Skipping ahead to Christmas

The advent challenge theme for Christmas Day is 'what does Christmas mean to you?'

It means more time to enjoy being with my family. And I've realised by setting myself this challenge, and insisting on keeping to it I am reducing the time I'll have with them, since they've now all finished work / uni / school.

So I'm not going to stick to it. I hope you don't think less of me but if you do, that's too bad and I'll have to live with it. It's been a bit of a difficult, exhausting (physically and emotionally) Autumn for various reasons and I think I need to cut myself some slack.

After Christmas I intend to spend a lot more time creating and therefore a lot less time writing.

So for the moment at least it's

Au Revoir and Have a very Happy Christmas, full of all the things you need from your own Christmas whether that's excitement or tranquility; turkey, goose, beef, duck or vegetarian and vegan options; country walks or wild parties. Whatever you need to recharge and refresh.

Be healthy, be happy. Create.

Love

Catherine

Who am I? and to which icon is this a little homage to?

Bet you didn't think my Dundee Cake would end up looking like this!

One of the tricks to finding your style is apparently to define who you  are - what your personality is - and allow that to come out in your work.

This is something of a challenge for me! I once did a full Myers-Briggs type indicator test as part of a high level training course for work. Before you receive the computer analysis of your response you have to do a quick verbal Q&A version with the assessor. Of the four indicators, my verbal version came out opposite to my computer version on three and the fourth indicator (where I matched) was the indicator on which I was, according to the computer, the least firmly placed. The assessor said that either I really was a very flexible person or I didn't know myself very well!

I think it's a little bit of both (unhelpfully). I certainly know myself better now, but I think years of working to other people's expectations and putting other people first (parents, customers, line managers, spouse, children..... one is brought up not to put oneself first), means I cannot always say what I would do or how I would react in situations if it was entirely my choice. As soon as someone else is in the equation, perhaps it changes.

So when working on my own personal style, trend research is actually quite distracting, as can looking at other people's work sometimes be. And when you add in all the various possibilities in terms of medium (pen, pencil, watercolour, oil pastels - my current voyage of exploration - photography, pencil crayon, stitch), then add in all the wonderful possibilities for developing those in Photoshop and Illustrator, it is perhaps no wonder that I am taking so long over this.

Have you got the answer to the question in the title of today's post yet?

Damien Hirst. Icon because (although I don't like or indeed sometimes see the point of some of his work - 'Three ball 50.50 tank' for example, and I query whether his 'spot' paintings can in fact, really be called his since they mostly weren't done by him anyway)

• I think he knows who he is! Yet he doesn't restrict himself to one genre or style - pickled animals, bronze sculptures and spot paintings - some contrasting elements there, for sure!
• His work is thoughtful & explores ideas whether I appreciate those thoughts & ideas or not
• For this quote: "Art goes on in your head. If you said something interesting, that might be a title for a work of art and I'd write it down. Art comes from everywhere. It's your response to your surroundings. There are on-going ideas I've been working out for years, like how to make a rainbow in a gallery. I've always got a massive list of titles, of ideas for shows, and of works without titles."
• and this one, when he wrote to other artists asking for contributions of art for a charity auction: “I remember when I couldn’t give my art away, it wasn’t long ago either. What is there left to say? Money is a key and what we raise from this auction will make a huge difference for a lot of people. It’s great to be able to give something back and make a difference.” 

What do you think?

Catherine

Feeling a bit better - three ding dong patterns for the price of one, plus icons x 9!

Yesterday I was convinced I was no good at this SPD lark. And then (& from talking to others this is often the way it goes), you come from a place of being semi disgusted by all you produce to a place where it all flows again.

I'd started with my Lewis F Day inspired layout:

and set it up as a pattern, but.......it just.....wasn't.....singing to me! I can't explain what that means easily. It's just a general dissatisfaction, an inner knowledge that while the pattern is 'okay', that's all it is. It isn't yet ready. And the breathlessness and lack of energy from my chest infection made me feel incapable of producing better.

Still a bit breathless this morning but I'm much happier.

I know the circle one still needs adjusting and I might play about with some colour variations but overall this is much more what I wanted to achieve. Still not Christmassy in feel, which is interesting but I could possibly see them as (non-specific to season or event) wrapping paper? Or funky wallpaper?

These still use strong photographic elements, mostly for speed but I feel I am not pushing myself enough artistically. While too breathless to design much, I've gone back to Pinterest to redo the ABSPD exercise of trying to define what patterns please me and why. I've drawn my icons for today from that.

