Essay - Illusion in Art

Illusion in Art. 

Optical Art or Op Art, a phrase coined by popular Time magazine in October of 1964, refers to the use of precise mathematical based composition to create an illusion tricking - the human eye to believe that the art is question is moving, taking static imagery and making is seem kinetic. 

Op art captivated the public audience after a major exhibition in 1965, The Responsive eye. Held at the MoMa in New York the show hosted works by artists such as Victor Vasarely and Josef Albers, Paul Feely and a collective of work by a Spanish group of artists called Equipo 57. Focused on the perceptual aspect of art the exhibition was hugely popular with the public audience and soon began appearing in the commercial world in both print and television adverts, album art, fashion and interior design. Controversy arose when popular Op artist Bridget Riley attempted to sue an american company for using one of her paintings as a base for a fabric design. 

Despite the movement gaining its name and public success in 1964 many view the movement to have start much earlier with Victor Vasarely’s painting Zebra in 1938. Vasarely stated that "Every form is a base for colour, every colour is the attribute of a form." Forms from nature were thus transposed into purely abstract elements in his paintings. Recognising the inner geometry of nature, Vasarely wrote, "the ellipsoid form... will slowly, but tenaciously, take hold of the surface, and become its raison d'être. Henceforth, this ovoid form will signify in all my works of this period, the 'oceanic feeling'...I can no longer admit an inner world and another, an outer world, apart. The within and the without communicate by osmosis, or, one might rather say: the spatial-material universe, energetic-living, feeling-thinking, form a whole, indivisible... The languages of the spirit are but the super vibrations of the great physical nature.” During this time Vasarely created many pieces using linear patterning, figurative drawing and abstract patterned subjects. He employed a technique of layering sheets cellophane on one another to generate the illusion of depth. 

Another artist also considered to be a pioneer of Optical Art and the use of illusions in art is M. C. Escher. “His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world, as can be seen on the many web sites on the internet.He is most famous for his so-called impossible constructions, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity, his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I or Reptiles. But he also made some wonderful, more realistic work during the time he lived and traveled in Italy.

Castrovalva for example, where one already can see Escher's fascination for high and low, close by and far away. The lithograph Atrani, a small town on the Amalfi Coast was made in 1931, but comes back for example, in his masterpiece Metamorphosis I and II.”  

Metamorphosis I is an exploration of tessellation. Escher has began his woodcut with an illustrative drawing of a built up town clearly inspired by traditional Italian architecture. Using the square forms Escher has slowly and precisely transformed buildings to gently change the image, tessellating the shapes into cubes and more abstract shapes, resulting in a cartoon of a man. 

I have decided to look at this piece in particular as I personally find it fascinating and extremely clever how Escher as effortlessly completely changed the form and dimension transitioning from 3 dimensional drawings to a 2 dimensional cartoon. I have also found a surprising and unplanned link between his work and my own objectives for my project. This piece sums up how I had originally planned to transition my exploration of my theme through 2 and 3 Dimensions whilst also coincidentally featuring the integral pattern of my own work. 

Like most Optical Art Escher has used a monochrome palette and simple lines to illustrate his work. This works well with his style and subject matter as the clear distinction of colour to the eye makes for a stronger 3 dimensional effect on the human eye. I believe this also gives the piece more of an impact on the whole. The harsh contrast between the shades really draw your eye to the piece and the smooth tessellation of the design slowly guides the eye along the work. 

Despite my love for the tessellation in this piece I am most inspired by his use of the cubic pattern. The pattern is both simple yet effective and has proven to be popular with an audience through the popularity of Eschers own work. I would like to continue using this pattern in my own work yet give it more of a contemporary edge with the use of colour, modern materials and light. I hope for my work to be as visually successful as that of Eschers and provide a really illusion of depth and dimension within the audience.  

http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/vasarely/vasarely.php

http://www.mcescher.com/about/biography/

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Op Art 1964 - 1970

“In some respects, Op Art can be thought of as a development from Kinetic Art. The question posed was how to provide the viewer with an illusion of movement on a static 2D surface. Exploitation of the fallibility of the eye through the use of optical illusion provided Op Artists with the answer.

