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Mixing It Up With Multiple Mediums |
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By Amy Carson May 13, 2006 ENCINITAS – To Linda Luisi, art is more than just a pretty picture. It's also a science. The Boston Museum of Fine Art and Tufts University graduate has more than 20 years of experience as an environmental designer and trompe l'oeil muralist. She has designed landscape art, carpet patterns, logos and murals for the walls of hospitals, doctors' offices and labs throughout San Diego County. “Environmental design is really the psychology of how people interact with their environment,” Luisi said, “how people react to the colors, shapes and words in a room.” In her mixed media classes, Luisi focuses on elements of composition and design, giving examples from posters and advertisements to get students thinking about art in new ways. “The point is to add more pizzazz,” Luisi said. “Composition adds a mind quality to the art. People love puzzles and games, and art is basically a puzzle. You can create whatever effect you want, but you have to figure out how. Then art becomes more than just mimicking nature.” Sometimes the most important part of Luisi's job as a professional artist is to create a diversion. For example, she designed a mural for an orthodontist's office in Vista with the goal of keeping the patient's mind off the dental work. “When I design murals, I design them to relate with what is in the room,” Luisi said. “Who will be in the room on a daily basis? Do they need to relax? Do they need to be stimulated? Do they need it to look bigger? If you're a patient in an orthodontist's waiting room, you probably don't want to be thinking about what lies beyond the wall in front of you.” As Luisi was speaking, students in her class had already laid out their own materials from home and begun to create. They work with a combination of mediums, including paint, fabric, string and magazine cut-outs. The point is to experiment with aspects of color, pattern and texture using one or several of the 10 compositional styles that Luisi discusses in the class. “In this particular one, the interaction really kicks,” Luisi said of the class. “It's good for beginners because there's no need for drawing skill. People don't realize how much artistic talent they really have until they try.” The mixed media course will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on two consecutive Thursdays, May 18 and 25. Advance registration is required. For more information, go online to www.qbgardens.com or call (760) 944-7800. |
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