After last Wednesday’s hook-in, inspiration hit and a pattern idea formed to keep me up past midnight. I don’t know where it came from, left field I suppose, but I think it will turn out to be a great new addition to our pattern line.
A sweet pattern but a labour pig and it’s been 12 hours in the making from beginning to linen and was not without its drawbacks. Gripping a fine marker for seven hours straight was painful and when I went to write out a sales slip for a customer I could barely hold the pen and the scratch that came out on the pad looked like the beginning of a palsy.
Something strange happened while I was creating this one that I wanted to share with you. I had a moment with the pencil I was holding, complete with a feeling, a strangely pleasurable feeling washed over me like a summer’s breeze. It was like an orgasm in my head. It took me by surprise and I paused wondering what the hell just happened. I thought perhaps I was too tired to be working and had nodded off. It was strange and weird and nice all rolled into one and somehow felt like I had a connection to the tool in my hand. Like love? It’s really hard to explain, but I wonder if professional artists ever experience sensations from their brushes, their tools of creativity? I asked Deb, our resident artist extraordinaire, and there can be an endorphin rush when creating. Amazing!
I was struck how much a part of me the pencil became, an extension of my hand and my thoughts. The control I had was incredible, each line flowed like water. I was on point, one with the tool, every line turned out the way I envisioned it, every circle was perfect, every line controlled without any wavering left or right. I loved the way I could draw circles with a simple curve of my wrist, like a smooth driving car rounding a corner keeping between the center line and the shoulder. Instead of several attempts per the usual, I was creating the perfect line the first time. Maybe all this pattern designing is honing a skill, I have had concentrated experience lately.
The smoothness of the graphite on the paper was as soft as a whisper. I go through a lot of pencils and once they are worn down to the wood I grab another then have to wear it down slightly on the perfect angle so it glides over the surface, following my bidding. I know I’ve told the world that I form connections with inanimate objects but I’ve never felt a bond to a pencil and I’ve draw thousands of pictures, portraits and patterns over the years. I’ve been a pencil handler since preschool and never have I felt anything from using them.
Anyway, I’m not sure why this idea of half circles and Jacobean motifs entered my head in the middle of the hook-in other than Shelley had a moon drawn in a pattern she’s creating as a wedding gift. I guess it got the gears moving and I suppose the fact that the last challenge pattern was Blueberry Jacobean I might have mentally bridged that moment. Funny how things pop up in a person’s head, like Wack-A-Mole at the circus.
The most exciting pattern I draw is the one I’m working on currently. It has the itch factor, gotta get it done, and the excitement of seeing it transform from an idea, to a tangible thing, is pretty wild. I have a dining table covered in paper, different drawings in various degrees of completion and although I like what’s there, this new idea had me chomping at the bit to see it on paper. It took forever though.
First I had to figure out my grid and size of the half circles then lay down all the straight lines that map out where the circles will go. I tried several round dishes until my little blue willow teacup saucer fit the bill. Then I had to come up with dozens of different motifs. At first I hoped for all different ones but then decided I needed to finish it before Christmas so they repeat. I’ve worked on this particular design nine hours just to get it to the red dot stage. Life got hectic with the shop, errands and helping my aunt who just got released from the hospital after a hip crack so the pattern was delayed.
This one will also make a fabulous pillow topper so I’ll whip that up this week. I’ll take out an 18” x 18” segment for a cushion design, or perhaps 16” x 16” with borders to make up the 18” x 18”. So anyway, here is the new design. I’m kind of braindead so I’ll present it to Deb and Shane and we’ll come up with a name for it tomorrow. For now, it’s boringly called Semi Circle Jacobean. The pattern is 32” x 44 ½”. It's a pattern that is viewed one way, so what a beautiful floral to have next to a bed!
A sweet pattern but a labour pig and it’s been 12 hours in the making from beginning to linen and was not without its drawbacks. Gripping a fine marker for seven hours straight was painful and when I went to write out a sales slip for a customer I could barely hold the pen and the scratch that came out on the pad looked like the beginning of a palsy.
Something strange happened while I was creating this one that I wanted to share with you. I had a moment with the pencil I was holding, complete with a feeling, a strangely pleasurable feeling washed over me like a summer’s breeze. It was like an orgasm in my head. It took me by surprise and I paused wondering what the hell just happened. I thought perhaps I was too tired to be working and had nodded off. It was strange and weird and nice all rolled into one and somehow felt like I had a connection to the tool in my hand. Like love? It’s really hard to explain, but I wonder if professional artists ever experience sensations from their brushes, their tools of creativity? I asked Deb, our resident artist extraordinaire, and there can be an endorphin rush when creating. Amazing!
I was struck how much a part of me the pencil became, an extension of my hand and my thoughts. The control I had was incredible, each line flowed like water. I was on point, one with the tool, every line turned out the way I envisioned it, every circle was perfect, every line controlled without any wavering left or right. I loved the way I could draw circles with a simple curve of my wrist, like a smooth driving car rounding a corner keeping between the center line and the shoulder. Instead of several attempts per the usual, I was creating the perfect line the first time. Maybe all this pattern designing is honing a skill, I have had concentrated experience lately.
The smoothness of the graphite on the paper was as soft as a whisper. I go through a lot of pencils and once they are worn down to the wood I grab another then have to wear it down slightly on the perfect angle so it glides over the surface, following my bidding. I know I’ve told the world that I form connections with inanimate objects but I’ve never felt a bond to a pencil and I’ve draw thousands of pictures, portraits and patterns over the years. I’ve been a pencil handler since preschool and never have I felt anything from using them.
Anyway, I’m not sure why this idea of half circles and Jacobean motifs entered my head in the middle of the hook-in other than Shelley had a moon drawn in a pattern she’s creating as a wedding gift. I guess it got the gears moving and I suppose the fact that the last challenge pattern was Blueberry Jacobean I might have mentally bridged that moment. Funny how things pop up in a person’s head, like Wack-A-Mole at the circus.
The most exciting pattern I draw is the one I’m working on currently. It has the itch factor, gotta get it done, and the excitement of seeing it transform from an idea, to a tangible thing, is pretty wild. I have a dining table covered in paper, different drawings in various degrees of completion and although I like what’s there, this new idea had me chomping at the bit to see it on paper. It took forever though.
First I had to figure out my grid and size of the half circles then lay down all the straight lines that map out where the circles will go. I tried several round dishes until my little blue willow teacup saucer fit the bill. Then I had to come up with dozens of different motifs. At first I hoped for all different ones but then decided I needed to finish it before Christmas so they repeat. I’ve worked on this particular design nine hours just to get it to the red dot stage. Life got hectic with the shop, errands and helping my aunt who just got released from the hospital after a hip crack so the pattern was delayed.
This one will also make a fabulous pillow topper so I’ll whip that up this week. I’ll take out an 18” x 18” segment for a cushion design, or perhaps 16” x 16” with borders to make up the 18” x 18”. So anyway, here is the new design. I’m kind of braindead so I’ll present it to Deb and Shane and we’ll come up with a name for it tomorrow. For now, it’s boringly called Semi Circle Jacobean. The pattern is 32” x 44 ½”. It's a pattern that is viewed one way, so what a beautiful floral to have next to a bed!
RSS Feed
