Materials and Process

• Paper template
• Pencil
• Permanent markers

1. In the creation of my border pattern I started with a template that I cut out of thick paper.
2. Then using the template I traced the shape repeatedly around the border.
3. When deciding on a shape I wanted to use, I carefully measured out the distances to determine what size shape I would need to get a repetition that would fit entirely along the top and bottom without being arbitrarily cut off.
4. Once I had traced the shape on the top and bottom I manipulated the template to create a pattern that would work on the sides of the border.
5. I thought the border looked too simple for what I wanted so I decided to create an interwoven pattern. By adjusting the points where each new unit started I could create the feeling that different forms were passing over and under each other.

Artist's Narrative

Deciding on color was difficult for this piece. I wanted there to be a strong contrast between dark and light to emphasize the way in which the opposite qualities were being intricately joined together. However, I also wanted the form of the overlapping pieces to stand out. By choosing not to color in one string of the pattern, it creates a strong contrast to the rich black yet the turquoise outline helps to ground the form. As this piece started to come together I began to see a similarity with Celtic knots that I did not think about when I was choosing the shapes and colors that I wanted to use.

Teacher's Comment

A rhythmic linear pattern is established by the alternation of dark and light, distinctions of color, and the use of an outline in contrast to a filled-in line. The vine-like quality of curvilinearity and interlacing, often called "Arabesque," is typical of the formality of arts in the 15th-century Timurid "International Style."