The Creative Plan – Day 3 Graphite Pencil

I’ve never really been into pattern/shape making. It’s something I would only subconsciously do when I’m in a meeting or on hold wth customer service purely to stop me from falling asleep.

Don’t get me wrong, patterns are cool. I love patterned fabric and am envoius of designers who can balance multiple shapes as well as colours. So I was very keen to start today’s exercises. They were still just black & white tasks in pencil but for someone like me who can’t work with more tha n3 colours it was a good baby step.

Results

I started off small and randomly coloured in triangles of 3 different tonal values, so a set of four boxes would contain two lots of white, ligh, mid and dark triangles. I didn’t worry about the order or alignment of the tones, just let it happen instinctively. I don’t evem know why I chose triangles either.

I did fall into a few traps where I was building up too many dark triangles in one area because I wasnt thinking ahead, but as a whole it doesn’t look too bad. Keeping it to only four shades gave it some consistency and flow when it was lacking in other factors.

The second one was a repeated tonal pattern built over a sequence of eight squares. I was a lot more thoughtful in the balancing of the different tones and no surprise the result has more fluidity.

For instance, comparing the two, when reading them from top to bottom, your eyes flow more smoothly over Example B. But I do like the scatter gun energy of Example A. B is graceful and harmonious, A is spontaneous and unconvential.

I tried to just do square patterns but it wasn’t giving me enough complexity. I did find myself trying to balance it out symmetrically, despite not having a game  plan other than not to overwork it…which probably should have happened a tad earlier.

I left out shading and focussed on solid squares. The intention was for it to be symmetrical but perhaps my creative subconscious isn’t inclined that way as I lost it in the middle.

When I first came across zentangle artwork online my immediate reaction was that this is just doodle drawing, the way a kid decorates their school books with, something with no thought process behind it. However, in the hands of the right creative thinking it can become something really exquisite and beautiful. I’m in awe with the amount of detail, thought and effort that goes into building one.

Results

However, I don’t think its my cup of tea. Although I’m happy with my first attempt at a zentangle I struggled trying to come up with pattern after pattern after pattern, while also being conscious that my choices must work within the shape and size of the area. I really didnt enjoy this at all.

Results

I started late today and only had time to create three, so I kind of merged some of the options into one. Tiled pattern design is also something I’ve never attempted before. I learnt how to sew last year so it has made me more aware of fabric patterns and it’s rules of design.

This exercise wasn’t really about that though as it would require more than just an afternoon to dissect what makes a good pattern design. It was merely a framework for me to structure an exercise that featured repeated patterns.

Example 1: In keeping with today’s theme I stayed with the geometric pattern approach. I didn’t use rulers or elipses, etc. (except for the base grid) so none of the shapes or spacing are accurate. Again, I applied a similar tactic to my very first exercise where all the tones are randomly chosen. For me it lacks spark and character.

After I scanned everything in, I quickly tiled my pattern to see what it would look like repeated. This might work better if it was balanced out with say, one larger flower device or a reversed block. But again, it’s not the point of this exercise.

Example 2: When I created these exercises it was some time ago so I can’t quite remember what my intention was. I dont believe I was to take the line pattern example so figuratively but after a day of drawing and colouring in squares and triangles, I needed to draw something more substantial! It’s a mix of No. 3 and 5.

I kept with the floral theme primarily because as the day wears on, it’s so easy to get hit with creative block. Time can be wasted having to come up with ideas just to carry out these tasks ‘What should I draw? No, that’s too hard. No, that’s too easy.’  By having prepared themes, images, templates or even props there’s less disruption with my creative process.

Example 3: This was a combination of the last three. I return to patterned shapes, but as you can see in the centre I lost count and got quite confused with all my overlapping petals. However, I do like the feel to this one. It’s very sensous and delicate.

Conclusion

Although it’s my first attempt at creating with patterns and geometric shapes I’m feeling it’s not my thing. It doesn’t seem to engage my mind enough. A lot of it felt more about keeping between the lines.

The constant need to create new shapes or patterns along with making sure my ‘colouring-in’ never clashed with other sections was sapping all my creative energy. At no point did it feel instinctive. However, I will endeavour to try again, there is definitely the possiblity that I didnt push myself further enough with it. I do love the works of Gustav Klimt and Paul Klee, both of whom did inspire this whole day initially.Quite possibly when I start using different mediums it may reveal more.

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