The use of repetition of pattern and line, often in high contrast black and white was one way Op Artists used to create this illusion of movement. The overall optical effect of the technique leads the viewer to see flashing and vibration, or alternatively swelling or warping.

Riley’s Untitled Diagonal Curve (shown below) is a good example of this technique, where black and white wavy lines are placed close to one another on the canvas making the surface appear to shimmer and move before the eyes. 

Galaxie - 1979 Victor Vasarely

Victor Vasarely‘s Galaxie (shown below) is a classic example of the use of perspective in Op Art with the centralised vanishing point creating the illusion of a receeding frame or lattice set in space. The separation of art from traditional perspective that began with Cezanne in the late 19th Century allowed for the birth of the Abstract and Expressionist movements amongst others, both important influences on Op Art. Movements such as these de-emphasized (or, in many cases, eliminated altogether) representational subject matter.

Because of its geometrically-based nature, Op Art is, almost without exception, non-representational. However, despite this non-represenational nature, the Op Artists made extensive use of the traditional perspective techniques originally developed to allow for the accurate representation of the natural world in art, in order to create the feeling of depth and space within their paintings.

Orient 4 - 1970 Bridget Riley

With Op Art came an acute awareness of the work done on the science of colour and colour theory. Colours appear to change depending on their proximity to other colours. For example, a red shape on a white ground appears much lighter than the same red shape on a black ground. Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel when placed next to each other seem to be of different intensity than when placed some distance apart. Those colours in the cool range – blues, purples & greens – are recessive and seem to sink back on the surface whilst the warm colours – red, orange and yellow particularly – are ‘emergent’.

The manipulation of colours to achieve apparent movement is endless – some  colours placed next to neutral greys appear to create new colours – an echo of a colour, an after image, and so on. The color relationships in play are known as simultaneous contrast, successive contrast, and reverse contrast (or assimilation).

The Hermann Grid (1870s) Ludimar Hermann

The phrase ‘Op Art’ was coined around the time of the famous ‘Responsive Eye’ exhibition, with ‘Op’ of course referring to optics – the physical and psychological process of vision. Work on the mathematical and scientific basis of perception had been ongoing since the 1800s, with much progress having been made in the 1950s and 1960s leading to a resurgence of interest in the field.

The Op Artists, through their study of the science behind how the eye and brain work together to perceive color, light, depth, perspective, size, shape, and motion, were able to put into practice the scientific work around visual perception. Op Art exploits the functional relationship between the eye’s retina (the organ that ‘sees’ patterns) and the brain (the organ that interprets patterns). Certain visual stimuli can cause confusion between these two organs, resulting in the perception of irrational optical phenomena, something the Op Artists used to full effect.

Enigma - 1981 Isia Leviant

In Perspective part I and part II we saw how linear perspective developed as the dominant force in Western art, only later to be discarded. This in turn led to the cubists experiments with form, Cezanne’s work with colour and the abandonment of representational art entirely in the form of abstraction. From here we looked at the simple geometric shapes of Mondrian and Malevich, the anti-art of the Dadaists, the wild imagination of the Surrealists, the expressive  freedom of the Abstract Expressionists and the fascination with popular culture of the Pop Artists.

In this section we have looked at the influence of the simple geometry of the Bahaus movement and the movement of the Kinetic Artists. We have also looked at how the scientific basis of perception and colour developed and became better understood. So to answer the question as to what were the influences and origins of Op Art, the answer is hopefully clear… all of the above!”

http://www.op-art.co.uk/history/op-art-history-part-iii/

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Inspiration: Bridget Riley

After exploring sacred stones and there structure and experimenting with different methods of making my work look more 3 dimensional I think I would like to take it to the next level and look specifically at illusions. How shading and form can trick the eye into seeing 2 dimensional drawings/ patterns as 3 dimensional objects.

