Pattern Jots

Jun 26, 2014

A Quote...

Life is sometimes getting very intense, there are always things to worry about.

For myself I have found two things calming me down if needed.

One thing is tea and the other thing is creating art. So when I saw this quote, I immediately thought it is me.

And giving it an other thought, family members and people close to me live this mantra, too. So it is true and totally works ;)

If this is new to you, maybe give it a go and see how you feel.

Happy Thursday !

copyright©Pattern Jots by Maike Thoma 2014

Jun 19, 2014

MATS June Boot Camp Final Design

June is almost over and I have finished the MATS Boot Camp assignment "Ship in a Bottle" wall art...

I have been quite excited about this topic at the beginning but I must admit my excitement faded over the weeks. Somehow I was not able to fully warm up with this theme...I found the bottle restricted me in space ( in my head everything should "happen" inside the bottle ) and this made it difficult for me. I like to explore space and I mainly work large. And nautical in general is not my world - even though I love the sea and I know nautical is a repeating trend in fashion and interior. Of course I could have gone just nautical all over my art board and forget about the bottle but I was determined to stick to the assignment as much as possible for the challenge.

So I am ok with my result but not thrilled...anyway it was an other experience and challenge I overall did enjoy.

Please check out the June gallery with all the amazing nautical wall art over here.

Happy Thursday !

Jun 12, 2014

What Inspired Me This Week...

Phew...it is so hot over here, I am having a hard time thinking straight. Over 30 C for the past 6 days...on the plus side, the water in the lake is perfectly warm now and I really enjoy my time swimming in the outdoors.

Lake Zuerich

This week I was inspired by Matisse. The Tate Modern in London is currently showing cut out art by Matisse. I immediately fell in love...the colours, the shapes, the compositions...wished I could beam me over to see it. The exhibition is still on until September 7th 2014.

This exhibition shows the final chapter of Matisse's career. When Matisse was not healthy enough to paint anymore, he began to cut into painted paper with scissors...he had invented a new medium.

My favourite pieces...

Blue Nude II by Henri Matisse, 1952 ( source )

Polinesia, the sky by Henri Matisse, 1947 ( source )

La Perruche et la Sirene by Henri Matisse, 1952 ( source )

Vegetables by Henri Matisse, 1952

And this video is fabulous...Happy Thursday !

Jun 5, 2014

What I am Up To - New Mini Assignment for June MATS Boot Camp

It is June and it is getting hot over here...the lake has warmed up and this weekend I am planning to take the first plunge of the season.

A new month means a new mini assignment for the MATS Boot Camp. Of course we all have been very curious what new topic Lilla has chosen for us and I would not have guessed right with this one - again. It is a take on nautical : Ships in a bottle ! It includes sea creatures, nautical stuff...everything around the sea. I would say it is a perfect theme for summer. Not sure how I will work it but I love it. It is a topic where details can be important which I really like.

Pirate Ship in a bottle ( source )

And I really love this gigantic ( 4.7 x 2.8 m ) ship in a bottle by artist Yinka Shonibare. Do you see the pattern on the sails ?

"The richly patterned sails were inspired by Indonesian batik, mass-produced by Dutch traders and sold in West Africa".

If you have time and you are a pattern lover like me, you must check out Yinka Shonibare's work...beautiful patterns everywhere and I also like his collages.

Nelson's Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare at National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London/UK

Here you can see my first sketches...hope I find time to add many more over the weekend before we receive the main assignment on Monday.

Sketches "Ship in a Bottle"

Happy Thursday !

May 29, 2014

What I Am Reading Today

It is Ascension Day today in Switzerland and it feels like a Sunday…kids are not in school and I had some time for reading this morning.

Today I want to share what I love to read art, interior and surface pattern related.

Uppercase Magazine is on top of my list. It is truly a magazine for the creative and curious published, edited and designed by Janine Vangool from Calgary/Canada. The magazine looks always beautiful and even feels great made from nice paper…I could never read this magazine as an e-magazine, it feels too nice in my hands. The magazine's content is about illustration, graphic design, surface pattern design, lettering and crafting. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of issue's 21 Surface Pattern Design Guide which shows amazing work from 100 surface pattern designers around the world.

