The Grammar of Paisley

While modeling a riverboat in Maya for a project, I noticed that the railings, balconies, porches, and windows around the boat were essentially identical to the same elements on the grand houses of the day. The ship makers used stock carpentry items.

I began to wonder if their was a 'grammar' or 'template' for 'riverboat' that was separate from the specific design, much as the underlying structure of this blog is separate from the particular CSS-implemented style (I use Minimalist Brown). What would, for example, a medieval riverboat look like? I could picture it.

When I was working on this paisley design, which I tried to open the paisley idea up to include natural forms like a butterfly, I used pattern brushes I created in Adobe Illustrator that I could quickly draw and place by fitting them around bezier paths. For the patterns, themselves, I was inspired by other paisleys, and mehndi. I started to wonder if their was a grammar for 'paisley' that could be translated to other cultures.

Some other questions I wondered about...

What would happen if I applied a Renaissance or Medieval style to the James Bond template?

Can one apply an African style to the Harajuku template?

Is there such a thing as a Graphic Equalizer for Images?

...might explain the popularity with many producers (although not all of them) of the 'It's Diehard in a (blank)...' movie pitch.

UPDATE 6/4/2009

Classic 80's Hits... Interpreted for Ragtime Piano

UPDATE 5/27/2010

Python script turns any song into a swing number