One of the most well know artists in the Op art field is Bridget Riley:

Bridget Riley 

Bio:

• London Based Artist 
• Born 24 April, 1931
• Periods: Hard-edge painting, Modern art and Op art 
• Education: Goldsmiths College, Loughborough University, Royal College of Art, Cheltenham Ladies College. 

Evoe 3, 2003, Acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas, 1934 x 5820 x 50mm

Left - Fragment 2/10, 1965, Screen print on Perspex
 Right - Fragment 5/8, 1965, Screen Print on perspex

Left - Nataraja, 1993, Oil Paint on Canvas, 1651 x 2277mm
Right - Hesitate, 1964, Oil paint on canvas, 1067 x 1124mm 

"At Hornsey, Riley began her first Op Art paintings, working only in black and white and using simple geometric shapes – squares, lines and ovals. Although she investigated many areas of perception, her work, with its emphasis on optical effects was never intended to be an end in itself. It was instinctive, not based on theory but guided by what she saw with her own eyes." - http://www.op-art.co.uk/bridget-riley/

"Bridget Riley’s major paintings are very large and may take six to nine months to develop, almost to evolve. She begins by making small colour studies in gouache. Riley hand mixes all of the paints as the exact hue and intensity is vital and must be kept constant.

Successful studies lead to a full size paper and gouache cartoon which prefigures the final work. These are then enlarged, ruled up, under-painted with acrylic and over-painted in oils. Everything is painted by hand – no rulers, masking tape or mechanical means are used when actually applying the paints. Riley has worked with assistants since the 1960s because of the large scale and the need for great precision." - http://www.op-art.co.uk/bridget-riley/

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Gemstones

"Over the centuries, many cultures have contributed to the legends and lore surrounding gemstones. These rare products of nature have inspired philosophers and mystics to attribute unusual powers to these special minerals.

The best compendium of gemstone lore is undoubtedly that found in George Frederick Kunz's book The Curious Lore of Precious Stones published in 1913. But Kunz was no mystic crystal-gazer. Rather he was the leading gemologist of his time and, in his role as the resident gem expert at Tiffany & Co. in New York, helped create the modern market for colored stones. He was also instrumental in putting together some of the greatest collections of rare gemstones, including the famous J.P. Morgan-Tiffany collection, now in the American Museum of Natural History.

Kunz believed that we can learn a great deal by studying the ways in which gemstones were used by different cultures and the beliefs that people at different times formed about rare gems. But for Kunz this study wasn't just sociological curiosity, it was a way of learning about gemstones themselves: "Many of these ideas may seem strange enough to us now, and yet when we analyze them we find that they have their roots either in some intrinsic quality of the stones or else in an instinctive appreciation of their symbolical significance."

http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/gemstone-meanings.php

Agate

Considered a protection stone. It is believed to attract strength and offer protection form bad dreams, stress and the draining of energy. Agate is said to balance energies and awaken talents. 

Amazonite 

Believed to have a soothing and calming effect. It accomplishes this by dispelling negative energy and allowing us to let go of sadness and grief.

Amethyst

Calms the emotions, creates clarity of thought, and assists in attaining wisdom. Amethyst is a stone of the mind; it brings calmness and clarity, helps you to get in touch with your intuition, feelings and values. It has long been regarded as an aid to sobriety and useful for combating alcohol, food, and other addictions. It eases compulsive/obsessive behaviour.

Apatite

A gemstone of communication. It is believed to help stuttering and hypertension, and helps one overcome sadness and grief. Apatite is said to aid in fighting viruses and assists in blending the old and the new in one's life.

Aquamarine

Associated with courage and the release of anxiety and fear. It is thought to soothe, calm and alleviate fears and to help relaxation on long journeys. Many believe that it protects sailors at sea, and prevents seasickness. Tradition holds that it gives insight and aids in mental clarity.

Aventurine 

A stone of opportunity; believed to attract prosperity. Some advise to keep an aventurine in your left pocket when you are buying a lottery ticket or playing any game of chance.

