My Month of Playing with Patterns.
And trying to soak up some New Zealand summer!
January: PATTERN PLAY
Hello makers,
I hope you have enjoyed this months theme, Pattern Play. I found so many amazing examples of super cool patterns that I almost didn’t know where to start! How do you curate patterns and mark marking into a month of cohesive posts?!? Well, I did what I love to do and created order from them. So we had stamping, and drawing, and using objects. I showed you artists that create patterns from life data (Jordan Cunliffe), and those that create beauty from the life history of a fallen tree (Bryan Nash Gill), and those that have created their own life’s work by printing patterns (Jen Hewett).
It’s been a joy to see the endless ways makers and artists use patterns in their work.
What patterns did I play with this month?
January is summer here in New Zealand (well it’s supposed to be but I think summer went on holiday this year in Ōtautahi Christchurch). For our little family summer means getting outdoors—camping, walking in the hills, going to the beach and playing in lakes.
We were lucky enough to have two trips away this year, one to Coromandel where I grew up:
And one camping at Lake Hāwea (where it turns out summer had been hanging out in the South Island):
So my January has been mostly just swimming, putting sunscreen on, more swimming, eating, more sunscreen, more swimming and a couple of bush walks.
But I did take some handmade paper and thread and spent time outside in the evening light stitching and playing with patterns.
I really enjoyed just creating something that wasn’t perfect, something that didn’t have to be anything. Playing with marks and creating patterns (with no end goal) feels a little bit liberating actually!
In saying that though, I do plan to use these as bookmarks because I’m one of those people who likes reading more than one book at a time :)
I also took the opportunity while we were away to finally start my “365 Days of Drawing” book by Lorna Scobie. So far I’ve only done one challenge, but I loved how it pushed me to keep thinking of patterns until I had filled all the blank spaces.
Reflection Time - Your Turn.
How did you enjoy this months theme? Did it make you want to pick up a pen and doodle more? Or are you inspired to start creating your own stamps for making patterns and shapes? Or was it just cool to see all the amazing creations people around the world come up with :) Yeah me too!
For my own journey, I know I would benefit from spending more time just playing with mark making. I’m still using thread in each month’s theme, so that is clearly something I’m drawn to and want to keep exploring.
What do you want to explore more after a month of reading about patterns? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this month's theme of making!
But that is it for January. I’ll be sharing next month’s theme on the 1st of February.
Thanks for being here and happy making!
Esta
Seek to Make is an exploration of creativity and making. Each month, I share a monthly theme around making, showcase inspiring makers, share tips, tools and encouragement. Together let's get curious and immerse ourselves in the art of making!
I love your little handmade patterns on homemade paper Esta. The colours of the thread are bright and happy. I love the idea of just stitching, drawing, painting, weaving etc with no end goal. You have certainly provided us with lots of ideas and inspiration.