Shaping Space: The Dynamics of Three-Dimensional Design

by Paul J. Zelanski, Mary Pat Fisher

As a guide to introductory three-dimensional design or sculpture, SHAPING SPACE offers an in-depth exploration of the aesthetic and practical considerations of working in three dimensions. Discussions of technique cover a range of media, including assorted fibers, ceramics, and even virtual design using the computer as a tool. Suggested studio projects provide structured assignments that relate directly to textual materials.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

Paul Zelanski was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1931. When he was 10, his sister saved up and gave him an oil paint set — the most memorable and important present of his life to that point, as his childhood was during the Great Depression and holidays were for getting socks and underwear. He attended Hartford High, and was the first resident of Connecticut’s capitol city to be accepted to Cooper Union. College was interrupted by two years spent in the Army during the Korean War, but Paul returned and earned his certificate (all that was offered at Cooper in those days) in 1955.

After Cooper Union, Paul went on to study under Josef Albers at Yale University. It was here that Paul began his life-long passion for color theory. When Paul finished his BFA at Yale in 1957, on recommendation from Albers, he attended Bowling Green State University for his master’s degree in painting. Always knowing that he wanted to be an educator, after finishing school he taught at North Texas State University from 1958–62, and then moved north to teach at the University of Connecticut, where he would remain until his retirement in 1995. Paul continued to make collages every day in his studio in Connecticut until his death in July of 2015.

Paul married artist Annette Zelanski in 1965 and they had three children together, one son and two daughters.

Reviews

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the textbook for 3d design class I took. It was good, but as I had the older edition, I will recommend that if you are interested get the newest edition. They improved this text so much from the 2nd to the 3rd edition to make it seem to not even be the same book anymore. The 3rd has a better layout, color photos, and somehow makes more sense of the concepts involved. Great project ideas are in the back of this text also, so if you wanted something to give you things to try, you might want to check this out.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glad to read this since i'm an art major. It helped with my sculpture class. I am glad to have leaned something from it.

[Jint'ar Darvek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best part of the book: the assignments in the back of the book that correspond to each of the chapters. If you want to git gud at sculpture, do the assignments. All of them. If you don't have fun in the process, maybe pick a different line of work. Or keep trying until you start enjoying yourself or decide to give up.

The unavoidable shortcoming of this book is that you'll need to see sculpture in person to understand it. The authors admit as much in the first chapter, discussing the challenge of representing 3D works using 2D photos. The most painful such limitation is in the chapter on casting. If you want to have any hope of understanding the casting methods discussed, go find youtube videos so you can see how they're actually done. Otherwise you may end up totally lost.

Pretty good overall, 8/10