Balance

Balance can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Sometimes a piece is intentionally off balance.

Symmetrical balance means that both sides of an axis are the same, like a reflection. It feels solid, unmoving, formal, classic, and complete. The axis can be vertical, as in a butterfly. It can be horizontal, like the reflection of a landscape on water. It can be angled. There can be more than one axis. In art, the two sides need not be exactly the same. A melody played by an oboe can be balanced by the same melody played by tenor sax. The goal is to achieve a sense of equality.

Asymmetrical balance means that the sides are different, but have the same overall weight. Weight is more of a feeling than a measurement. One large object can be balanced by a handful of small objects. A small black chair can be balanced by a large pale pink couch.

The dividing axis does not need to be in the center. Off center is more interesting, modern, and suggests movement. Be aware of where your axis is, and balance accordingly.

No balance at all is unsettling to most people. It will leave them uncomfortable and feeling that something is missing. This is sometimes the goal, and you can use this effect to your advantage.

When your work has an incompleteness or pulls you in one direction more than another, it probably lacks balance. Add some weight to the lighter side.

Step 5: Refine

After the execution phase of the creative process, you need feedback. Even if you have been asking for and incorporating feedback all along, the final critique is a milestone. You will have one or several comprehensive models, and perhaps variations on each of those. Now you present them to the client or patron. If this is a personal project, you step back and look at your work with detachment. Every comment or suggestion should be taken seriously, even though your tendency is to defend your work.

So many outcomes are possible at this point. You might get approval to go ahead, proceed with changes, or get sent "back to the drawing board." The most demoralizing is to have your idea picked apart and watered down so much that it no longer resembles the vision you had in the beginning. This is very common when dealing with a committee. Everyone has different taste, some people just don't get it, and everyone wants to weigh in with a suggestion in order to feel they have contributed. You can avoid this fate by insisting on having one person with the executive authority to approve your project before you agree to take it on.

Nevertheless, you now have some concerns to address. Although frustrating, this is a chance to take your work to a higher level. If you can determine the underlying goal behind a specific suggestion, you as the artist will likely have a better way to achieve it.

Next, you throw yourself into the finished piece. You incorporate the best of the ideas, find better ways to accomplish goals, and disregard suggestions that will weaken the piece (getting approval if necessary). All of your work and play comes to fruition in the unveiling to the client, patron, or the public.