johndilworth.com

Congratulations Dave!

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:25:00 -0800

Detail from one of David’s intaglio prints.

As I was caught up in my own thing this past week, I missed a huge opportunity to attend my brother’s graduation. He’s finished up his BFA degree from Utah State University with an emphasis in printmaking.

David’s work is incredible (you can see more of it here), he has a unique style, and ability to produce great artwork.

Good luck Dave.

Final Project Summary Book

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:29:00 -0800

Final Project Summary Book

Here are a few spreads from my MFA final project summary. The final book ended up being nearly 90 formatted pages. I used handmade paper for the cover and bound it all together using a modified Japanese stab binding technique. I made 3 copies, 2 for the school and my final presentation (next week) and this one for myself. The book contains a summary of all my work on my final project, including the concept development, design, illustration and final development. I’ll be releasing the final project itself in a few weeks.

A Walk to Nowhere

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:43:00 -0800

A Walk to Nowhere.

In the Study

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:33:00 -0800

In the Study

I’m working up some new patterns for the penultimate in the soon to be released “Cosmic Knot” series. This one will be based on the historic painting and depictions of St. Jerome in his Study. Here’s a pattern in the works, based on a template Islamic art pattern by Kieth Kritchlow, in his book “Islamic Patterns an Analytical and Cosmological Approach.”

Color and theme for my next work will be based on this painting by the Italian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, completed around 1460-1475. St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin.

The Brick Wall at the Laundromat

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:20:00 -0800

Every time I visit the laundromat, I feel like I’m going back in time. Those places haven’t changed in 50 years, and they always seem to have some of the best exterior decor and signage with an authentically vintage look.

Glad to live in America. Glad it's Over

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:28:00 -0800

Glad to live in America. Glad it’s Over.

America is a great country and I’m glad that I’m able to be a part of it. I’m glad that this election is over, that means at least two years without election politics.

Models of Presidential Power

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:40:00 -0700

Models of Presidential Power

I apologize for this somewhat political post, but I hope that you will useful and un-biased. if you don’t want this you can use my Political Opinion Avoidance Filter in the future.

It is nearly impossible to avoid politics, especially in this season. I find it a fascinating time to learn more about how the government of the United States works (and doesn’t work). There’s lots of interesting subtleties in the game of electing a new president.

In an effort to understand a bit more about the Power of the President, and to try to understand how much the President really can affect the issues that are important to me, I found this little bit informative and especially helpful. Presidential Power seems to come in different flavors–and there are visible difference in each of the current candidates which indicate how they might run their presidency. I don’t know that any one of them is worse, or better than the other model, but it may make a difference on how you look at each candidate.

This comes from the Wikipedia article on the President of the United States.

James M. Burns, noted presidential scholar, has categorized presidents into three categories based on how each enacts policy:

Madisonian Model: The president relies on Congress to lead in setting policy. The president mainly administers policies set by Congress.

Hamiltonian Model: The president should be heroic and above partisanship. He or she should rely on the Constitution and public opinion for support. The president should lead in all areas and ignore Congress if necessary.

Jeffersonian Model: The president should lead through his or her party. He or she should act similar to a Prime Minister in a Parliamentary System. The party, influenced and lead by the president, sets policy. The president assists the party with getting their platform enacted.

I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that Obama leans toward the Jeffersonian Model, and McCain leans toward the Hamiltonian model, with each candidate showing elements of the latter two. What seems to be happening is that we have a “Hamiltonian” running a campaign like he’s a “Jeffersonian” in order to gain his party’s support and a “Jeffersonian” running his campaign like he’s a “Hamiltonian” to get support from those not from his party.

If I’m looking at Obama, I need to be looking closely at the Democratic Party and its platform. A vote for Obama is a vote for the Democratic Party.

If I’m looking at McCain, I might need to look more closely at McCain himself than I need to look at the Republican Party and its platform. A vote for McCain isn’t necessarily a vote for the Republican party.

If I’m looking somewhere else, I might be wondering: “where are the “Madisonians?”

Pegboard

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:54:00 -0700

I just noticed all the pegboard that I had in the garage and thought, “I need to do something with that.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to think about what to do with the pegboard, and even less time to spend on a composition, so I decided to make the first thing that came into my mind, the letter “a.”

This is the sort of thing that happens when a designer gets distracted on a procedural trip to the garage…

m

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:29:00 -0700

That’s right, this post is all about the letter m. enjoy.

Beautiful Distractions

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:45:00 -0700

Beautiful Distractions

Since our new commuter rail system has been dropping me off just south of work, a little detailed tile facade has had my eye. This beautiful little distraction is alone in what might be called a visually boring neighborhood.

