Blog
EDG’s “Connected” Project
In the first quarter of 2012 at Evenson Design Group (EDG), we decided to give ourselves an exciting, yet challenging, self-imposed assignment to convey a specific word or a thought. This would be a rare opportunity to express our hidden craftsmanship and artistry, sans the practical direction and requests of our clients or any other outside influences. We each contributed suggestions for possible words to illustrate and finally aligned on the word “Connected” to either paint, illustrate, photograph, write about, film,
or express in any manner we were drawn to. Before us lay a fresh white canvas to illuminate (not that it had to be a canvas of course). With that said, the following are our personal visual expressions of the word “Connected” with a description in our own words describing each piece. We hope you will find these to be visually and metaphorically interesting and inspiring:
The ART of the Lost Art of Letter Writing
by Stan Evenson, CEO and Creative Director
My inspiration for creating this piece came to me after hearing one of my fellow Toastmasters’ speech. I heard Susan’s talk just days after we gave ourselves this
self-imposed assignment for depicting the word “Connected”. Susan spoke about how letter writing was such an important part of her childhood, having pen pals across the sea. And her letter writing is still greatly important to her as an adult writer, as she shares her love and appreciation of the written word with her young daughter. I was so inspired and moved that evening that I blurted out, “I want to write a letter to someone I care about!” But as I drove home, it truly hit me that letter writing was for centuries upon centuries the only way human beings could connect with each other. It wasn’t by hitting the “Like” or “Dislike” button on Facebook, sending a text or a tweet, receiving an IM or an email or sending an invitation through evite. Mail traveled through time, often taking days, weeks, even months to arrive at it’s destination. There was something inherently special about receiving a personal letter in those days, knowing someone took the time and care to sit down, write, address and stamp each piece of correspondence. Today we communicate instantly with each other in such very temporary fashion and unappreciated ways through advanced technology. This idea that letter writing has truly become a lost art became the spark for my expression of the word “Connected”.
My creation involved initially researching famous hand written letters. In my search I came across letters from Thomas Jefferson, to John Lennon, to Jimmy Hendrix and several more that became my background texture. In addition, I realized that beyond one’s personal thoughts on paper, so many amazing domestic and international stamps adorned an individual’s envelope which added more uniqueness and beauty to the letter. And to honor this lost art, I painted a Monte Blanc fountain pen which is one of the ultimate writing tools that allows one to write endlessly without strain as ink flows effortlessly. Lastly, this artwork has a real life workable letter slot that I found on Etsy.
All in all, it is a mixed media piece that embraces the lost art of letter writing.
So my added message is to not let hand written letters go to the way side. Show someone you care by writing them a hand written letter today. You’ll be amazed how connected you’ll feel and they to you by this generous act.
Tree of Life
By Tricia Evenson, President and Creative Director
At the base of all spiritual and cultural beliefs is the wisdom that all forms of life are interconnected and bound together. We are each just one thread in the web of life. What we do to the web, we also do to ourselves.
This mixed media piece uses color, texture and imagery to express the word “connected” and bring it to life. The background is a collage of various maps denoting human connection through geography. It also can be looked at as the network or webbing of life. The background spheres represent humanity in all it’s various forms, color, energy and vibrancy. The lower panel represents our beautiful and bountiful earth and our need to nurture and protect it so that it remains green and fertile for future generations. At the bottom, five circles contain images of nature, art and humanity, the circles further symbolizing the grandeur that can be spoken in a circular language, like that of the sun, the moon, the planets and stars. The number five is also meaningful as it widely signifies balance and harmony. I am particularly drawn to the use of circles in art, as to me, circle symbology is universal, sacred and divine and so simply communicates wholeness, inclusion, completion, relationship, unity, and the cycles of life. Fundamentally, connectedness.
Layered in the art are the words Create Connect Community as a reminder that we are a creative and powerful species that thrive on connection and building communities. After all, if we are all truly connected, aren’t we just one big community of human beings on this circular planet of ours? And lastly, sprouting from the earth against the webbed sky
is the Tree of Life, which reminds us that everything is connected through a divine and cosmic energy and that we as humans should live in harmony with rest of the world and all living things.
Connected
By Brittney Backos, Designer
Life is a string of connections. From the decisions you make, big or small, to the people you interact with, it’s all related. Things tend to overlap, they become intertwined, and become complicated. One moment can cause a ripple effect which can lead to any multiple of outcomes. Yet if you take a step back, you can see how every connection ultimately creates a bigger entity, which we are all a part of.
The art piece is very minimal yet quite delicate, similar to life. By using only thread
and nails, the word “connected” is formed by simply lacing the thread around the nails. There was no specific pattern planned ahead of time to determine the way the lacework occurred. Towards the completion of the piece, the tension from the thread caused one
of the nails in the center to come out of the wood which led to the thread to start come undone. Although this was a complication, it was the perfect illustration of how one moment can impact everything it is connected to.
Connection is ______________
By Peter Evenson, VP, Business Development
The project that we created at Evenson Design Group was broad, but complex.
There are many different ways to interpret “Connection” and to actually think of one
that illustrates the meaning became quite difficult. Therefore, I decided to create two projects. The first of which was a simple photograph of a rope tied to a wooden pole.
It’s a simple picture, but has many meanings at the same time. To me, this picture symbolizes that connection starts from multiple angles, but in the end, becomes intertwined in a specific area.
My second project was a PowerPoint that broke down the various ways on how I feel connected. Through art, travel, family, friends, love, nature – each of these valuable attributes symbolize “Connection” in my perception (these are all pictures that I took).