SUMMER SKETCHBOOK UN-SLUMP WEEK 3 |
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Checkers, polka dots, and plaids. Daily habits, our thoughts and actions. Neat, methodical, mathematic. Loose, casual, free flowing. There are so many ways patterns appear in our lives and there are just as many ways to look at them! This week let's pay closer attention to the patterns around us, discover the connections we have with them, and find out what they inspire us to create. Here are some ideas and tutorials to try and help you get started! |
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What does pattern look like for you? |
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- Start at the end. Think of what the end product will be as you begin: a dress, a tea towel, wallpaper. Keep that in mind as you create your pattern.
- Fill a page with patterns. Divide your sketchbook page into sections and fill each one with a different pattern. Try splitting your page into 4 squares to create larger patterns or use a bottle cap and trace a bunch of circles to fill in with tiny quick ones--there are many ways you can do this! Decide if you want to stick with one tool or use a variety. Consider doing this in one sitting or filling in a few sections a day as a morning or evening ritual. This can also be done as a collage by finding a pattern in your daily life to add to the page: a piece of junk mail, food packaging, etc.) And in the future, this page can be used as a reference for patterns and textures!
- Explore repetition. See what happens when you repeat something: it can be simple such as repeating a single shape or try drawing the same subject several times. What do you notice in the finished art as well as your process?
- Find patterns in our lives. Our behaviors and habits are also a form of patterns. Is there a new one you'd like to cultivate? Consider making a bullet journal inspired spread to help you track a habit in August. Here are some layout ideas. (Some of these have a ton of items listed, don't overwhelm yourself with too many--just one is enough!)
- Stencils. Try incorporating them in your piece as well as making your own!
- Take a look at the art you've created throughout the years (or since we've begun the Creative Spark Newsletter!) Do you see any reoccurring patterns? Shapes or markings you are drawn to and use often, a certain medium or color that appears frequently? Take what you find to create a new piece whether it's embracing the patterns you've found or going in a completely new direction!
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- Studio Fly Gurl's block printing is not only beautiful but the way Renee Fly can use just a few stamps and arrange them to make intricate patterns is amazing! Maybe her work will inspire you to try carving and printing or to create interlocking patterns with a medium of your choice!
- Try this simple block print tile pattern tutorial from Lou Davis
- If you'd like the look of block printing but don't have the supplies try making stamps with things like cardboard and string!
- Make a repeat pattern by hand. I loved this tutorial, also from Lou Davis. You don't need any programs like Illustrator, you can do this simply with a pen and paper. I also enjoyed her narration, especially the part about adding bits of you into the pattern.
- We often talk about learning new things but what about unlearning? Maybe something we have been repeating is no longer serving us and it's time to let go. Art gives us a way to do that by allowing us to get our thoughts and emotions out of our minds and onto paper--you don't need the right words because you can use colors, brush strokes, and markings to express it instead. Consider creating an abstract piece that represents what you'd like to unlearn and let go of.
- Let the rhythms and repetition in music as well as song structure and lyric repetition inspire you.
- Look for pattern inspiration all around you. Take a walk and observe the brick walls, shapes of leaves, the repetition of petals in a flower, cracks in the sidewalk, the lines in windows and shutters. Or consider something you love: animals, the beach, the mountains (there are SO many intricate and organic patterns found in nature!) What patterns can you find there? Use what you find to create this week's page. You can even pick up some things to use as rubbings to capture their exact pattern.
- "Pay attention to the intricate patterns of your existence that you take for granted.” -Doug Dillon
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As always, I am very much looking forward to seeing what this prompt sparks within you! Have a great rest of your month (seriously, where did it go!?) and talk to you soon! :) |
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