I love the random placement of tiles and colors, it must have been fun for the person that put it all together.

We often forget the value of these types of distractions. Where I live, It’s apparent that most builders or building owners leave this element of hand-crafted beauty of their work. It’s unfortunate that there’s not more of it.

Committed

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:26:00 -0700

Committed

I just purchased plane tickets to present my thesis on December 11th.

I guess I’d better get to work.

New and Improved

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:10:00 -0700

New and Improved

A few weeks ago (months maybe) I made some changes to the site, in preparation for larger changes I’ve just launched today.

I made my first web site just about 13 years ago when I first graduated from college in 1995. I thought it would be a great way to show off my school portfolio, and my technical prowess. Since then, I’ve destroyed that work, and hopefully eliminated all traces of it. I’ve also created several variations of my own web site, each time using the experience of designing and building the site to learn something new.

This latest version is no different. I’ve tried to refine the design, continue the development of a personal style, and improve the overall effectiveness of the layout and design of the site. I’ve also tried to design the site to be a better vehicle for telling stories. My past iterations have been much more like traditional blogs, small picture and lots of text. I wanted to find a way to create more impact as well as creating a vehicle which will satisfy my own personal desires to create and showcase my artwork. I wanted to push the writing (which I’m not very good at) to the back for a while, and create a space for interesting visuals, as well as a new focus on my artwork.

I’m looking forward to the new changes, and hope to have a steady stream of new content, art, and visual experiments over the next several months. If you are one of the three unknown readers of my site, please let me know what you think about the new design.

“Act Well Thy Part” Now Shipping

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:09:00 -0700

“Act Well Thy Part” Now Shipping

I’ve finally worked out the details, and corrected some small errors in the design (if you can identify it, I’ve got a prize for you). The print is now ready, and I’ve worked out the details of printing, shipping, and have done everything I can to make it a high quality and inspirational piece of art.

Detail photograph of image—view the full image in the Fine Art Prints section of the website.

“Act Well Thy Part” is available in a limited edition of 100 (18” x 24”). The image printed on Entrada Natural fine art paper, by Fine Arts Gallery and Framing in Ogden, Utah. Each print comes with a certificate of authenticity and a lifetime guarantee. If your print is ever damaged for any reason, simply return it and the edition will be replaced for only the cost of printing. Prints are $100 each + $20 for shipping and handling in the United States (please contact me for international shipping). Custom framing is suggested. Please contact me if you are interested in having the work framed before shipping.

Fall is in the Air

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:06:00 -0700

Fall is in the Air

Fall signals that the end of a year is upon us. The weather is perfect, the mountains are beautiful, and the days are still long enough for an after work bike ride. There’s also the feeling in the air that winter will be here soon.

The mountain trails in Utah this time of year are beautiful. This photo was taken along Snowbasin’s Maples trail a few weeks ago. I’m hoping to get at least a few outings in before snowfall hits.

Just over three years ago, I decided I would go back to school and complete an MFA degree, a difficult decision to make when you’ve got a second kid on the way, a house payment, and a full time job. The decision to go to school was a long standing goal that I had, and I believed it would offer me an opportunity to explore my own artwork, as well as make me more qualified and more skilled in my field. I feel that I’ve accomplished much, and benefited perhaps more than I had originally expected.

I’ve now been engaged in my MFA program for over 3 years, and am nearing completion of the 63 credit hours required for graduation. I’ll be presenting my thesis in little less than 3 months, and I’m spending nearly every available hour outside of work, and an occasional mountain bike ride, to get it finished.

As most of my available time is going to be put toward this, posts on this site may be running slow, however, there will be a few surprises along the way. I’ve been working on a re-design of this site to complement my thesis project site. I’ve also got a few other art projects and poster designs that I’ll be putting up along the way. I’ve produced a ton of new work over the past few months, but I haven’t had the time to prepare it for display on this site. Some of that will trickle through over the next few weeks.

Fall is in the air.

The Road to Design Expertise

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:47:00 -0700

The Road to Design Expertise

The cover page for my latest article on North Temple. The new design allows for more flexibility in the article layout, and additional interactive features (comments). This article design and layout was put together by Jason Lynes.

About a month ago, we launched a re-design of NorthTemple.com. Along with that re-design, we also launched the North Temple Journal of Design, with the intent to publish some more polished articles both in print and on the web. Cameron Moll kicked off the issue with his article Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament: A Study in Capability vs. Capacity. For the second issue, I took Cameron’s lead and tried to present some thoughts I’ve had about how to get on the road to design expertise.

I don’t claim to be an expert, but I do know that everyone can get better at what they do. Hopefully you’ll get something out of the article. I’d love to hear from you if you read it.