There's so much out there, it's very easy to be attracted briefly to all manner of things. I constantly ask myself  'could I live with this pattern or would I soon tire of it?' - I also try to separate out that which I like, from that which I just admire for its skill. Here's (some) of what I came up with - the 'why' is the tricky yet potentially crucial part for moving me forward (the links all go to visuals):

1. William Morris - an obvious one to many perhaps but.....satisfyingly regular but detailed patterns drawn from the natural world. A lot of them are like jewels.
2. Piet Mondrian - his more subtly coloured work anyway.  I like the geometric shapes coupled with the irregular size of them.
3. Paul Lang Kurz  Art Nouveau - this link is to The Textile Blog which describes Art Nouveau in terms of interpreting 'the essence of the spirit of nature as if it were a dance', which I quite like. 
4. Marthe Armitage - simplicity & detail; mostly naturals.
5. Paul Klee - linework and colouration more subtle than Mondrian's; abstract
6. Rex Ray - strong colours (accent pieces?), bold geometric and abstract shapes with texture
7. Sophie Munns - strong abstract shapes, texture, subtle but satisfying colours
8. Tim Pugh - using the natural world as material for pattern (like Andy Goldsworthy) - shape, colour, tones, irregular repetitions. 
9. Ophelia Pang - irregular abstract shapes, irregular geometry, bright use of colour. I also love the sense of her journey - purely visual - as she says 'I'd rather speak in colors and shapes'

So - a mixture of abstract, geometric & naturals, with mostly subtle colours, but some vivid, rich & contrasting ones too. Some I like for their satisfying and detailed repeats; some for their unexpected variations. I like texture, whether that is achieved by detail of patterning or subtlety of colouration and line strength. 

I have discovered that although I like some 1950s / mid century work (as they call it) - as a style movement I am not overly drawn to it. Which is a result. I think. Perhaps I need to spend time after Christmas going over my own designs with similar yardsticks......

Tomorrow's pattern theme is 'Festive Food' - yesterday I made our traditional 'double the mixture' Dundee Cake - it may well feature!

Have a good evening

Catherine

Normal service will be resumed....when I'm better. But enjoy Jools Holland in the meantime.

Please forgive the break in advent icons - a chest infection is sapping my energy.

Jools Holland was to be my icon for yesterday. Actually Jools and his piano (the two are inseparable in my mind). And what inspiration does Jools bring to the artcraftdesign mix? Passion and energy. And all those patterns in sound.

To see him live is an item on my (before I kick the) 'bucket' list. Enjoy.

No patterns from me today sadly - got to go back to bed again. See you when I see you....

Catherine

Planning your patterns - icon guru & hero (8) Lewis F Day

Lewis F Day (google him!) was an English decorative artist and designer, and a one-time vice-president of the Society of Arts. He wrote several books and even contributed to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. I have a copy of his book 'Pattern Design'. I love this book. I go back to it again and again, sometimes learning, sometimes just enjoying and being soothed by the diagrams & illustrations before I go to sleep.

My sister bought it (on request) for my birthday last year but I never imagined what a joy it would be. It was written in the 1880's so the language can be a bit archaic, long-winded and hard to get your head around. He covers squares, triangles, octagons, circles, how patterns evolve, borders, planning, drop repeats and 'scaffolding' - among others.  It is full of the most wonderful (black and white) illustrations - the dotted diagonal lines on this one indicate how the pattern was formed on a diamond shape.

And it's also full of wisdom ("If you would avoid the unforeseen in your completed work - and the unforeseen reveals itself often in the most unsatisfactory manner - system is essential"). Yes, some of it has been eased or even superceded by technology. But that doesn't mean it's irrelevant. And some of the language might even be thought beautiful. Consider this:

"Painters unpractised in design assume sometimes that they have only to repeat at given intervals no matter what study from nature, and make good the connection between the repetitions of it, and the trick is done. It is not quite so easy as that.......The natural lines of a flower, determined by no thought of repetition, are scarcely likely to bear repetition very well, and the difficulty of working up to nature, and comprehending such naturalistic details in any satisfactory scheme of composition is extreme. If anything results that way which goes for ornament, it is by accident and not design. Emphatically that is not the way to set about it. A designer makes his flowers grow his way."

Today's design challenge theme was 'ding dong'. As in 'Merrily on high' I assume. I don't have a bell but we do own a wrought iron triangle which gets rung on a daily basis to bring everybody down for dinner. So here are some sketches inspired by our triangle and tomorrow I'm going to try to create a pattern planned in a way of which Lewis F Day would approve!

Researching Lewis F Day, I started to want to see and read some of his other books. I've just made the most amazing discovery - you can download them free from this website.

Go on - spoil yourselves!

Catherine

Andrew Carnegie - icon for advent (7) - Icon of libraries and philanthropy

One can define ArtCraftDesign in terms of 'art' and 'craft' and 'design' but also in terms of the 'arts, crafts and designs' of actually living - trying to live well, honestly, according to one's beliefs and making the most of one's talents.

As a librarian there is obviously a direct connection for me with my icon for today, Andrew Carnegie, whose philanthropic work emphasised public libraries around the world. So today I want to revert to my former public librarian status (I now run a school library rather than co-ordinating the work of several public ones) and ensure you are all aware (and it always amazes me how many people are not aware) of just what you may be able to benefit from - often for free - from public and other libraries as designers and business people. There is much much more you could also benefit from as parents and individuals in your own right but that would take more than one post. And while the following has a British perspective, I encourage those of you from other parts of the world to investigate what's available to you locally too.

