Patterns have long held a fascination for me, whether they are found in nature or in the fabric of our lives. For instance, the sarong that came home with me the other day to be used as a table cover, or the amber necklace now lying inside a favorite pottery bowl. Even the notebooks I recently added to an ever-growing collection have patterns I couldn't seem to live without. On sale for $1.18 each, why would I even try? From beet leaves to bark cloth pillows, these are just a few of the patterns that make up my life:
"... and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?"
~ Vincent van Gogh
The photos are mine.
Your photos look as if I could step right into them. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my little corner of the web.
Deletefoto che indicano! Brava hai occhio
ReplyDeleteCiao
Thank you so much, Simo. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteI like patterns like those too. Back in the days when I used to wear ties I had dozens of them with (what I thought were) great patterns. Some of them I miss.
ReplyDeleteThere are some great patterns on ties. I once passed on an opportunity to buy a collection of old 50's ties. Beautiful designs! I wish I had them now. What a display they would make!
DeleteHello Teresa:
ReplyDeleteYou include in this post some wonderful examples of patterns which, as you say, form so much a part of our everyday lives in as much as they abound everywhere, often we feel, unnoticed or taken as a matter of course.
In recent years we have rather come to appreciate the way pattern upon pattern can work very successfully in an interior design scheme.
And I didn't even show my early 60's style "floral" area rug! Some might think I've lost it, but I find them all to be in fine harmony. There's something very pleasing about different patterns in similar colors. I'm glad you like my patterns.
DeleteI agree with you, patterns are important to my life. It's a kind of visual music, isn't it?
ReplyDelete"Visual music." Yeah. I like that.
DeleteI love those patterns and those wonderful colours. They brighten up the day.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful photos Teresa. And van Gogh is right.
Grethe ´)
Thank you, Grethe! He is, indeed. :)
DeleteAren't we fortunate our world isn't all just 'Black and White'? Colors tend to titillate the soul. Your variety has given mine a burst of joy this morning. The pillowcases on the drying line look downright edible. Thanks for sharing, TE
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad they brought some joy. Those are actually dish towels on the line. They make my kitchen happy.
DeleteSimple patterns, almost unnoticed, are all around us. Thank you for helping me to notice. Lovely post...
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome. Glad I could help. :)
Delete"...and then, I have nature and art and poetry and Teresa's photography, and if that is not enough, what is enough?" ~ Vincent van Gogh (with emendation)
ReplyDeleteWell. Aren't you sweet and kind. Thank you, John. I can call you John, can't I? :)
DeleteTeresa -- love all your vast array of images with patterns. Many folks think, see and understand life through patterns. I see you are one of them. Since I was young I have always relied on patterns to understand life. I agree with you -- nature and art are first and foremost when it comes to patterns, both visual and non-visual.-- barbara
ReplyDeleteIt seems we see similar things on our little journeys here and there. The more I keep my eyes really open, the more I see them everywhere. It's Life. Thanks, Barbara.
DeleteI really liked this piece,written in a way that gets me to thinking! Beets are wonderful and have a lot of different uses. I once lived with a woman who used beets for dye. She dyed one of my shirts. It went from on off white to a beautiful maroonish red. I washed it and it came out brilliantly pink. I look pretty goofy in pink! Pretty funny, I wore it anyway and took on a lot of ribbing from my buddies.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bill. Pink shirts on men were almost de rigueur in the 80's. I have trouble seeing it, though. A man that goes by Wild Bill should never wear pink. :) I bet your friends loved it!
DeleteI see things in arrangements, I don't notice the repetitions, but whether the look of anything is easy on or intriguing to the eye. I have to tell you that I look forward to your posts, because I always leave feeling a little better than when I came, coming away with beautiful words or images or a feeling of grace - all things I am capable of on my own but sometimes I just need a nudge in that direction. It is an approach to life, like that which is so often shared here, that can lift a sagging spirit.
ReplyDeleteI frequently will move an object just a half inch in one direction or the other to create the exact image that feels "right." It's fun, isn't it? Thank you for these very kind words. Grace is a place I want to live in more and more until it becomes my state of being. I have a ways to go.... :) I am very grateful for your response to my blog. We all need a nudge in the direction of grace from time to time.I'm glad you found one here. Again, thank you.
DeleteI think you have a very good eye for what is attractive. Everything you posted pleased mine! Sure wish I had some beet greens with vinegar.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sandy. Your own eye finds such beauty all around. Having our eyes open to it makes all the difference, doesn't it?
