Fancy/Funky Friday: Patterns Priscilla & Juanita

It's hard to believe 2011 is already winding to a close. Let's raise our glasses to the last Fancy/Funky Friday of 2011!

First, the "fancy": Pattern Priscilla

This is a pretty typical pattern in my "fancy" collection because it looks so lace-like and elegant with all of its curves. An interesting thing about Pattern Priscilla though is the amount of white space. Large chunks of empty space show up so frequently that they become another part of the pattern, and help to define a rather rigid structure for an otherwise overly frilly - and perhaps frivolous - design. The white spaces suggest vertical and horizontal lines, and enforce a structural grid upon the pattern that balances out the dense "fancy" details.


And now, the "funky": Pattern Juanita

I just had to show off this pattern in orange - the design looks so bright and sunny! This is another great pattern that plays with positive and negative space. The first thing you probably notice is the repetition of the circles - how could you not, when they're so bold and obvious? But if you look closer, you also start to notice the white squares of white space created with four of the circles acting as each of the square's corners, and the almost four-pointed star/sunburst shape in the middle of each square. That's what I really like about this pattern - the feeling of rays extending out from the sunny circles is repeated in the four-pointed shape inside each square.

To me, Pattern Juanita is a very summery print, but I also think its shapes are applicable to the events of this coming weekend. Doesn't it almost look like a chain of fireworks exploding, or perhaps the radiant ball dropping in Times Square?

Here's hoping 2012 will bring as much optimism and happiness for you as this pattern exudes! See you next year! ;)

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Shameless plug time: Love my patterns? I incorporate them into a lot of the artwork I create, from stationery for Invites by Andrea to the watercolors I paint. Check out Invites by Andrea's website to see examples of these patterns in use or drop me a line at andrea@invitesbyandrea.com to let me know what you think!