Harmony unifies a composition by emphasizing the common character–a surface quality, shape type, texture, and color. Rhythm builds on movement’s harmonious repetition and creates a rhythmic flow (compositional tempo, pulse, or felt cadence) by repeated accents and interesting spacing between units. Your investigation will explore not only the repetition of common objects or traits, the aligning of edges, but even more importantly the frequency of repetition and the spacing interval between the shapes.
Materials:
Drawing materials: pencil, ink, crayon, construction paper, and rubber cement.
Painting materials: tempera, diluted ink, spray paint, and sponges. Combinations of these materials, plus cut and torn paper, will be used–add others as needed (string, thread, or stretched canvas).
Method:
Select two or three interesting colored sheets of construction paper. One will be the background. From one of the others, create a series of related shapes like triangles or ovals or circles. By placing them strategically on the colored ground, you will create compositional flow across the organization but more importantly the feeling of a rhythmic pattern or tempo. To achieve compositional flow, adjust the interval between shapes and tipping their alignment. You may make as many shapes as you need and change the spacing between as often as you like. Move the shapes around, trying different movements and arrangements before selecting the final composition.
Before rubber cementing the shapes in place, try to add harmony to them all using three methods. For example, they will already be related or have commonalities if they are the same type of shape (shape family) and/or the same size. Additional harmony could be added by 1) using spray paint (always in a well ventilated area) and applying a value or color change to the same corner on each shape; 2) using a sponge and applying, a soft texture of tempera or acrylic paint over each shape; 3) painting a related color on each shape; 4) create a penciled rubbing on each shape; 5) crumple the paper for each shape surface; 6) draw a series of lines in the same location across all the old shapes; 7) use your imagination to invent other methods. You are just trying to pull the composition together using “commonalities”.
Again, before the final gluing, if you feel the composition needs attention, you may want to take the third colored construction paper and make some bigger background shapes to go behind the shapes creating rhythm.
When you are satisfied that your composition has maximum movement and harmony, glue them in place (Figs. 2.4A, 2.4B, 2.4C, and 2.4D). Studies may be translated into other media–a large painting, ceramic forms, or sculptural objects hung in space. In addition, many new compositions may be found by searching finished images with the cropper bars (Figs. 2.4E, and 2.4F).
