Repeated Folds

I have been wanting to talk about the use of repetition for a while, but it is just such a huge subject. So, I’m going to get started on it this week with some really obvious versions, and then maybe next week we’ll get into more complex examples.

Repetition doesn’t sound like it is that big or complex of a subject and in essence, it’s not. But, how it’s used with other elements of design is pretty monumental. First of all, aside from color, repetition can be one of the strongest visual elements in a piece. I think we respond to repeated forms and elements on a fundamental level because it is so abundant in nature, thus familiar and essential in our vision of the world. It represents a visual rhythm. Rhythm being another kind of element we readily recognize and are drawn to since it rules so much of what we do and experience from the cadence of our walk to the beat of our heart, to the beat of city sounds to, of course, all kinds of music.

In art, repetition is a way to integrate a kind of music into your work. You can use that music as a basic background beat or as the one element that carries a very simple piece. A string of pearls, for instance, is about as basic a show of repetition as you can get. In these pendants we see a very basic repeating composition, however, Enkhtsetseg Tserenbadam takes things up a notch with gradient color in the clay. The colors give the simple repetition a bit of liveliness that will keep drawing the eye back to it.

Repetition and color are truly Enkhe’s thing. If you need a good dose of color in beautifully simple, and some not quite so simple patterns, you have to jump on over to her Flickr pages or her beautifully simple and elegant website and have a good long gander. 

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