Revisting old thoughts - blog entry from 2012

I have rediscovered things from my old blog that disappeared from Google blogger.

Here is one I wrote about having designers’ block.

Still very relevant for now - I still love Mozarts Requiem.

Designing Promptings

I find that whenever I get designers block, all I need is a bit of MUSIC.

My favourite designing music is usually classical or early music (middle ages).

Which composers depend on my mood.

I LOVE Mozart's Requiem

 - I like to play it loud, much to my children's dismay. 

You can listen to a performance here

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D minor, K. 626 - YouTube

 When my kids drove me nuts (when they were young),  I would put on Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

Click below to have a listen

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 (Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado) - YouTube

It worked like magic.

The kids calmed & so did I.

I have music in my collection covering a wide range.

I have Satie, Led Zepplin,  Vaughn, Cat Stevens, Henry Purcell, Soundtracks to favourite movies,  George Butterworth, lots of classical guitar, folk music etc

If I'm painting, I really like Jazz.

For Calligraphy, I like classical (no words or I make spelling mistakes).

Cross stitch design - classical or Bluegrass.

I'm into Chris Thile at the moment.

If I am painting decorative stuff or knitting, crocheting or spinning I like to listen to audiobooks.

Murder mysteries, historical romance or a combination of both.

That way I can do 2 things at once.

I have just finished listening to 'The Unknown Ajax' by Georgette Heyer.

I really enjoy her books - especially when I'm feeling BLAH, sick, or just generally need a pick me up.

Perfect with a cup of tea!

I get them at Audible or iTunes.

http://www.audible.com/

I prefer Audible because they are easier to get & I have an app for my ipod.

Tonight I'm off to the Sydney Opera House

to hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the Concert hall.

Here's, ‘Ode to Joy’, part of Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

Flashmob Flash Mob - Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) Beethoven Symphony No.9 classical music - Bing video

  Have a listen.

The best version I've heard was featured in the movie, 'Immortal Beloved' with Gary Oldman as Beethoven.

I'll have to make sure I have my sketchbook handy

 (I always carry a small one) to jot down any ideas I get.

I'm off to do some more making.

I'm having trouble getting two sleeves to match.

Any Tips?

Narda.

Been busy & Christmas 2018 approacheth!

Hi All,

Been a while since my last post, back in June.

Phew!

Where has the time gone???

We have been moving my in-laws, stuff with our kids, teaching & creating.

Plus feeding lots of people.

I have been creating kits to sell - my original Cross stitch designs & Free Form embroidery patterns.

You can find my designs for sale at ‘threadnuts’ on ETSY or at the shop on my website.

I’m madly printing & preparing for a teaching Weekend in Stanwell Tops on the 10th November.

In January, I will be travelling to Poatina in Tasmania to teach ‘Fibre Arts’ for a whole week.

Can’t wait!

This will include -

Stitching - learning the basics, then working on design development

Dyeing - natural, food colouring & commercial

Felting - wet & needle felting

We will be using silk, cotton, linen & 100% wool.

One of my original designs - Cross Stitch

One of my Free Form embroidery kits - see the SHOP for more - or at ETSY ‘threadnuts’

Design diary - Texture - post 4

This one is all about TEXTURE - both visual & tactile.

Visual texture is usually created by using repeated patterns e.g.

Texture can be created by repeating something or a shape over & over.

Painting by Brendan Mogg (above)

This is an example of visual texture. Using the same shapes in tactile texture....

Really chunky carpet against smooth leather & shiny chrome - visual & tactile contrast.

(I imagine this would be awful to clean)

Below is an image that creates texture through repetition. Lovely.

These are pots in Peru - as you can see, a repeating pattern of shapes.

 We know that this fabric is smooth - but the stripes make it appear textured by using a combination of contrasting blue & red in a repeating pattern.

The same happens in wall or floor treatments eg.

As you can see the most striking are those that use high contrast (black + white)

Black & white are useful in flooring because the black makes the white appear cleaner & the white makes the black appear darker. Perfect for high use areas - traditionally hallways, kitchens & bathrooms.

You could really only use these in small doses - too much distracts from the beauty of the individual pieces.

This would give me a headache really quickly. Visually it would work better with a plain colour mixed in to have somewhere for the eye to rest.

An entire floor like this wouldn't show the dirt - but who would see the dirt if you have a migraine.

