"

"The Atom, Shell and Galaxy1" - Color Version

"Triskele Fern1" - Color Version

"DNA1" - Color Version

Strange week with strange reactions to my compositions but that was expected. I look at this as an exploration and the bottom line it is all about perception and patterns. I did revise all three of the compositions shifting the balance of the pieces. I feel that these work better now.