Apparently, this was the week I decided to make friends with geometry. š
Iāve been working my way through more lessons in Barbel Dresslerās Repertoire, and this weekās pattern-making took me away from my usual hand-drawn florals and organic motifs and straight into the wonderful world of checkers, diamonds, harlequins, scallops and scales.
And there were a LOT of them.
Starting with Checkers
I began with one of the simplest ideas: the checker.
Of course, simple doesnāt necessarily mean boring.
I experimented with different ways of constructing the repeatāallowing shapes to touch, separating them, overlapping elements and even adding a little distortion. It was a good reminder that even something as familiar as a checkerboard can take on a completely different personality when you start changing scale, spacing, colour and proportion.
Diamonds & Harlequins
From squares, I moved into diamondsāand before long, those diamonds led straight into harlequin patterns.
These were especially fun because such a simple geometric shape can feel completely different depending on the palette.
Some versions became quiet and sophisticated with navy, cream, sage and deeper plum tones. Others went much warmer and more playful with terracotta, ochre, aqua and dusty pink.
Same basic geometry. Completely different mood.
Thatās becoming one of my favourite things about learning pattern design: sometimes you donāt need to reinvent the motif. Changing the colour relationships alone can completely transform it.
Then Came the Scalesā¦
And this is where things got slightly out of hand. š
The next Repertoire exercises explored scallops and scales, so naturally I started experimenting.
Regular scales.
Layered scales.
Different colour arrangements.
Dragon scales.
And eventually, my own interpretation of Seigaiha, the traditional Japanese wave pattern built from repeating overlapping arcs.
I became a little obsessed with this one.
I created several colourways, moving between deep navy, charcoal, chocolate brown, sage, dusty blue, ochre, cream and burnt orange. With every colour change, the same repeating structure seemed to become something entirely differentāsometimes Japanese-inspired and serene, sometimes distinctly mid-century, and sometimes wonderfully 1970s.
Thatās the danger of Illustratorās Recolor Artwork tool.
āIāll just try one more colour combination.ā
Famous last words. š
Finding the artkohaus Thread
Looking at all of these designs together, I can see something beginning to happen.
Even though Iām studying very traditional geometric constructions, Iām naturally gravitating toward the same kinds of colours: earthy browns, muted greens, deep blues, ochres, warm creams, terracottas and unexpected little pops of colour.
Iām starting to see how those choices can connect very different types of patterns and slowly give them an artkohauspersonality.
Some of this weekās designs have already made their way onto scarves and backpacks at artkohaus, where the geometry takes on another life entirely once itās wrapped around a product rather than sitting flat on my Illustrator artboard.
And I think thatās one of the most satisfying parts of this whole processāwatching something that began as a lesson and an experiment slowly turn into something I would actually want to wear, carry or have in my home.
Still Learning. Still Experimenting.
Repertoire continues to push me into pattern styles I probably wouldnāt have explored this deeply on my own.
And thatās exactly why Iām enjoying it.
One week Iām drawing florals in Adobe Fresco.
The next Iām staring at rows of diamonds.
And now apparently Iām making dragon scales and studying Japanese waves. š
Iām not quite sure where all of this experimenting will eventually lead, but Iām learning a ridiculous amount along the wayāand little by little, Iām building a much bigger pattern vocabulary for artkohaus.
For now, Iām calling this a very productive week in geometry.
And possibly enough scales for a while. š
ā Cecile
artkohaus
0 comments