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July 28, 2008
Designing Repeatable Patterns

One of our objectives at the Moab Art + Design Center is to offer design workshops to create and produce repeatable patterns for use on surfaces such as ceramic tiles, fabrics, wallcoverings, and pottery. These patterns can be applied using various production techniques such as hand-painting, stencils, silk-screen or a printing or embossing plate. We think this type of workshop is ideal for artists who want to create a repeatable design for a special project like a fireplace surface or a wall/floor pattern. Also, we think, an artist might see this type of art as another opportunity for additional income without expending a huge amount of time and effort required to produce an original painting or other art object.

The following drawings and designs prepared by Michael Kaniecki, one of our design workshop leaders, illustrate one of the processes we use for creating repeatable patterns. In our workshops, we will also present other processes.
Cloud Sketch

Start with an image or object you would like to use as a starting point for creating a repeatable pattern. The image can be a sketch, photograph, a flowering plant or any object whose shape and patterns intriques you. We are starting with a sketch of a rain cloud.


First Native American Cloud Symbol

One of our artistic objects at the Moab Art + Design Center, located in Moab, Utah, is using Native American artistic symbols as a resource for developing repeatable patterns. This image is a traditional Native American abstraction of a rain cloud, which in its self can use be used as a repetitive design.


Second Native American Cloud Symbol

This traditional Native American design is a geometric abstraction of a rain cloud used as a repetitive pattern in their own art objects such as rugs and pottery.


Four Tiles Using a Single Design

Taking elements from the two Native American symbols, we combine them into a new geometric design. Here we show how a single pattern design can be joined and rotated to create a larger repeating pattern. This type of design is ideal for making ceramic tiles because it is easy to produce and can be combined into a variety of repeating patterns.


Cloud Reflected On Water

We can abstract the concept of the rain cloud even more. Again, using some of the elements from the Native American symbols and our original sketch, we create a single geometric pattern that can be combined to form a variety of more complex patterns.


Final Pattern Design
And lastly, we create an elegant design that is even more abstract with no literal reference to the rain cloud images.


Tile Pattern Using a Mirrored Design

Using the final design, we produce right-hand and left-hand tiles illustrating how they can be combined to create a larger repeating pattern for a wall, floor or fireplace surround.


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