Blue Topaz 

Associated with courage and overcoming fears and obstacles. It is a traditional stone for writers, scholars, artists, and intellectuals; and used for aiding higher thinking. It is said to ease mental anguish and promote fidelity, friendship, gentleness, and integrity.

Chalcedony 

Considered a sacred stone by the Native American Indians, chalcedony nurtures and promotes brotherhood and good will. Chalcedony is said to alleviate hostility, irritability and melancholy.

Citrine

Said to open the mind to new thoughts and balance impatience and restlessness. Citrine is long thought to promote optimism. It also attracts abundance, and is known as the "merchant's stone," to be placed where one conducts business, not only to acquire positive wealth, but to maintain it. Good for mental focus, endurance, and self-esteem.

Diamond 

Believed to absorb and amplify the thoughts of its user, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of other gems and their wearers. The ancients also used the diamond for detoxification as it is said to protect from poisons.

Diopside 

Thought to be a cathartic stone since it is believed by crystal healers to heal trauma by bringing forth cleansing tears. Diopside is believed to foster creativity and promote love and commitment.

Emerald 

Tradition is that emerald aids fertility, improves eyesight, and gives the wearer psychic powers. Believed to lift depression and relieve insomnia. Promotes self-knowledge, peaceful dreams, and helps you achieve balance and patience.

Fluorite

Thought to balance and stabilize intuition. Regarded as an aid to learning and lateral thinking. Fluorite is believed to improve the ability to concentrate.

Garnet

Regarded as the stone of passionate devotion: to your family, your friends, yourself, and your own purpose in life. Believed to stimulate the senses, and increase vitality and stamina. Garnet is thought to attract good luck in business ventures.

Iolite 

Said to be the stone of inner vision. Believed to assist one to live at a higher awareness level; and useful for the elimination of debt and to increase financial responsibility.

Jade
A stone of serenity. Thought to alleviate anxiety and fear and promote good luck. Jade not only brings prosperity , but allows you to hold on to your money. A traditional charm for gardeners, jade is said to ensure bountiful harvests.

Jasper
Is associated with relaxation, contentment, compassion, nurturing and consolation. Jasper is said to relieve mental stress and help you achieve balance in your life.

Kyanite
A calming stone, it helps to quiet the mind, dissolving emotional or spiritual confusion. Kyanite is said to be particularly good at dissolving anger and frustration.

Lapis Lazuli
An ancient stone said to represent friendship and truth. Lapis is said to help bring about harmony in relationships. It is a stone of wisdom and awareness.

Moonstone
Aids communication by promoting clear thinking, inspiration or receptivity; assists in the fulfillment of one's own destiny. Long regarded as the gemstone of psychic abilities, wish fulfillment and balancing the emotions, moonstone is said to help in wish fulfillment, but tends to work better on things that are needed versus things that are just wanted.

Onyx
Black onyx is said to repel negativity and deflect the negativity of others. It is a gem thought to enhance determination and perseverance.

Opal
Regarded as a stone strongly associated with the emotions, including love, passion and spontaneity. Opal is said to aid in visualization, imagination, dreams, and healing.

Peridot
Thought to strengthen life, bring about prosperity, growth, and increase openness. Peridot is also believed to help one to understand relationships, and to alleviate depression, anger, fear, jealousy and anxiety.

Prehnite
A gem with a mystical aura, prehnite is said to be the stone of remembered dreams, meditation and prophecy.

Rose Quartz
Known as the stone of "gentle love," rose quartz brings peace and calm to relationships. Excellent for healing emotional wounds, removing negativity and restoring harmony after conflict. Promotes appreciation of art, music and the written word.

Ruby
Famous as a protection from misfortune and bad health, ruby is also used to open the heart and promote love. Given as a gift, ruby is a symbol of friendship and love. The ruby is also a symbol of vitality and royalty.

Rutile Quartz
Said to intensify the power of quartz crystal. Rutile quartz is thought to assist one in getting to the root of a problem.