These tile are in green & white, so not so stark. The floor adds interest to a galley kitchen that would ordinary without the tiled floor.

This is a gentler stripe because it is monochrome (based on one colour), this would be an easier pattern to live with.

Patterned floors have been used for centuries to add interest to otherwise plain interiors. They would also have been (still are) a status symbol.

They can be anything from patterned brick flooring to intricate parquet & mosaic.

This floor certainly makes a statement. I don't know how much time I could spend in this room.

The patterning makes it very formal.

This floor certainly makes a statement. I don't know how much time I could spend in this room.

Here a repeated stitch creates texture.

Some examples of surface & visual textures 

So when using yarn to knit or crochet texture becomes an integral part of the design.

Often designers will use this element in contrasting ways - usually without even thinking about it.

The contrast here is the smooth fabric with the heavier pattern in the knitting

Here you can see the contrast between the smooth stocking stitch in the lower part & the textured section in the upper body or torso section.

DON"T FORGET wherever there is contrast - that point will draw your eye.

So having a heavily textured section around your bottom may or may not be where you want attention  focused.

This is a heavy tactile texture - too much of this would be overkill.

This is one of my favourite designs - a tactile texure with visual texture using interesting yarn.

This is a tactile texture - you can feel it

Some more examples of textures used in fibre.

You can create visual texture using intersting yarn - flecks, mottled hand dyed etc.

self striping  yarn creates visual & tactile texture - though if the tactile texture is too heavy you wouldn't be able to see the pattern

If you look at NORO designs the visual texture is often the dominant part.

Hope you enjoyed these.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment 😊 

design diary - TONE - post 2

This week I'm going to start with some more colour theory that may be helpful to you when you are choosing colours to put together in:

 knitting/crochet designs

Quilting & stitching

Spinning & felting

Beading & jewellery making

Decorating - interior etc.

I have found, after over thirty years in a variety of design fields, that the main component of any memorable design is contrast.

To make contrast work for you you need to break it down in to 5 main parts.

These are Tone, Size, Shape, Texture & Colour.

For a design to really work one element has to dominate.

Today we'll look at TONE

...................................................................................................

Tone

Tone is basically light & dark.

It is made interesting according to the of amount of light & dark you have in a piece.

It can create drama

 When used with minimal colour tone is really important.

It can create drama or a sense of light & space.

When combined with other contrasting elements, it can make or break a successful design.

This painting works because it uses contrast of colour - blue/greens & warm browns.

Contrast of shape - long straight lines with rounded lines & shapes at the figures feet.

Contrast of visual texture - the rough texture of the rocks behind Circe contrasting against her smooth youthful skin & the liquid she is pouring & standing on.

The artist has also used contrast of tone - by having a dark background the figure comes to the foreground but you notice first her face, hands & feet due to their pallor.

This is one of my favourite paintings.

 I can hear my NCH (Non Crafting Husband) sniggering,- I have hundreds of favourites in different genres.

Note - I said one of my favourites.

It is a painting of 'Circe'.

She is a character from Homer's 'Odyssey'. She was painted in the act of poisoning the sea. Hence the heightened sense of drama.

Here the contrast of light & dark is used to great effect with contrast of size.

This picture works because the light area is much bigger, & it is balanced by the finer details of the tree's branches, plus the bird.

This is an example of tone where dark dominates - they are high contrast.

Misty valleys (above) - see how the white clouds soften the scene. 

Serenity in tone & colour

Snow is classic for making a scene feel quiet. You can also do this in a bathroom (see below)

By using the minimal darker tones at the front of the picture, the landscape appears to extend into the distance & create a sense of space.

This pair of socks uses more dark than light. If the toes were grey & the tones reversed the socks would appear lighter as a pair. I personally would make one sock with the dark dominating & one with the light dominating.

I think it would be more interesting.

In jewellery design, contrast of tone can work like this.

Using tiny dark beads & larger oval beads & the white pearls balance the darker tone to make a dynamic piece. This is a piece that I made using Botswana Agate, freshwater Pearls & Mill House glass beads.

Thus using contrast of tone, size & texture.

In this image the dark colours are dominant - the light colours appear more vibrant next to the dark colours. This is an example of contrast of tone, colour & texture.

The image looks like it is boiling while the edge of the shape is a serene smooth round. 

Next time I will be concentrating on contrast of SIZE.

Narda.