Celtic Knots and Spirals
I came across a really fun book in a bargain bin yesterday called "Celtic Spirals Handbook" by Sheila Sturrock. So, for the last two days I've been drawing and doodling and colouring.
I've always been fascinated with Celtic artwork, the complex knots and spirals and nature motifs. I don't really consider myself an artist, but I have done some cross-stitch pieces that have incorporated Celtic designs into them. I always felt the Celtic patterns were way too difficult for me to draw myself.
About eight years back I attended a Celtic Festival down on the lakefront in Toronto. Wonderful music, food and crafts and among the craft booths I found a vendor giving lessons on how to draw Celtic knots, promising quick success even for those of us who feel we can't draw. I sat myself down at a paper-covered table and gave Celtic knots a try. The technique involved putting a series of parallel lines on a specially-designed sheet of graph paper and then connecting the lines with curves to complete the knots. The technique was really simple and I was amazed at how artistic and complex my final knots looked. After twenty minutes of drawing I was easily convinced to buy the instructor's book, "The Knotty Book", which gave step-by-step instructions on how to do Celtic knotwork ranging from simple patterns to very complex art.
You can see some of the knot designs on this page of drawing experiments and doodles I did while watching The Olympics over the last two days. I just used plain graphing paper as the specially-designed graph paper I usually use for knots is sitting in my classroom:
The technique was so simple and attractive that I've incorporated it ever since into art lessons for my elementary students. We've made Celtic knot crosses for Medieval units, bookmarks for Father's Day and photo frames for Mother's Day. Almost every student can pick up the technique in about 20 minutes and some students can come up with beautiful variations once they're comfortable with the technique. When marking their projects often I will use them as both art and geometry marks, as both creativity and basic patterning is involved.
I enjoy drawing the Celtic knots and spirals, though I've never practiced enough or taken them seriously enough to go beyond the elaborate doodle stage, like the sheet above. I think the artform appeals to the same part of me that likes cross-stitch- one can use a grid and a pattern and some basic spatial awareness to create something beautiful.
I've always been fascinated with Celtic artwork, the complex knots and spirals and nature motifs. I don't really consider myself an artist, but I have done some cross-stitch pieces that have incorporated Celtic designs into them. I always felt the Celtic patterns were way too difficult for me to draw myself.
About eight years back I attended a Celtic Festival down on the lakefront in Toronto. Wonderful music, food and crafts and among the craft booths I found a vendor giving lessons on how to draw Celtic knots, promising quick success even for those of us who feel we can't draw. I sat myself down at a paper-covered table and gave Celtic knots a try. The technique involved putting a series of parallel lines on a specially-designed sheet of graph paper and then connecting the lines with curves to complete the knots. The technique was really simple and I was amazed at how artistic and complex my final knots looked. After twenty minutes of drawing I was easily convinced to buy the instructor's book, "The Knotty Book", which gave step-by-step instructions on how to do Celtic knotwork ranging from simple patterns to very complex art.
You can see some of the knot designs on this page of drawing experiments and doodles I did while watching The Olympics over the last two days. I just used plain graphing paper as the specially-designed graph paper I usually use for knots is sitting in my classroom:
The technique was so simple and attractive that I've incorporated it ever since into art lessons for my elementary students. We've made Celtic knot crosses for Medieval units, bookmarks for Father's Day and photo frames for Mother's Day. Almost every student can pick up the technique in about 20 minutes and some students can come up with beautiful variations once they're comfortable with the technique. When marking their projects often I will use them as both art and geometry marks, as both creativity and basic patterning is involved.
I enjoy drawing the Celtic knots and spirals, though I've never practiced enough or taken them seriously enough to go beyond the elaborate doodle stage, like the sheet above. I think the artform appeals to the same part of me that likes cross-stitch- one can use a grid and a pattern and some basic spatial awareness to create something beautiful.