In an earlier e-mail to Anne, I suggested she search for images with phrases such as "winter night sky" and "aspen trees in winter". She replied that when she did this, she realized that the northern lights really caught her eye. That really opens up the design possibilities. Northern lights have long fascinated me, but unfortunately I don't live far enough north to see them often. However, a few years back I experimented with layers of organzas and lots of stitching to see if I could re-create my own aurora borealis. Here's the result:
I sent this image to Anne, and she replied that my image was right on. They get some awesome northern lights in northern Alberta. So with that, I got out my coloured pencils and several photos of northern lights and went to work. I discovered in my research that green is the most common colour for aurora borealis and red is the most rare. Here are the sketches that Anne is pondering now.
Which one do you prefer and why?
Which one do you prefer and why?
Fantastic ideas! I like no.1 best. I like the trees, and both sides stand on their own more than in the other designs, while still making one whole. (Does that make any sense? :) I'll be curious what Anne thinks.
ReplyDeleteTrudy
Hi, Janet.
ReplyDeleteGreat design concept, northern lights, so many possibilities. I have seen them in high colour and in white light dancing across the sky, always breathtaking.
I like the front of the top design as a representation of northern lights (the second suggest rainbow). I like the trees on the second and the reverse of the second. The high contrast dark trees, however, weighs down the stole and draws the eye down. Perhaps the trees could be a softer colour with less contrast such as grey/green to lighten the weight.
Wonderful ideas! I like the dark blue background of #1 and the lighter trees in #2, particularly with them not at the very bottom. I agree with an earlier comment that #3 is too much like a rainbow. I like the mix of colors in #1. I think of the auroras as many short vertical lines added together to give a broad sweep of colors running horizontally, some faint, some bright - #4 is the closest to that but the lines are too vertical. This is exciting- thanks for involving us.
ReplyDeleteLorian
Hi Janet:
ReplyDeleteAll four have lovely flowing lines but I think that #1 seems to catch the "dancing nature" of Northern lights and what they do to the rest of the sky. I think the tree outlines won't look as heavy when worn with dark clothing. Your plans for the back of the shawls intrigue me, too. I'm liking #1 back but think it may have too much redness. Now I'll read your other post to see the next part of the evolutionary process.
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteThe idea is fabulous! I think the #4 represents the northern lights best. I would add the trees and snow from #2 as they are angled and keep the flow of the lights going right to the end of the stole. Is it possible to add a small tree on the back part of the stole that looks like Westwood's logo? It doesn't have to be big but if it was somewhere on the stole that would be neat.