Patterns, December 2025

The piece of artwork attached to this blog is a monoprint of a pattern.  A pattern is a repeated or regular arrangement of elements, shapes or colours.  It can be found in design, nature, and behaviour; it is consistent and predictable.  This monoprint was created by stamping on a Gelli plate with a wood block and silver acrylic paint.  A stencil was then used with gold paint to add another shape and colour to the design.  After this dried, the plate was covered with blue acrylic paint using a brayer.  While the blue paint was still wet, a stamp of a flower was used to remove paint from the plate by stamping into the wet paint, which was then allowed to dry.  A layer of buff acrylic paint was applied, and a piece of fabric was laid on the wet paint, smoothing out any creases.  When this layer was dry, the print was pulled to reveal an interesting pattern.  Not sure yet what I will use this fabric for, but I do find it interesting.  It will probably become part of a larger piece.  It would make a great border.

  Patterns appear in our lives as well, in a variety of ways.  We all have things we do almost without thinking.  Our morning routine may include coffee, showering, dressing, breakfast, and brushing our teeth.  If we have young children to get off to school or a job to get to, the list will surely be longer.  These patterns of everyday living repeat themselves day after day.  Whatever your activities are during the day, there are usually patterns involved that repeat themselves.  When something comes along to disrupt the pattern, like a snowstorm that cancels the buses and makes it difficult to get to work, a great deal of stress is created.  Being retired, my patterns generally involve things that give me more flexibility about how I spend my time, and yet I find myself doing the same things over and over.  There is something comforting about having a predictable routine, and often we don’t take kindly to it being disrupted.

  There are also patterns of human behaviour that repeat themselves. People who are predisposed to being caregivers generally give time and attention to the needs of others.  It is second nature to these people to step up when someone needs help.  My husband Bob was one of those people.  He always had other people’s best interests at heart.  If he saw someone struggling with something, whether it was holding a door open or loading heavy things into their car, he would always rush forward and offer to help.  Today, when I was walking in downtown Simcoe, I was balancing a tray of coffees in one hand as well as having a bag full of items for the gallery over my arm.  A gentleman walking towards me asked if I needed help.  He had obviously seen me shifting the coffees from one hand to the other and thought I was struggling.  He wasn’t far wrong.  Thanking him, I carried on the short distance I had to go around the corner, but was touched by his offer of help.

  It wouldn’t do if we were all the same.  Life would be boring.  There are people who give, people who give and take and some who just take.  The world is full of people who are more egocentric.  Their own needs always come ahead of the needs of others, and they expect high praise for anything they do.  They can be demanding and often have a sense of entitlement; not always easy for me to get along with.  They challenge the status quo and often help to initiate change. Often for the betterment of most.

  We all see the world differently.  The custom lenses we see the world through have been formed by our own experiences.  Behaviour patterns are often set by what we experienced or were taught as children. Our parents and people around us are our role models.  What kind of a role model are you?  When I was still working as a principal, the difficult child was often easier to understand when I met the difficult parent.  Be a good role model with positive behaviour patterns and leave the world a better place than the way you found it.