Computational Media - Week 4 (24-09-26)

Patterns in craft

Recently, probably by way of the instagram algorithm, I have been drawn to Sashiko embroidery and how many little stitches can create elaborate motifs. Below are some qualities that I found interesting:

• Reversibility: some designs feature an inverse pattern when the fabric is reversed. This is especially noticeable in larger patterns made up of linear geometry.
• Nested geometry: Some patterns feature shapes within shapes and the relationships create more interesting designs, akin to optical illusions, that draw the eyes to look longer.
• Woven patterns: Some patterns involve weaving the thread through fixed stitches, also known as Kuguri-Sashi, which create interesting curvilinear patterns that can be further eccentuated with color contrast.

Image from Japanese Modern Sashiko Embroidery Pattern book, sold by Craft Park on Ebay

Example of reversible pattern

Example of nested geometry

Example of Kuguri-Sashi

I would LOVE to explore all three of the qualities listed above and figuring out how to recreate in p5.js, then furthering that work to create a random pattern generator that can develop new design motifs. Alas, we are given a fixed amount of time to work on this assignment, so I'm just going to pin this thought here and maybe revisit for a future project.

I still drew inspiration from the brief research and applied it to my assignment this week. I looked into creating overlapping and interconnecting shapes to create unexpected patterns, which turned into a some interesting findings! 

Pattern in movement:
I started the assignment with scaling circles which felt like a simple way to establish structure to the sketch and also understand the feasibility of this medium.
​ 
The most unexpected discovery here was seeing the different motifs that were created when the circles were scaling at their own change rate and creating new variations by manipulating different parameters. The most interesting being the overlap in translucent color fill, which reminds me of playing with lighting color gels in theatre.

​The order of operations with loops: 
In my first iteration (bottom left) of this digital recreation of Kuguri-Sashi, I noticed that some crosses have the right end covered by the circle, while other crosses were covered at the bottom end. So the question here was, in what order is this pattern being drawn in? My first thought was it drew the circle-cross sequence for the x=0 column, then the x=radius * 3 column, and so forth. Well, based on gif below, that theory is wrong. With some help from my classmates, we changed the loop a little and slowed down the frame rate so we can see the pattern draw in a perceivable speed. The drawing is actually starting at (0, 0) and radiating outwards, at the defined increment, in the x and y direction simultaneously. 

However, I wanted to crosses to sit atop the circles, so in a new version, I moved the cross out into its own loop separate from the circles.

Some after thoughts from this pattern:

• How can I change the code so that it can create slight variations to the motif either in scale or in color?
• Color poses an interesting parameter, traditionally, the designs would be done with white thread on indigo textiles, but modern technology has created more creative opportunity with different colored threads. How can the colors be set to fixed schemes such as analogous or complementary color schemes?
• This pattern is currently generated with lines and circles, how can I change the pattern to consist of curves rather than circles to look more oragnic like Kuguri-Sashi?​

The final sketch:
After combining the two previous patterns into one drawing, I think the sketch is getting one step closer to answering some of the curiosities I had above.

This assignment was especially exciting for me because I came away feeling like I was finally able to bridge a personal interested with the new skills that I am learning at ITP. I see a research subject matter that I am interested in beginning take form!