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            If one studies design and composition, certain specialty terms will be encountered. The meanings of some terms are fairly specific but others may have several meanings that generally would need to be qualified in order to communicate clearly to a reader. In most writing it is a good idea to define a term so that confusion is eliminated, and the reader is directed to the point in the clearest possible manner. One potentially confusing term is plasticity and its variant, plastic form.

            The general meaning of plasticity is that something is capable of being molded into a form. We might think of clay, for example, as a plastic medium since it can easily be molded to a variety of forms using a variety of techniques. Clay is malleable and therefore it is easy to consider its plastic qualities. Wood or stone, although rigid, can also be formed, and either could be considered a plastic medium. The forming process for working with rigid materials would obviously be very different from malleable ones.

            In neuroscience, the brain is, in recent years, considered a plastic organ. Brain plasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change itself when necessary. If a certain portion of the brain is injured, other portions may take over the functions of the injured part as the brain seeks to heal itself. Ongoing research in this area is creating breakthroughs for sufferers of strokes, drug and alcohol addiction, traumatic injury, and other brain disorders. Even the aging brain can be altered through specific exercises to function more efficiently.

            In two-dimensional art, especially painting and drawing, plasticity refers to the manipulation of materials in order to create the appearance of three-dimensional forms – objects in space. The concept of the picture space within which a painted image manifests depends on our ability to first perceive space and understand certain qualities about that perception. Secondly, based on our observation, the drawing or painting materials are manipulated in such a way that we recreate or simulate whatever has been observed. We can create the appearance of distance and depth, volume, weight, solidity and transparency, and illumination. All of these perceived qualities we translate through manipulation of the medium into the appearance of the observed in a painting or drawing. When we also consider the varieties of ways plastic form has been achieved, we see a vast range of creativity. This may seem as though we’re stating the obvious, but the result is a remarkable achievement with a relatively short history within the overall timeframe of human existence. Personally, I think this is worth contemplating so that we don’t just take it for granted.