Friday 25 May 2012

Week 20: Adobe Illustrator

Ocean hexagons © Karen Thiessen 2012
The Japanese hexagon pattern continues to inspire me. I took the pattern and added colour using my current favourite tool: Live Paint. I could spend an entire week just playing with adding colour to the triangles in various combinations to see how the viewer's experience of the pattern changes. It may come to this: I've reached a section of the manual that is rather dry and I need projects to keep my curiosity and enthusiasm high, otherwise my motivation will dwindle.

2 comments:

Maria said...

I have also been mesmerized by this pattern, flummoxed in my attempts to find more information on this and other Japanese patterns. Finally, I came across Sylvia Price Mueller's translation of "The Book of Japanese Design," by Kaiyama Kyusaburo, originally printed in the 19th century. This pattern is called "asa no ha," or leaf of hemp. It says: "This design was originally found on an ancient Buddhist image. It later became a popular pattern for babies' kimonos. Parents hoped that infants wearing it would develop with the vigor and toughness of the hemp plant."

Karen Thiessen said...

Wow! Thanks for the information about the pattern. Now I'm curious to see if this book is available.