Inspired by Teasels

Tags

ink, inspiration, nature, sketchbook, teasels

While taking a walk at Thanksgiving, interesting spiral shapes caught my eye in the dried teasels along the edge of a meadow.

After the walk I drew this page of motif ideas in my sketchbook inspired by them. There are also shapes inspired by small puffy white wildflower seed heads that reminded me of dried cotton boles or large baby’s breath. I wished I had also taken a photo of them.

Remnants of Color

Tags

aged paint, brown, brushes, color stain, colorful, complementary colors, faded blue, faded green, found pattern, inspiration, red stain, teal, washed, wood

I found this lovely pattern of used paint brushes laid out to dry at work today. I just had to get my camera and go back to work tonight to capture it in photos. Student Erin Dix had washed and laid out the brushes to dry in preparation for next week’s new student sidewalk chalk painting event.

In this detail photo, I like how this triad of red, yellow-green, and blue is harmonized through the rich variation of browns and more neutral, less saturated colors.

 

Here the complementary hues of the blue and yellow orange brushes interact horizontally with softer blues and golden browns, while underneath and above lay complementary red and green hues.

 

Plum and Ivory

Tags

creative, design, ideas, ipad, ivory, kaleidoscope, mandala, pattern, photography, purple, repeat, spiral, surface design

Ideas for patterns in repeat created with the Kaleidoscope Camera app by Binary Noise Ltd on my iPad.

click to view larger images

©Alice Frenz 2014

All from an 8

Tags

black, creative, design, ideas, iphone, kaleidoscope, kooleido, pattern, pink, repeat, spiral, surface design, touch sketch

I created these ideas for pattern designs by playing with a sketched figure 8 shape and the Kooleido app on my iphone.

Click on an image to see a larger view.

 

my original Figure 8 sketch

First I sketched the Figure 8 on my iPhone using Touch Sketch, saved it to my camera roll, then opened and played with it using the Kooleido app in manual mode and varying the settings.

I experimented with cropping my sketch for variations with different amounts of black space. As I played with it and discovered patterns I liked, I saved them to my camera roll.

In the Kooleido app, the kaleidoscope effect wants to display in motion. To reduce this effect, I turn off Tilt. As I begin to see something I like, I slow down my finger movement and hold it still for a few seconds to stop the motion before trying to save.

This is a fun, spontaneous way to generate ideas for pattern designs, and also allowed me to practice my critical “eye” for seeing when interesting Gestalt effects begin to happen.

©Alice Frenz 2014

Kaleidoscope Rock

Tags

black, brown, design, gold, ideas, iphone, kaleidoscope, kooleido, pattern, photography, repeat, rock, spiral, surface design

A visit to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend surprised me with a wealth of design and surface embellishment inspiration.

I generated these pattern design ideas inspired by my visit, by playing with a photo I took of the Michael Jackson exhibit and the Kooleido app on my iPhone.

click on an image to see a larger view

Michael Jackson beaded jacket by Bill Whitten
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Ohio

©Alice Frenz 2014

Learn more about how I use Kooleido to play with patterns in my next post All from an 8.

IMA Fashion Exhibition & African Gallery

Tags

african art, fashion history, Halston, IMA, Stephen Sprouse

The exhibition – An American Legacy: Norell, Blass, Halston, and Sprouse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, highlights the work of innovative fashion designers Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Stephen Sprouse, and Halston. All 4 designers were from Indiana, and many of the works exhibited are from the museum’s comprehensive collection.