Sapphire
Long associated with peace and happiness, and believed to help with communication, insight, intuition, inspiration, and prayer. The ancients believe that sapphires would help them in predicting the future.

Smoky Quartz
Believed to be nature's stone of endurance, fostering serenity, calmness, and positive thoughts.

Spinel
Since spinel was confused with ruby for centuries, it has not acquired the richness of meaning associated with other important gems. But it is said that spinel aids one in relaxation and releasing worry. Since spinel is one of the very few singly refractive gems, it has a purity of color that may be the basis for its symbolic meaning.

Tanzanite
A recently discovered gemstone, but said to be traditional with the Masai tribe, who give tanzanite to their newborn children as a bearer of good fortune.

Tigers eye
Said to help convert anxiety and fear into practical logic and action. Believed to promote balance and strength in difficult times, and to relieves doubt.

Topaz
Thought to calm a bad temper and give strength. Topaz is said to improve mental clarity and focus, and increase confidence. It is also recommended for mood swings, insomnia, worries, fears, depression and exhaustion.

Tourmaline
Tourmaline is said to strengthen both body and spirit. It is believed to attract inspiration, aid concentration, encourage balance and promote understanding. It is also thought to calm nerves, sooth grief, promote balance and build self-confidence.

Turquoise
Believed to attract money, success and love, turquoise is a stone of friendship in many cultures. Native Americans associated the colors of the turquoise stone with the blue sky and the green earth. It is still seen by many today as being symbolic of mankind's source in nature.

Zircon
Since the Middle Ages, zircon has been believed to aid in spiritual growth and the promotion of wisdom. He who wears zircon, it is said, will find beauty and peace.

http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/gemstone-meanings.php

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Sacred Stones #2

Crystal gemstones inspire many people with their beauty. But the power and symbolism of these sacred stones goes beyond simple inspiration. Since crystal stones store energy inside their molecules, some people use them as tools to better connect with spiritual energy(such as angels) while praying. In the Book of Exodus, the Bible andTorah both describe how God himself instructed people to make a breastplate with 12 different gemstones for a high priest to use in prayer.

God gave Moses detailed instructions for how to build everything that the priest (Aaron) would use when approaching the physical manifestation of God's glory on Earth -- known as the Shekinah -- to offer people's prayers to God. This included details about how to build an elaborate tabernacle, as well as the priest's clothing. The prophet Moses passed this information along to the Hebrew people, who put their individual skills to work carefully making the materials as their offerings to God.

Gemstones for the Tabernacle and Priestly Garments

The Book of Exodus records that God instructed the people to use onyx stones inside the tabernacle and on a garment called an ephod (the vest that the priest would wear underneath the breastplate). Then it presents the details of the 12 stones for the famous breastplate.

While the list of stones isn't completely clear due to differences in translations over the years, a common modern translation reads: "They fashioned the breastplate -- the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It was square -- a span long and a span wide -- and folded double. Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was ruby, chrysolite and beryl; the second row was turquoise, sapphire and emerald; the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings. There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes." (Exodus 39:8-14).

Spiritual Symbolism

The 12 stones symbolize God's family and His leadership as a loving father, writes Steven Fuson in his book Temple Treasures: Explore the Tabernacle of Moses in the Light of the Son: "The number twelve often indicates governmental perfection, or complete divine governance. We can conclude that the breastplate of twelve stones symbolizes the complete family of God -- a spiritual Israel of all who have been born from above. ... The twelve names engraved upon the onyx stones were also engraved upon the stones of the breastplate. Surely this portrays a spiritual burden upon both the shoulders and the heart -- a sincere care and love for humanity. Consider that the number twelve points to the ultimate good news destined for all nations of mankind."

Used for Divine Guidance

God gave the gemstone breastplate to the high priest, Aaron, to help him spiritually discern answers to the people's questions that he asked God while praying in the tabernacle. Exodus 28:30 mentions mystical objects called "Urim and Thummim" (which mean "lights and perfections") that God instructed the Hebrew people to include in the breastplate: "Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord."

In Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary: Spreading the Light of God's Word Into Your Life, Earl Radmacher writes that the Urim and Thummim "were intended as a means of divine guidance for Israel. They involved gems or stones that were either attached to or carried inside the breastplate worn by the high priest when he consulted with God. For this reason, the breastplate is often called the breastplate of judgment or decision. However, while we know that this decision-making system existed, no one knows for sure how it worked. ... Thus, there is a great deal of speculation about the how the Urim and Thummim delivered a verdict [including making various stones light up to represent answers to prayer]. ... However, it is easy to see that in the days before much of the scriptures were written or collected, there was a need for some kind of divine guidance. Today, of course, we have God’s complete written revelation, and therefore have no need of devices such as the Urim and Thummim."

Parallels to Gemstones in Heaven

Interestingly, the gemstones listed as part of the priest's breastplate are similar to the 12 stones that the Bible describes in the Book of Revelation as comprising the 12 gates to the wall of the holy city that God will create at the end of the world, when God makes a "new heaven" and a "new earth." And, because of the translation challenges of precisely identifying the breastplate stones, the list of stones may be entirely the same.

Just like each stone in the breastplate is inscribed with the names of ancient Israel's 12 tribes, the gates of the city walls are inscribed with those same names of Israel's 12 tribes. Revelation chapter 21 describes an angel giving a tour of the city, and verse 12 says: "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel."

The city wall's 12 foundations "were decorated with every kind of precious stone," verse 19 says, and those foundations were also inscribed with 12 names: the names of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles. Verse 14 says, "The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

Verses 19 and 20 list the stones that make up the city's wall: "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."

http://angels.about.com/od/MiraclesReligiousTexts/a/Sacred-Stones-The-High-Priests-Breastplate-Gems-In-The-Bible-And-Torah.htm

Throughout history, people from many different civilizations have used crystals as prayer tools to help them connect with angels. But how can something physical like a crystal rock help someone communicate with a spiritual being like an angel?

It's all about electromagnetic energy. Crystals -- which form when atoms, molecules, or ions come together under pressure deep within the Earth -- can store and magnify electromagnetic energy that vibrates throughout the universe to certain frequencies. Angels -- who many people believe work within light -- radiate electromagnetic energy that also vibrates to different frequencies. So people sometimes choose crystals that correspond to the energy frequencies of certain types of angels to use in prayer, hoping to attract the angels with specific types of energy and perceive angelic messages more clearly than they could otherwise.

A Rainbow of Colors

People have created a metaphysical system of identifying angels according to light rays of seven different colors that correspond to different energy frequencies. It's based on seven different light rays, which loosely correspond to sunlight or a rainbow’s colors: blue, yellow, pink, white, green, red, and purple.

Some people believe that the light waves for the seven angel colors vibrate at different electromagnetic energy frequencies in the universe, attracting the angels that have similar kinds of energy. They've matched crystals that feature similar kinds of energy to the light ray that best corresponds to that type of energy. People can follow that system to choose certain crystals to use when praying for help from the angels about specific issues in their lives.

Divine Order

The connection between angels and crystals reflects God's design, writes Claire Robertson in her book The Angel Within: "Crystals, like angels, are a thread that unites all cultures across the planet throughout time. If angels are the golden thread that pulls all religions together, then crystals are the silver one that, if we hold onto it tightly, will pull every person and culture on mother Earth together as God intended it to be. ... Each soul on this Earth has an ancient crystal knowledge buried within them that enables them to communicate with the elemental kingdom and re-connect themselves with the powerful rhythm of life that pulses around us in cosmic and divine alignment. Each of the archangels has specific crystals associated with them, as do our chakras; and it is no mistake these overlap -- once again in divine order."