I also must have Flow Magazine. In the beginning I ordered the English version from Holland but now there is a German version available in Germany which I manage to get. It is the most beautiful illustrated magazine I know and there are always little freebies included into each issue like a weekly planner, sticky notes or stickers. Describing flow is not easy…Zeitgeist ( spirit of the times ) comes into my mind. There are great stories about creatives, inspirations, insights and ideas and even recipes.

Yesterday the new MOYO Magazine by Beth Kempton and Rachael Taylor came out. It is already issue 6 and it is all surface pattern related. And the best part - it is free and you can even download it via Issuu and read it on your computer or tablet. Each issue has a call for a competition and many designers are featured besides there is lots of insight from the industry. It is really a great read and lots of eye candy. For downloading please click here.

My favourite interior magazine is Elle Decoration UK. It is always spot on and shows trends well. There is a reason why it is called "The World's Leading Homes Magazine"… if I read Elle Decoration from other countries I always feel it is very much the taste of that particular country, not so with the UK version. But this is my personal opinion.

I hope you find time to read and get inspired today as well.

Happy Thursday !

May 24, 2014

MATS May Boot Camp Final Design

Time is flying and I can not believe it is already end of May…summer has arrived in Switzerland and I can not wait to hop into the lake and go for a swim ( right now at 16 C water temperature it is still a bit chilly ).

Two weeks ago I shared the mini assignment for the May boot camp with you - drawing faces and people / vintage dolls.

Last week we got our main assignment : Illustration for a manuscript on meditation for a magazine. Well…I can truly say I have never done this before…but it did not make me too nervous since I have done tons of placement prints for fashion over the years of being a fashion designer. I am not saying it is the same - not at all but I felt I am having a starting point.

Still being in love with my choice of going with Kokeshi dolls I kept drawing a lot of them, studying the details and patterns painted on them. I knew my illustration would be a lot Asian inspired due to my choice of dolls.

Lilla pointed out drawing your own fonts would be a good idea as well so I did two of them I used for this assignment.

Here is the article we received from Lilla : How to Meditate - A Primer for People Who Don't Like to Meditate by Grace Suh.

It is a fun article and I could really relate to it…I do not like to meditate as well - mind you, after reading the article, I think I should give it an other try.

Here you can see my final result…the background is rice paper and my Kokeshi doll is standing on a lotus flower surrounded by cherry branches. There are lots of thoughts running through her head while she is trying to meditate.

I was lucky to see a few sneak peeks from my fellow boot campers and all I can say is "WOW"…beautiful, artistic…just fabulous. There is so much talent in this group and this assignment really suited the style of traditional painters and mixed media artists. The gallery is live now and you can see everyone's gorgeous work over here.

Since I did drew a lot of the Kokeshi dolls I am planning to keep going with them…trying more illustrations and also use them for surface patterns. Will keep you posted.

Happy Thursday !

May 15, 2014

Lupus…and Beautiful Butterfly Designs

Even though the World Lupus Day has passed already ( it was on May 10th ) I want to raise awareness of Lupus which is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissues. This can affect many different body systems including joints, kidneys, skin, blood cells, heart and lungs ( source Wikipedia ).

My designer friend Dawn Clarkson/Nice and Fancy initiated the idea to create beautiful butterfly art to raise awareness of the disease.

The butterfly is universally accepted as the symbol which represents Lupus.

Dawn had three showcases over on her blog on Monday with art from all over the world and of all ages…3-80 years !

In the past I never made it but I was determined to take part in her showcase this year.

Here you can see my butterfly pattern.

Please check out the Nice and Fancy blog to see all butterfly art Dawn has received for World Lupus Day.

I think this is amazing and there is no better way to raise awareness than with art…don't you think ?

Happy Thursday !