This article discusses Al Souza's "Orlando City Maps," which was created not by adding colored ink to paper, but by cutting the printed paper away. Seven layers of pages are stacked upon one another and, except for the intact bottom layer, oval-shaped holes are cut through each page to reveal the layers below. When designing "Orlando City Maps,"…

When artists are inspired to travel in Europe to study art and history of the Western world, Italy is a good place to start. With its ancient architecture, rich cultural heritage, and superb works of art, Italy has been the quintessential center of Western art history for centuries. It was the good fortune of Alabama-based artist and teacher…

Artists are inventors. Some invent objects and images that look totally new and never before seen. Others invent or replicate views of people and places familiar or fascinating to them. Artists often originate well-designed, useful pieces that play a part in society's pragmatic or spiritual activities. Still others create objects that look like…

There is something disappointing about life. It is messy and out of control. It seems the more one tries to put life in order, the more ordering there is to do. The more one seeks explanations, the more confusing things become. Life's an impossible task. Maybe one should just give up. Or, then again, one might as well keep trying. It's this…

Back in the 18th century, it was popular to give one's lover a locket containing a painted image of one's eye. Possibly this was a way of keeping privacy between two secret lovers. Or it may have been a way of keeping close to the gaze of a loved one while spending time apart. The pendants may have included a lock of hair or other tiny element…