Beautiful Purity

In her book Angel Healing: Invoking the Healing Power of Angels through Simple Ritual, Claire Nahmad writes that angels can naturally relate to crystals because crystals are beautiful, pure matter: "Angels and crystals share a natural affinity because crystals are manifestations of matter exalted and purified until they independently radiate the spirit of beauty and perfection. The molecular complexity of crystals allows angelic consciousness to resonate with their vibrations and even to dwell therein. We can, therefore, use crystals to assist us to contact the angelic realm, and to receive amplified healing emanations from it, due to the streamlining effect of the crystals upon these emanations, which helps them to penetrate deep into earthly dimensions and sustains them in a highly functioning state."

Nature Angels

Author Doreen Virtue calls crystals "nature angels" in her book Crystal Therapy: How to Heal and Empower Your Life with Crystal Energy: "Crystals are members of the mineral kingdom in the physical world. In the spiritual world, they belong to the 'elemental realm,' which encompasses the spirits that guard, heal, and protect the planet. ... These beings are 'nature angels,' who are denser than guardian angels. Density means that the beings' energy vibrates at a slower rate, enabling us to see and feel them with our physical senses."

Crystals can be especially useful as tools for praying for healing, writes Virtue, because crystals "are record-keepers and storehouses of memories and knowledge about the earth’s spiritual healing history." Angels and crystals can work powerfully together to bring about healing, she comments: "Asking for heaven’s help, by connecting with the angelic realm while working in focused partnership with the mineral family, ensures a potent interaction based in love and grace. This combination of realms, celestial and elemental, blends the power of heaven and earth to create a magical formula of healing."

Crystal Balls

Another way that crystals have been used throughout history to contact angels is a controversial practice called "scrying" -- using crystal balls to invoke angels and try to gain spiritual knowledge from them, which may be revealed in the form of a vision inside the ball. Some people embrace scrying as a way to try to learn about the future from angels, but others say that's spiritually dangerous because it's a form of divination (which religious texts like the Bible, Torah, and Qur'anwarn against) that can lead to contact with fallen angels instead of holy angels.

In his book Crystal Balls & Crystal Bowls: Tools for Ancient Scrying & Modern Seership, Ted Andrews writes that people worldwide have been tempted to gaze into crystal balls, hoping to gain some spiritual knowledge as a result. Many civilizations have embraced the practice, he writes: "Many legends and tales speak of its use. Its practice is found in Greece, Rome, and throughout Mesopotamia. The Druids of England utilized gazing, as did people in Scotland, France, Germany, and elsewhere throughout Europe. Egypt, India, Babylon, and Persia also had their crystal-gazing practitioners."

Perhaps the most famous use of crystal balls to communicate with angels happened in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, when the queen's advisor, John Dee, used a crystal ball to hold what he called a series of conversations with angels. "Between 1581 and 1586, and again in 1607, Elizabethan England’s most highly regarded natural philosopher, John Dee, talked with angels about the natural world and its apocalyptic end," writes Deborah E. Harkness in her bookJohn Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature. "With the aid of an assistant, or 'scryer,' and a crystal called a 'showstone,' Dee attempted to see through the dark days of his own time and into what he hoped was a bright and promising future."

Dee attracted a lot of attention for using a crystal ball as a tool to try to gain knowledge about the natural world from angels in a systematic way. " ... the angel conversations confirmed Dee's belief that the natural world was analogous to a text," Harkness writes. "But the Book of Nature was not a reliable text; it was an imperfect, corrupt, and decaying text that could not be read properly. The angels gave Dee the exegetical and restorative tools to read, understand, and rectify the Book of Nature."

http://angels.about.com/od/Crystals/f/What-Is-An-Angel-Prayer-Crystal.htm

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Sacred Stones

Stones of various kinds and sizes have been invested with sacredness from the earliest times. The worship of stones can be found in most ancient cultures, while sacred stones can be found in most of the world's religions.

According to Pausanias (VII, 24. 4), In olden times all the Greeks worshipped unwrought stones instead of images and describes thirty square stones near a spring sacred to Hermes [cf.Water and the Sacred] ar Pharae in Greece.

