Art Spotlight: “Reflectographs”

'Namaste' by Cristina McAllister'

Calliope's door.

While working on the artwork for Calliope (who?), I began thinking about ways to incorporate meaning into the designs.

One way was through visual symbols.  Another way was by including actual words.  I began to fiddle around with this idea, sketching stuff out, playing with different words and fancy fonts and ways to make words and letters look more decorative.  I wanted to integrate the words into the artwork in a way that almost disguised them as pure design, but was still recognizable as writing.

 What I ended up with was something I call “reflectographs”. 

I use a lot of reflective symmetry in my mandalas, and by orienting a word vertically and reflecting it, I got the effect I was going for.

At first glance, it may appear to be just an abstract design of lines and curves, but upon closer inspection, the letters (and the meaning) can be discerned.

I totally love this effect!

Reflectographs growing in"The Garden"

When I was a kid, I was captivated by the idea of secret languages, ancient writing, mysterious messages.  I even devised my own fantasy alphabets and symbol systems.  There’s something fascinating about unfamiliar writing.  I can appreciate it for its pure beauty of form, and it has the potential to mean anything, which I find intriguing.

Reflectographs growing in"The Garden"

The reflectographs have this same aura of mystery about them, when you first see them. They are almost disguised as decoration or some alien script, but just a bit more attention and contemplation can reward you with the veiled meaning.

There's a flash of instantaneous revelation and suddenly...you can translate this mysterious text.

'Peace' by Cristina McAllister

It’s interactive art magic!