Welcome to Shape & Place

How Shape & Place came to be…

In March 2024, when I was laid off from my job as a UX designer, I knew I’d have some time on my hands for a while. I excitedly got back to work on a long-running instrumental music project, and, needing a break from recording one evening, I started working on album cover art. Drawing on years of inspiration from Bauhaus and Brutalist art, minimalism, and abstract art, I started exploring rough ideas, and soon felt a spark I hadn’t felt in a long time. Almost overnight, I tapped into an idle passion that, despite the demands of finding a new full-time job, kept me engaged, excited, and eager to see where I could take it across the eight months I looked for something new.

Since I first used Photoshop in the late 90’s as an architecture-turned-advertising major focused on web and graphic design, I’ve been obsessed with layers and transparency, textures, and ways of making digital art look analog. Although my dreams of being an architect quickly faded—thanks to miserable math skills and the intimidation and complexity of physics—the inspiration of architecture and architecture-inspired art never went away. The interactions of shapes, colors, and textures I enjoy so much were born out of that inspiration.

I’ve also been intrigued by code-based art for years, and by what is possible when randomization and intention merge within a structured framework. In 2024, I bought a pen plotter and soon found my way into building JavaScript tools to create algorithmic pen-based art on paper. It was as much a spark as that night I worked on album graphics, and across the following months, I continued building code-based tools that augmented what I was doing in digital applications. It’s been an unexpected and creatively rewarding combination of passions, to say the least.

Until May 2025, I thought this would only be images I’d post to Instagram and other sites. With the encouragement of numerous friends and strangers who asked if I planned on printing any of it, I wondered if it could be more than that - and now it is. I never imagined myself as someone with an art store, but I’m giving it a go, and I hope you enjoy it. 

Soon I’ll be adding photo prints to the mix, along with blog content ranging from design inspiration to monthly ambient music playlists.

Thanks in advance for joining the email list, and following on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, as well as sharing Shape & Place with those you know who enjoy art like this. 

- Michael