Beginning as early as 5000 BCE, large stones (megaliths - Greekmega, great, and lithos, stone), either unwrought or roughly worked were erected across prehistoric Europe to stand in lines or in circles (such as at Stonehenge in England), or otherwise arranged in conjunction with earthworks usually identified as burial mounds (such as at Newgrange in Ireland). Little is known the purpose or meaning of these megalithic constructions, but it is universally agreed that they mark or embellish a sacred place in the landscape.

Stonehenge

Newgrange

Examples of megalithism can also found in contries around the world, such as the Beforo monument near Bouar in the Central African Republic, the Tatetsuki stone circles standing the summit of a tumulus at Okayama in Japan, and the moai statues on ceremonial platforms on Easter Island.

The moving and arranging of massive stones into a building or some other configuration in a sacred context also characterizes many early cultures around the globe, from the Inca in South America, to the Egyptians and Mycenaeans.

Smaller individual stones can also become invested with the sacred. The Stone of Scone, also known as the Coronation Stone or the Stone of Destiny, until very recently rested on a shelf beneath the seat of the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey in London (it has now been returned to Scotland . It is said that the stone could identify a rightful ruler of the country by emitting a loud cry. Since the 13th century, every British king or queen (except for the first Mary) has been crowned monarch while seated in this chair over this stone. The stone had been brought to London by order of King Edward I from Scotland in 1297. In Scotland the stone had been kept at Scone Palace in Perthshire where 34 successive Scottish kings had been crowned while seated upon it. According to tradition, the stone had been brought to Scotland from Ireland where, up to that time the newly crowned kings of Ireland had been crowned upon it on the Hill of Tara. Legend further explains that the stone had come to Ireland from Judah in the 4th century BCE when the daughter of the last king of Judah married into the Irish royal family. Previously, the stone had been kept in the Temple of Jerusalem (cf Dome of the Rock) when the kings of Judah had been crowned upon it. Traditionally, the stone is believed to be that which Jacob used as a pillow when he had his dream of angels at Bethel.

Coronation stone, Stone of Destiny

Another example of a holy stone is the very sacred Black Stone (reddish black, with some red and yellow particles ) inside the holy shrine of the Ka'ba at Mecca. It is thought that the Black Stone, now in pieces (three large parts, with smaller fragments which are tied together with a silver band), may be a meteor, or a piece of lava, or a piece of basalt. Its original diameter is estimated to have been 30 cm. Besides the Black Stone, built into the western corner of the Ka'ba is less sacred Stone of Good Fortune.

Stones and rocks in Japan were initially seen as symbols ofmononoke (supernatural forces which permeate matter and space). Later, an abstract, undifferentiated mononoke was replaced by more definite animistic deities which resided in the stones and rocks. These rock abodes are called iwakura. All over the precinct of the Shrine at Ise are rocks and stones which are venerated as the abodes of deities, such as the subsidiary shrine at the Naiku called Takimatsuri-no-kami. Elsewhere in Japan are many stones and stone arrangements representing the male and female principle, such as the stone circle at Oyu in Akita Prefecture in Northeastern Japan. The emotional attachment to natural stones, originally religion-inspired, has persisted in Japan and is manifest today in the creation of richly symbolic and spiritual stone gardens.

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/stones.html

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Inspiration: Bill Zindle

Following on from my preliminary sketches of polyhedrons I decided I would take back to Pinterest and see what other inspiring art I could find. Amongst the posts I found this piece by California based designer Bill Zindel.

Geometric Collages - Bill Zindel - Found Paper Collage

You can see more of Zindel's Geometric Collages here on his website:
http://www.billzindel.com/index.php?/web/geometric-collages/

I also found an article on Bill Zindle:
http://www.4by6.com/creative-showcase/profile/bill_zindel

Similar Artists I've found: 

(Top to Bottom) Bloom No.4, Alegam No. 9, Bloom No. 7, Found Paper Collages - Scott Albrecht 

Designer Paul Farell, Quartz Candy, Screen Print, A4

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