Discovering surface pattern design I heard of a book and searched for it on Gloucestershire Libraries online catalogue. I reserved it and it was delivered to my nearest branch. For the next few months that book bounced between me and an unknown other library member in Cheltenham. Every time I reserved it, they returned it to let me have my go and they duly reserved it to borrow it again after me. Share and share alike and a 'greener' use of resources. Plus I didn't commit my own funds until I was sure I needed to own the book (I didn't, as I got what I needed just from borrowing). So try before you buy. Public library membership is free; local charges for reserving books may vary but are kept as low as possible.

Local library authorities vary in the exact services they provide and the books they buy depending on their catchment areas and their budgets. If there is something you think they should have, suggest it. They will not always be able to justify purchasing (eg if it is likely to be just you wanting it), but they will often consider it.

From the main library website for your area, a good link to follow would be to online / virtual or e-reference services. These will often include business research services: Worcestershire Libraries for example offer Cobra (Complete Business Reference Advisor), and British Standards online; other authorities  also include something called Kompass - which is business to business information, or MintUK business information. Cornwall Libraries also link to local business help and support from their pages; other local authorities might keep that information separate from their library pages. Internet use in public libraries can often be free or minimally charged.

University and academic libraries won't let you join (unless you are a student or staff member obviously) but many of them do have to allow public access as part of their charter. You won't know what you'll find necessarily, but if your local institution runs art related courses or business, law, etc courses then it's worth a morning spent browsing. Sometimes the most serendipitous 'findings' occur (eg I now know that a book called The Luxury Strategy is held by the University of the West of England in Bristol). Don't forget such institutions may also run short courses and summer schools of interest.

We librarians both honour Andrew Carnegie and curse the difficulty & expense of maintaining, heating, insulating and adapting for modern use such (often listed) buildings.

Let me tell you another reason why he inspires me: I do not know whether I will make my fortune or even a decent living in the surface pattern design / luxury scarf world.  I (like most of us) could sometimes wish for a bit more freedom & flexibility in my finances, a bit more security about the future. But right from the beginning I recognise that I am not in the world alone and relatively speaking I am lucky. So 5% of any profit I make will be donated to Unicef. There are many charities I could have chosen but it has taken me till I'm nearly 50 to know what I want to do and have the courage to go for it. How much talent for the world dies when little children die or have to spend their lives fetching water, scrabbling a living from rubbish heaps, are enslaved to make chocolate for the rest of us, and so on? I want  to make sure my supply chains are as 'blame free' as possible and that will not be easy. Carnegie built his fortune on steel and that process, I'm sure, was not always 'blame free' but his attitude was that with the wealth created he had a chance to improve things; without it he didn't. Life is ever a compromise.

Gosh. That was all a bit serious. Here's a (very) quick Christmas market pattern to lighten the mood.

Joy to the world!

Much love

Catherine

A brand new advent guru (6) Lidija Paradinovic Nagulov

I love it when people take the trouble to comment on my posts. Mostly this happens via the Facebook pages I post it on - my own, and the ABSPD ones. But Lidija commented via the blog.

I imagine she must have found it via one of those groups but I didn't know her name. She works as 'Celandine Designs' - which name provoked an instant smile from me as it is my father's favourite wild flower. Look at her gorgeous work! So lush.

And of course, I had a nosy around on her blog and found this advice about finding your style. And she's absolutely right - we all want to do everything but equally cannot do everything. We need to make decisions - we need to define ourselves more closely.

I can answer some of the questions Lidija suggests answering: I mostly imagine my work on scarves but also wonder about wallpaper, home decor and fashion. With some of the fun things I've produced in the few days of the Faye Brown design Advent challenge, I can see some outlet for stationery.

I work with different pattern types (floral, abstract, geometrical, mostly) and might have several on a single scarf.

I truly do love my line work - it's getting stronger and more confident and faster on a daily basis. It's flexible too, as I can take it anywhere and use any moment (dentist's and doctor's waiting rooms come to mind of late). I can do it last thing at night in bed before I go to sleep; and I can do it in front of the telly when I'm being sociable with the family and don't really (personally) need to pay attention to the minutiae of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (though Dr Who - now that's different...!). I mainly see myself using paint as texture and depth. To what level I will continue to use photographic source material (only ever from my own photographs) I'm still mulling.

I work with layering and translucencies, so my colours aren't 'saturated' but nor are they necessarily muted. I'm more naturally drawn to colour contrasts than to analogous colours.

As for who I see buying my work: older women (45+), elegant and confident, whose wardrobe staples are classic in cut and quality and tend not to be overly patterned, but which would be perfectly set off by the jewel-like signature element of one of my scarves.

But, as I say, scarves are on the back burner and I'm going to give myself the gift of a few months working on my style without too much reference to anybody else's work. After advent, that is. Today's challenge theme was a Christmas market. Here are some snippets of sketches and tomorrow, rather than doing the Winter Wonderland theme, I'm going to continue working these up and seeing where they go.