100 Day Project: Week 1 Update

Last week, I shared my kick off to joining the 100 Day Project including my personal goals, resources, and rules for participation. While I've been posting each day's dice roll and finished block to Instagram, I hope to share my blocks here on a weekly basis, along with some of my own personal critiques and reflections. 

1/100:

• Monochromatic Color Scheme--successful use of multiple values of red-violet
• Form-Use of value and shape to create 3-D cubes with shadows (very challenging and will require some additional practice to truly master light source, dimension, and shadows)
• Pattern-Repeat of 3 cubes that move from large to small in a diagonal line

1/100

2/100:

• I sorted my bin of fused scraps by color into large ziplock baggies to make it easier to pull the colors of scraps needed for the assigned color scheme.  
• Complementary-Green/Red (lighter value pink background and transparent pink bars)
• Shape-series of hollow boxes with several pink bars that lay over and underneath
• Balance-the large top left box is balanced with several smaller boxes to the right and below
• I had several of the boxes and bars float off the edge for extra interest

2/100

3/100:

• Achromatic/Neutral Color Scheme using dark, medium, and light grey
• The negative space is proportionate and almost as important as the wavy lines and wedge shapes that make up the design
• Balance-The bottom row's dark and large wedges are balanced by the other rows which include more wedges positioned more closely to one another.
• This is one of my favorite compositions of the week and I can totally see piecing this into a larger quilt design...

3/100

4/100:

• Different tones of teal fabrics were used to achieve a monochromatic color scheme
• The teal prints showcase a variety of textures including lines, crosshatch, circuitry, and dots.
• A variety of interlocking wedges that move across the composition move the viewer's eye across the design.
• This design was originally constructed with the wedges aligned vertically (center photo)--which reminded me of a scene from the movie Fantasia. While pressing the block, I rotated it 90-degrees and was struck by how differently it looked and what a totally different vibe I felt looking at the horizontal wedges. They reminded me of a set of flat rock steps along a hiking trail. Things got even more interesting when I asked others which orientation they preferred. Nearly 2/3rds of the comments indicated a preference for the horizontal orientation citing it felt calmer (which I wonder might be a by-product of the current Covid-19 and Shelter in Place mandates), with the other 1/3 of comments opting for the the energy and excitement in the vertical orientation. You can read the various discussions from that Instagram post. 

4/100

5/100:

• Red-Violet through Blue scraps were used for my analogous color scheme (Cherrywood Hand Dyed for the wavy lines and Fairy Frost for the floating circles)
• I included a mix of values from dark blue/violet to the pale lavendar for the circles.
• Balance was achieved by staggering the length and width of the wavy lines, as well as the placement and size of the floating circles.
• This particular block was laid out in a horizontal format, which appeared as a sky with 3 floating planets/suns and wavy clouds. I continued the previous day's experimentation by rotating the block 90 degrees, which transformed the entire design to an abstract aquatic scene of algae plants and floating bubbles. I couldn't resist posting both on Instagram and asking which orientation was preferred. 

5/100

6/100:

• I revisited the yellow-green and red-violet complementary scheme (which is probably one of my favorites!!)
• I attempted to incorporate dimension through the construction of the dimensional vase (which was a challenge), and by placing some of the flowers and stems in front of the others to create depth.
• Emphasis was placed on the flowers by positioning them just off-center, with lots of negative space, and framing them with simple yellow-green bars.

6/100

7/100:

• The triangles were cut from a warm gold, blue-green, and red-violet prints, each of which had different textures: metallic accents, cross-hatching, and random lines.
• Unity was established by creating three rows of connected dancing triangles heading in different directions.
• One triangle in each row was filled in for extra interest.
• This composition best reflects my current emotional state of not knowing the direction of our society or our future, especially as it relates to our personal safety/health and the economy. Only time and data will tell...

7/100

I thought I would share a few more reflections on my daily art practice:

• Creating these compact compositions has been a highlight of each day. On most days, they are my reward for tackling some of the less-fun tasks on my to-do lists
• These daily studies have led to new design ideas and shapes start to drift in and out of my thoughts throughout each day.
• However, each design is truly improvisational as I must first roll the dice to unlock that day's assignment. Once the dice are rolled, I start by pulling colors/fabrics, and then figure out how best to incorporate the selected Art Elements and Design Principles.
• Rolling the dice has been a super fun way to mix it up and yield new design combinations for each day's project. I've dubbed these #DiceDesigns and #DesignbyDice  

And that concludes my first week of participating in the 100 Day Project.  I am absolutely delighted with my growing collection of 7" x 7" compositions and I can't wait to see what #dicedesigns will be created this coming week!!

Week 1: Daily Designs by Dice