Obviously as a design student, one becomes entrenched in art pretty heavily throughout the 4 years they spend in school. We live it, we breathe it, we study it, it becomes our lives for umpteen years 'til they hand you the diploma as the result of your hard work and determination and tell you to "have at it!"

Take into context however that art was probably my best subject from as far back as grammar school, and you can begin to understand that this is an area of my life that probably will never lose importance. An important in my life akin to food, shelter, warmth, love, and all of the other necessities. Never shall it lose that level of importance I feel.

Nor should it.

You see, art is all around us. From the beauty of a summer day, to the wonderous colors displayed in fall. From the shape of the female form, to the taut muscular stance of a tiger or leopard, or the gentle flowing lines of a Hawk, Eagle, or Blue Herring. It is in these exhibitions, not just the one's seen at various stuffy art galleries that art transcends time, money, or anything resembling a social status.

As someone who aspired for much of his youth to be a car designer, I consider the automobile to be a form of sculpture, and in many of the aftermarket tuner cars we see, a canvas is there that is sculpted, painted, and morphed into a singular vision of it's artist.

Breathtaking.

Art however is the traditional means as well, and I can say this. There's nothing more rewarding, more tranquil, than taking two hands, and making something that brings beauty in some semblance. Whether it's in the simplistic color and line of an abstract De Stijl painting by Piet Mondrian or the minimalist works of Frank Stella, to the mildly abstract nature and usage of light as the focus of the art in Impressionist painters like Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, American Mary Cassatt, and Gustave Caillebotte; art is an arena so creative, so wonderful, and so unique that I cannot begin to describe it's impacts upon me, day to day. From a Brancusi sculpture in all of it's machine-honed precision smoothness to the rough Cubist expressions of a Picasso; art is creative, expansive, and permeates the soul with sensory upon sensory, pleasure, or pain on the eyes. It's all art.

It is from all of these that many sources of inspiration lie. Yet beyond that, there's a much greater depth to the artistic fascination. It stems even from friends I've had the privelage to interact with, collaborate with, and ultimately learn from in the process.

When Tony Volpe and I used to sit around from 8th grade onward sketching out our dreams of a car company, we often fed off of one another's ideas, taking them a step forward. For Tony and his often angular aggressive aspect was often well-complemented by myself and my traditional rounded classic Pinnin Farina (later known as Pinninfarina) inspired, classic Harley Earl fascinations, we meshed like few designers and produced some wildly creative ideas that amaze me in their uniqueness to this day. For the industry to not ponder upon the same path startles me, and makes me wonder what would happen if Tony and I had gotten to the ability to do as we wished.

Ahhh, but the days of Preston Tucker's are long since gone...

Then there's my experiences at Columbia College of Chicago with a large body of artists in varying fields. The numerous Product Design cohorts I interacted with over a considerable period of time amazed me with some of their creative outlooks and even their wildly outside of the box outtakes on design. For some reason, Jonathan Roth sticks out in my mind for always being able to conceptualize a design and take it in a way that I'd never think of remotely trying, but it was always fascinating to see where he'd land in the process, and what I could learn from him as a result of his unique approach. There was many instances like this that seeing a new and often fresh vantage though, from some of the more creative people I've run into in my life, produced inspirational levels that still ride with me to this day. It's not just function, it's not just art, it's a blended amalgam that produces some wildly creative and imaginative stuff that sticks with you sometimes better than the people's names who create them. There were many, many talents, and all of them are not forgotten.

Finally, I couldn't call myself a web designer if I didn't mention Paul McAleer. For only having him in one class, I found a kinship almost in his works that still influence me to this day. He has a creative design and flare that is instantly recognizable, yet he also provides a simplistic continuity, an ebb and flow, with his works that just somehow leaves you stunned. While I have my personal favorite works of his over others, I often find that he excels in all mediums, all levels. While the current Phonezilla.net website strikes me more as an ornate Baroque attempt at his traditional styling, and somehow eludes my "favorites" list of his work, I find it still another awe-inspiring work from a man who has made it a greater part of his hallmark in providing well-thought aesthetics and a contemporary design that is as clean and simple most often as it is ornate and regal in it's charms. His design savvy and efforts are a large part of the fueled inspiration(s) behind the past "cocoa" mmackey27 website (itself appearing to fortell of a past Phonezilla website), as well as the current "new" design you see here.

Art is a truly amazing thing, and I feel fortunate enough to experience it daily. The artist may not always sign his/her name, but the beauty still shines day after day.