Let's Talk Pattern on Off the Wall Friday

 

#1

My gosh, a moment to breathe!  Believe it or not, in my retail world Spring Rush is more hectic than Christmas.  A Spring Rush as the country is starting to open is that much more hectic.   I take call after call which all start out in the same way..."Thank You for Calling My Company, I'm Nina-Marie how can I help you?" It's a familiar pattern but after that you're never quite sure where the call is going to go!  (And since my customers are all about 75-100 years old, I'm sure you understand...grin)  

I bring this up not only because it's dominating my days but also because our lives are full of familiar patterns.  If anything this year has taught us is that when those patterns are disrupted, we all feel out of sorts.  However, since they are so much of our everyday life, we tend to take patterns for granted.  

#2

In Rosalie Dace's recent lecture on pattern she really brought to mind how much inspiration is in our

everyday lives.  Now we aren't talking about pattern like people conventionally think about patterns...like wallpaper, upholstery fabric, tiles etc.  Those are all so predictable.  Don't get me wrong predictable is good but there is something a bit more interesting in a pattern with a repeat that is without predictability.

Case in point....look at the black and white line images #1, #2, #3....which are you drawn too?  The ones that are predictable  or the ones that start out predictable and then variation is added in. Look at the thickness of the line, the lengths, the angles, the stops and ends.  So much to take in right?  

#3

All three pictures are interesting  with line, but the ones that have less predictability captures the viewer's attention the longest.  So much to think about and explore.  With #3 we know what is there at a glance and we know  where it's going.  Now that in itself is not a bad thing and the rhythm is comforting....but...predictable.

While we're talking about these three line drawings....let's talk about what's important in them.  Is it the black line or is it the space between the lines?  Modern Quilting has brought negative space back into focus for sure.  It's so easy to overlook it sometimes.  Pattern isn't always just formed by those black lines but also the secondary pattern of the negative space around them. If you're a having a hard time focusing on the negative space squint your eyes.  See it now??  Cool right?!  

Look this is not rocket science for sure!  You want to add interest to pattern, add variation.  Make sure that your lines are not all the same length with the same distance between them.  The hard part is coming up with a composition that has enough variation to add interest without being too chaotic.  Chaos for the most part in composition is not good. (well and then Jackson Pollock showed that isn't always true either...hmmmm rules for sure are made to be purposely broke!)

Ohhh and of course remember....the lines definitely don't need to be straight!

 So take some time to draw some lines - play with pattern - take pictures of patterns in your everyday life.  Edit the photos to show contrast and play with the negative space.  Look! Look! Look!

And is there anything else I can help you with today?

Oh wait...that's my day time ending....my blog's pattern ending goes like this...

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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