Grasscloth wallcoverings are what I would call another form of wallpaper, and they showed up in the latest Phoenix Magazine. They interest me, because they are the epitome of a 2-dimensional art form - as is wallpaper - but have the added benefit of catering to the interior of the home, and of being made of natural grasses: "Versatile and chic, grasscloth wallcoverings take root in interior design" .....
"Such plants as jute, sisal, flax, and raffia....are being noticed for their aesthetic qualities as they take center stage in a new breed of grasscloth wallcoverings." Grasscloth offers such designs as screen-printed florals, embroidered patterns, and solid colors in flag-like "flavors", apparently available in 29 colors!
Wallpaper is of course susceptible to repetitive patterns, and vignettes, both of which I have always thought of as quite charming, as can be fabric design or surface design.
Showing posts with label fabric design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric design. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Gridlock!
Let's take a piece of graph paper. Now, graph paper is not what we normally think of as paper on which we render art, but I want to show you something, and you guessed it, it's regarding two dimensions. (Granted, graph paper particularly screams "two dimensions!")
Think about a repeating pattern of your own choice. It will wind up looking like a repeating pattern on a surface design, or on a piece of fabric. Connecting-tiles comes to mind, or even the lowly linoleum patterns. Design one pattern, or simply pick a very basic design like a music staff, or a simple logo that you are familiar with, or a triangle within a circle, or vice versa, etc.
Now decide how big a rectangle or square you want to use on your graph paper for this repeating design. For example a one-inch square, or a two-inch square, or a rectangle 1"by 2".
Soon you will see, with repeating your "design-logo" throughout the squares or the rectangles you have chosen, what your two-dimensional grid looks like, or your "linoleum," or your surface design on your fabric.
Think about a repeating pattern of your own choice. It will wind up looking like a repeating pattern on a surface design, or on a piece of fabric. Connecting-tiles comes to mind, or even the lowly linoleum patterns. Design one pattern, or simply pick a very basic design like a music staff, or a simple logo that you are familiar with, or a triangle within a circle, or vice versa, etc.
Now decide how big a rectangle or square you want to use on your graph paper for this repeating design. For example a one-inch square, or a two-inch square, or a rectangle 1"by 2".
Soon you will see, with repeating your "design-logo" throughout the squares or the rectangles you have chosen, what your two-dimensional grid looks like, or your "linoleum," or your surface design on your fabric.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
PLAID
Since we're on fabrics, and fabric design, let's talk about straight lines.
Straight lines are parallel to the top edge of a piece of fabric, or, they are parallel to the side edge of a piece of fabric. You can imagine that: parallel lines that are vertical or parallel lines that are horizontal on a piece of fabric, and in varying colors. You can have navy on white, or white on navy, for instance, or any number of other color combinations ad infinitum, and of any size of stripes: any sizes or colors that come to your imagination. It's an easy experiment, to try different colors and sizes along these lines, on your sketch paper. (You can use a ruler: I do.)
Now consider a piece of fabric that has straight lines going vertically and also straight lines that form the horizontal pattern. Together they mesh, along the expanse of the 2-dimensional fabric, criss-crossing endlessly, "up-and-down" along with "left-to-right". This has often been called "plaid", and, though it is not limited to this, men's shirts from time immemorial have been made from plaid flannel. These particular plaids come in "manly" colors such as shades of brown and tan and black and cream, blues and greens and yellows, and especially shades of red, with some brown and white. All with lines that are straight as an arrow, going in "two dimensions"!
Straight lines are parallel to the top edge of a piece of fabric, or, they are parallel to the side edge of a piece of fabric. You can imagine that: parallel lines that are vertical or parallel lines that are horizontal on a piece of fabric, and in varying colors. You can have navy on white, or white on navy, for instance, or any number of other color combinations ad infinitum, and of any size of stripes: any sizes or colors that come to your imagination. It's an easy experiment, to try different colors and sizes along these lines, on your sketch paper. (You can use a ruler: I do.)
Now consider a piece of fabric that has straight lines going vertically and also straight lines that form the horizontal pattern. Together they mesh, along the expanse of the 2-dimensional fabric, criss-crossing endlessly, "up-and-down" along with "left-to-right". This has often been called "plaid", and, though it is not limited to this, men's shirts from time immemorial have been made from plaid flannel. These particular plaids come in "manly" colors such as shades of brown and tan and black and cream, blues and greens and yellows, and especially shades of red, with some brown and white. All with lines that are straight as an arrow, going in "two dimensions"!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
ee - ko - sheek
Fabric is another 2-dimensional art form. One dimension one way, another dimension another way. That makes two! (It sometimes comes under the heading of "surface design".) Fabric is certainly a 2-dimensional aspect of our life, and worthwhile considering as an art form.
The other day I came across a fabric line called "Eco-chic". This is a fabric full of small, circular holes, and they described it as a "punched-out holey grid pattern" which says it all, except for the "ecological" part. It actually consists of holes; I would call it a "tweaked sheer" in a systematic grid. Definitely something you can see right through.
It was hanging in a looped curtain, like an aurora borealis seen in the sky during the Northern Lights-Show, and my imagination envisioned it, not just only in a beauty salon, but in a young girl's bedroom, and as a party decoration, and as part of a theatre set or a TV set, or by the pool, or as department store or retail decor, etc. Pieces of it, or scraps, could also be used effectively in design collage......
The other day I came across a fabric line called "Eco-chic". This is a fabric full of small, circular holes, and they described it as a "punched-out holey grid pattern" which says it all, except for the "ecological" part. It actually consists of holes; I would call it a "tweaked sheer" in a systematic grid. Definitely something you can see right through.
It was hanging in a looped curtain, like an aurora borealis seen in the sky during the Northern Lights-Show, and my imagination envisioned it, not just only in a beauty salon, but in a young girl's bedroom, and as a party decoration, and as part of a theatre set or a TV set, or by the pool, or as department store or retail decor, etc. Pieces of it, or scraps, could also be used effectively in design collage......
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