Friday, August 20, 2010

"Depth" in the Design Process

If I had wireless or even wired Internet in the bedroom, I would have stayed in bed gazing at Hand/Eye today, but I don't, so I got up to check emails, and accidentally wandered into the dangerous territory known as the weavers' blogs. There I found Cally's wonderful recording of how she arrived at her latest warp wrapping.

It just so happens that my Ali chapter this month has been on colors, and even though the exercises in the book are interesting, or new to me, I have been pondering the fact my experiments always feel one- or two-dimensional; that is, not quite pursued to the depth which just might yield mind-blowingly unexpected results. But I haven't been able to think of how to delve into further experimentation, be it lines and forms, (i.e. pebbles; still working on it;) or colors. I've never been a big-picture or outside-the-square-typed thinker and as regards designs, I seem to require explicit showing or explanation to assist me in being innovative (!!!). I can follow instructions, but even this took years ignoring the agitation caused by not knowing the end results ahead of starting.

I appreciate Cally's post not only because it's pretty, (always helps), but because it is instructive in showing me one way of working with colors. Luckily, I am also quite incapable of copying, so after I am shown a method/technique, I can use the exact method to come with quite different results, or modify methods to suit me. Or, in this case, read color theories of Goethe, Albers, or Kandinsky.

In the "making things" department of my life, I feel even more of a man than a woman than in other areas.

I've been off kilter all week - mild symptoms of a cold and not-so-mild ones of the stupid-and-confused. The worst part has been my eyes not being able to focus. I missed Jill's pattern workshop last night and drawing this morning. I might try weeding, cutting up magazine pictures, or gazing at an Itten book today.

Have a lovely weekend.

EDIT: Thank you, Cally, for this link to Dot's post about color theories and practices.

4 comments:

  1. Meg, I hope you feel better. Cally's post is intriguing. The more I weave, the more I begin to see the complexities of these color problems. It's quite a bit more complex than choosing printing colors for grpahic design. And I think the reason why is because of the blending of the colors that takes place in the eye itself, or the perception that changes the colors as they are woven next to one another.

    I'll have to search your sidebar... do you post this list of weaver's blogs to which you refer?

    Dana

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meg I hope you feel better soon. All this color theory is so new to me. I don't really have a baseline from which to start. Obviously, I have a long, long way to go. But what a great trip to take!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dana, as well, the simultaneous contrast. And no, I use Google Reader for reading blogs.

    Sunny, yes, the color thing is intriguing, but like weaving itself, not something I'll ever know completely in mere half a dozen lifetimes, I reckon. I really do wish I had a "undo" and a "redo" buttons in life so I'd get started earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just added a link to Dot's blog in the comments on my post and I'll add it here too. If you want to read, then Dot, as usual, has the info!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Thank you for taking the time to leave one. But do be sure to leave your real or blog name.