Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Bryce National Park is fascinating.  As I walked to one of the overlooks I saw such variety of rock colors and formation shapes. I was spellbound and if it had not been so hot, I could have stayed for hours. The repetition of shapes, shapes that reminded me of pictures of Angkor Wat Cambodia from my long ago art history course, had me imagining ancient cities with ancient gods guarding those cities. While man made the Angkor buildings, nature used wind, water and temperature (freezing) to create these shapes.     The ‘hoodoos’ are tall and slender spires that rise from the arid basins.  They range in height from the height of an average man to the height of a 10 story building and no place has as many as the northern part of Bryce Canyon.  30 to 40 million years ago this was a lake bed.  You might enjoy reading more about them at   http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/hoodoos.htm   The vast array of hoodoos and combination of colors is almost overwhelming.  There are

Peter and I just returned from a road trip to Utah.   We drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes that were once (170 million years ago) covered with ocean.   We climbed a steep wet sandy hill of beautiful coral colored sand and stood at the top looking across miles of coral colored sand dunes, high ridges swooping into flat beaches.   We carefully walked among the Welsh’s Milkweed plants taking pictures of the lovely thick-skinned leaves and the globe-shaped blooms.   The thick skins protect the plant from heat, wind and sand damage as the deep roots tap into water under the sand and send horizontal runners making new plants.   These plants are only found in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona and are on the federally threatened plant list. This is where I began to pay attention to the repetitions of shapes and lines throughout the road trip. I always try to be aware of design elements around me and I enjoyed focusing on this idea. I think I could have spent hours studying this inte

Stitch Boutique I had a great time looking and taking pictures of everything that caught my interest one overcast afternoon while walking in Boston.   Now that I’m home and looking through those pictures, I’m realizing that repetition is a common element in my photos.   The repetition might be boring unless there is a twist – like the dolls with different personality and the wood bookend that fans.   I thought you might enjoy looking at the photos also.   I’d love to know what catches your interest too. Great Museum of Sewing Machines in Clothing Store Merimekko -repetition of color, line, fashion pinky otto store - repetition of bears Society of Arts and Crafts - wood bookends Felted scarves in rose repetition Society of Arts and Crafts Anthropologie - repetition of shape, pattern and color

Inspiration comes from many places.   I spent lots of time looking at buildings on my recent trip to Boston.   I keep a photo file of architectural details that inspire my jewelry designs.   This file is titled ‘Borders and Repetition'       And this one is titled ‘Shapes’.  

The rocks captured my imagination on our recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park and I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pictures.   The scale of rocks -boulders to gravel, the repetition of the rock shapes – rounds after rounds or jags upon jags and the shapes that are made by wind, sand and water fascinate me.   Some of these natural images will influence my future jewelry designs.   Some will bring me peace and joy as I look at them.