Paradise City Festival, Fair Grounds, Northampton, MA
October 6, 7, 8, 2018
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| Piece by Ira Frost |
Playful, mesmerizing, seductive, even startling patterns captivate visitors at Paradise City Festival with their clever, intricate rhythms.
Patterns are all around us, playing an important role in our ability to navigate through life. Some scientific studies suggest seeing patters will even make you smarter. And what a pleasure it is to be mesmerized by the pattern found in a snowflake’s design, a tiger’s symmetrical stripes, or the never-ending spiral of a shell.
Following in nature’s footsteps, artists use patterns to repeat or echo important ideas in their work, letting a pattern communicate a sense of balance, harmony, contrast, or movement. Drawing patterns is one of the oldest art of rms. Think of the re pleating patters of lotus leaves carved into the great tombs and monuments of the Egyptian pharaohs. From the 7th century on, the ultimate pattern masters had to be the Islamic artists whose geometric patterns still inspire our awe in magnificent buildings throughout the world.
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| Piece by David Winigrad |
At Paradise City, artists and makers of all stripes continue to enchant with their pattern play. Handmade textile and clothing designers turn useful coast and scarves into fashion extravaganzas wit the clever us of repeating designs. Jewelers transfix us with gold, silver, and precious stones placed in delicate, rhythmic arrangements. Painters, photographers, ceramicists, woodworkers, glass blowers, and all manner of metalsmiths us patterns to create works of art that let us lose ourselves in their intricacy.
This year’s Paradise City’s theme is “Pattern Play!” Discover the mysterious power of patterns to communicate ideas, create new connections, and spin a web that draws you deep into the artist’s imagination.
