Module 2 Chapter 2 - Making Patterns (page 17)

Collecting Patterns

I collected patterns from craft papers that I already had tucked away in boxes. I particularly like the patterns on these Japanese papers.

These papers are textured and some of the patterns show symmetry (reflective & rotational).

Patterns collected from browsing through various magazines...

I love the pattern & colours that decorate the ceramic owl and like the random pattern of butterflies combined with the unusual colour combination.

I like the way that the vertical pattern of stripes contrasts with the horizontal set below.

A postcard from Morocco, showing striped fabric

More clippings from magazines, showing patterns that appealed to me...

Patterns in Nature

Soap bubbles

A beautifully striped shell

The patterned wing of an insect



Cracked mud!

A close up of quartz crystal - I really like the striped pattern and gradual change in colour.

I like the spiral pattern on the cut end of the leeks (above).

A collection of patterns on tree bark (below). Some of these are very beautiful and I like the textures show in each picture too, particularly the curling acer bark.

Patterns on shells (below).

Finding images for printing

I looked back at the drawings I completed for Chapter 1 of Module 2 and thought that the flower below would be a good basis as the design for a printing block. There are some interesting shapes in the design, and the petals are of varying shapes and sizes.

I cut the printing block out of thin foam and glued it onto stiff cardboard. I also made a small handle for the back. I was pleased with the result, especially as noone else could possibly have the same block, as it had originated from my own drawing (I'm starting to see why the drawing is so important!).

Straight Repeats (sliding/translational symmetry)

The print is quite clear and I achieved quite a good coverage over the surface of the paper. I printed onto a rough textured craft paper.

Spot Repeats

For the spot repeats, I changed to yellow acrylic paint and used a translucent craft paper (I think it was made with silk fibres, but have had it a long time, so wasn't quite sure). I had to be careful not to damage the paper, as it was very delicate, but was pleased with the final effect.

I experimented with the spot repeats on a darker, patterned paper. I first printed in red over the dark blue background, but the result was very dull, so I decided to make a second 'ghost' print in yellow, slightly to the right of the first print. This was much more dynamic and I liked the effect of having two prints together.

Half drop Repeats

I used yellow acrylic paint over a turquoise background that had been splashed with bleach. This created a 'greenish' pattern that had good coverage over the background. This would be a good print pattern to use on plain papers and fabrics, as not much of the background shows through.

Mirror Symmetry

I created my stencil using stiff card, as I couldn't find any plastic to use, and the foam that I had was a little too thick. I used a sponge to apply the paint to the stencil onto a plain background. Some of the prints came out very clearly, and others were a little more blurred, depending on how hard I pressed the sponge through the stencil and how much paint I applied.
I took the idea for my design from a picture of peonies.

Rotational Symmetry

I went back to using my print block for the rotational symmetry patterns - I first used A4 paper (above), but my block was slightly too large to create good coverage to see the effect of the pattern. I tried this again, but used a larger sheet of brown paper (below). I left a space in the middle of each set of rotations and was pleased with the overall effect.

I tried another sample on gold tissue paper, but without leaving a space between the top and bottom prints, to obtain greater coverage over the paper. The effect was very attractive, although this can't be seen clearly in the photo because the gold doesn't really show up.

Experiments

I used my printing block on textured paper that I had painted with watered down acrylic paints. I used a straight repeat pattern, first in yellow and then overprinted in red, slightly to the right of the first print. If this was repeated on fabric, with fabric dyes on the background, it would be a good starting point to stitch on.

I coloured the same textured paper with Aquarelle crayons and then blended the colours together with a wet brush. I then used my stencil and acrylic paint to create a pattern, using a more random placing of the flower. I liked the contrast of the darker coloured flower against the lighter background in this experiment.

Printing on transfer painted satin, using my own block. I used mirror reflective symmetry in red acrylic paint for this.

I liked the way that the flowers showed up clearly over the lighter sections of the fabric, and seemed to blend into the darker sections.

Stitching onto the fabric

I used yellow and orange machine embroidery thread for this. The orange defined the edges of the printed flower pattern and the yellow highlighted some of the petal shapes, as it was lighter than the other colours used.

Adding stitching to the design added definition to the prints. I liked the areas where I only stitched around part of the petals, as this gave the impression of light catching them.

Print and Stitch

I experimented with different print blocks that I already had on cartridge paper that had been painted with dyes.

Small flower wooden print block (above)

Rubber print blocks (above & below).

I liked the small flower print block that I used in the first photo and used this to transfer a pattern to some purple and orange transfer painted satin. I used purple transfer paint to do this, in order to blend into the background. I then stitched my favourite flower design in the style of Cefyn Burgess over the background. I repeated single flowers from the original design, rather than copy the picture, as I thought that this would produce a more pleasing result. I really like the way that different colours from the background show through the petals of the flowers, and overall, it reminded me of a field of flowers at sunset. I did have a little trouble with the needle 'catching' the satin though, and the 'pulls' in the fabric can be seen around some of the flowers.

Further thoughts on use of pattern...

Pattern in machine embroidery could also be used in the following ways:

borders and edging

as a background to be embroidered over

as a main design to be embellished

to decorate items such as cushions, bags and vessels

the negative space between patterns can be used as the basis for a new design

I'm sure there are lots of others uses that I haven't thought of yet!