Pattern
Tofte Patterns
Traditional repeating patterns with a twist, made from photographs of plants and flowers on an annual fall trip to Northern Minnesota.
About
Project: Organic repeats playing on the traditional themes of chevron, kaleidoscope, damask and mandala.
Media: Botanicals photographed with iPhone, processed and assembled into the repeats using Adobe Photoshop
Skills: Surface design, photography, photo editing
See the process
Process
We visit the North Shore of Minnesota every fall, when the region is ablaze with color. It is a beautiful place to create a little art. The patterns are made from flowers, berries, twigs and fall leaves gathered on my daily hike, wrapped carefully in damp paper towels in a Tupperware. Back at the cabin, I photographed the day's score in sets on watercolor paper, using my iPhone and a pizza box "reflector." On the inevitable rainy day of the trip, I processed the images to brighten the white background, remove shadows, and separate the items. The pattern components were then assembled into repeats in Photoshop.