Patterns of Influence

The Japanese and Islamic pieces that make up the Patterns of Influence installation began as a series of studies exploring formal pattern design, during an artist residency in 2015 at the Emily Carr University Leeway Studio. I had been creating spontaneous non-repeating patterns in my cut work using a small repertoire of shapes and wanted to evolve and advance my method through the study of pattern design in this very hands-on tactile way. I focused on Japanese textile patterns and Islamic geometric patterns as they related well to my existing work, and contrasted and compared in style and content against one another. I continued to create these 8.5” x 11” studies over a five-year period as a project I would revisit and add to when seeking inspiration, with the intention of incorporating them into an installation.

In May 2020 I revisited these studies as a way to get back into the studio after weeks away and to refocus in the face of the disruption due to Covid 19. At the time there were 26 completed pieces, and I decided to produce 10 more studies, eventually transforming the final 36 flat pieces into three-dimensional objects. This in-between project finally became what it was meant to be after more than five years. The process helped to unlock new work focused on pattern mixing that I had been struggling to realize for multiple years.