DeletePretty, pretty, pretty. What a great post. Your photos are so crisp and vivid. You have talent and a jeweler's eye when you are behind the lens and you look great in front of the lens too. I was at a farmer's market/art festival recently. There were some great garden art pieces make out of colorful dinner plates, salad plates, cups, forks, spoons, and butter knives all arranged on a sturdy pole. I immediately thought of you. I know you would love them.
ReplyDelete'Thank you, kind sir,' she said, with a curtsy. Edible gardens and their art pieces - thanks for thinking of me.... Love those farmer's markets.
DeleteI'm less confident than you around colors. Yours are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've always gone a bit bold in my furnishings, I guess. At least the accessories. My sectional is sage green so it lends itself as a palette for added color rather nicely. :)
DeleteDear Teresa, such vivid colors. The bowl of sliced kiwi and strawberries appealed so to my senses: taste, smell, and sight, but I could also hear the juice form on those kiwi slices and slide down into the bottom of the bowl. And oh, the touch of their sweetness on the tongue. Thank you for this celebration of the senses. Peace.
ReplyDeleteOne of the local stores offers very nice organic kiwi. Even the little bowl was made by a friend who lives nearby. He does wonderful work. Thanks, Dee.
DeleteI love the picnic basket. It's in terrific shape. How long have you had it?
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my farmhouse in the '90's, I collected them, along with old tablecloths from that era, such as the one it sits on. I bought this one at an antique store somewhere south of here. I gave the ones that looked like rattan and wicker to my son, and some stayed in Santa Fe, at the Salvation Army, along with several other things that didn't make the trip back home to Minnesota. This was my favorite and so it stayed with me. I think it's from the late 50's, early 60's. Thanks for asking. I love it, too.
DeleteYou are the only other person I know of who would use a sarong for a tablecloth. I say that with deep appreciation as I've been know do use shawls for table runners and blankets for table coverings, Teresa, as I love textures and patterns as well. I love this post.
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar pot. It is from Ancoma, NM Yours reminds me of it.
The one pictured at the top has a slightly different, but corresponding pattern on the edge, along with fringe, that the photo doesn't show. The colorful cloth that the white pot sits on is also a sarong. I bought it in Madrid, NM, when I first arrived down there, where I used it as a curtain. It's fun to use items in different ways than their original purpose.
DeleteThe white pot was made for me as a birthday present by my friend, JB. I saw one like it in Cortez, Colorado many years ago and so he duplicated it for me, slightly larger and more round. I love it immensely. I've been meaning to post on it....
So glad you enjoyed the post.
Triply impressive...for assembling such lovely things, combining them so artfully, and making the photos themselves. I love your sense of color, and your taste in pottery.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nancy. I had fun putting this post together. It was like creating a collage from images in my life. I love pottery and could easily go overboard, if I haven't already. :)
DeleteEverything Has Patterns & They Are All Around (+within!) Us! .......Your Post Sets Me Thinking ....If We Dont See Them ourselves , others will fill the void and wrap their own Patterns around us !
ReplyDeleteWithin us, as all things are. there's a wonderful line in a William Stafford poem I've posted that talks of patterns set by others and we have to be careful (I paraphrase) or we end up "following the wrong god home..." The beauty to life is that we all can create our own at any time, according to who we are, not as others imagine or wish us to be. Thanks for your thoughtful comment, tony.
DeleteI like that white pot, nature art and poetry yes that's enough and it should be enough.
ReplyDeleteSee my comment to Blissed Out Grandma re: the white pot. Those things comprise my life. They are very good companions.
DeleteLove these pictures! I am also fascinated by patterns.
ReplyDeleteDo you know the poem "Patterns" by Amy Lowell?
Come decorate my house, please.
I had not read the amy Lowell poem previously. But I just did and it ended with my goosebumps. It leads to a powerful conclusion. A woman writing what might well be an excellent anti-war poem is intriguing and needed, unfortunately, more than ever.
Deletere: decorating. Just think outside the box. :)
Life is more than we know. More then we're strong enough to acknowledge. Thank you for putting that into words and pictures =]
ReplyDeleteAnd Life is full of wonderful surprises, isn't it?
DeleteLots of swirls....and colours, jewel-like hues, ooh I love circles and swirls too, what a lovely glimpse inside your artist's mind!
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday Teresa, x
Jane
Thank you, Jane, and a Happy Sunday to you, which is nearing its close for you now, I suppose. I hope you've had a nice weekend.
Delete