Judy Adamson's Art & Design Blog: gifts for men

Showing posts with label gifts for men. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 June 2016

Traditional Islamic Patterns in a Modern Setting

We don't necessarily need to know anything about Islamic Art and Design to gaze in wonderment at the patterned walls and screens of the Alhambra, the Blue Mosque, or the typically tiled floors and walls of Morocco!

Feast your eyes on them here!

Google Image Search of the Alhambra

Google Image Search of the Blue Mosque

Google Image Search of Moroccan Patterns

You will probably have noticed that the patterns are all based on a geometric grid and some of these grids can be extremely complex.

If you read my last month's blog post about William Morris, you may remember that many of his contemporaries also created abstract patterns based on grids. But William Morris took that one step further, using a geometric grid to provide the structure on which to build his floral patterns.

Islamic pattern design does make use of some floral motifs and motifs taken from Nature but it generally depicts them in a much more formalised way.

And whereas you would expect to see images of saints and holy figures in many Christian churches, this is highly unlikely in a Muslim mosque. There are differences of opinion amongst Islamic scholars about whether depicting human beings in art and design is idolatrous and therefore contrary to the teachings of Islam, and you can read about them in detail HERE.

But the beautiful patterns that decorate Muslim places of worship are no less related to the religious doctrines of Islam than the statues and paintings in a Christian cathedral.

For instance, the geometric shape we call a 'circle' is linked to the concept of 'Infinity', which in itself is a property of Allah. This article on the BBC website goes into these fascinating connections in more detail than I have time for here.

And in the Islamic cultural traditions, crafts and decorative arts are regarded as being of equal status to painting and sculpture. So it's not surprising that these have been developed to such an awe-inspiring degree!

(On the left is one of my original screenprints, from the 1980s, of a very complex Islamic pattern.)

While I love to create flowing, painterly floral patterns and mini-prints that are often based on the flowers and other plants - even weeds! - in my garden, I am also drawn to the apparent simplicity of geometric grids.

I stress that the word 'simplicity' must be qualified by 'apparent' because many of the traditional Islamic 'mosaic' patterns, while appearing straightforward, are in fact based on a complex system of geometric grids, placed on top of one another to create a harmonious whole.

The patterns are often constructed by overlaying circles, squares, rectangles and other geometric shapes and I find it fascinating that just these few 'building blocks' can result in such a variety of different patterns! On the right is an example from David Wade's book (see below) and I'm sure you can find his explanation of how the grid pattern was built up, if you visit his website.

I first learnt a bit about Islamic Art when I was designing patterns for cushions in a screen-printing class nearly thirty years ago. Coming from a background of landscape painting, almost always using a rectangular canvas, I was finding it hard to adapt to designing on a square. So my teacher lent me a very helpful book by David Wade - "Pattern in Islamic Art".

I've recently discovered his wonderful website which you can explore HERE

You'll find inspiring slide-shows to enjoy as well as detailed drawings, diagrams and analyses to learn from if you are so inclined!

As we approach the Holy Month of Ramadan that culminates in the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr in early July, I think it's appropriate to show some of the Greeting Cards, Gift Bag and Wrapping Paper that I've created using, in many cases, Islamic Patterns:

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

Eid Greeting Cards

And here are some really chic and girly Fashion Accessories, based on a geometric Islamic pattern -

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

Candy Pink Fashion Accessories

With Father's Day approaching fast, here are some classy 'Gifts for Men' with an Islamic Geometric Pattern outlined in gold-effect on a black background:

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

Gifts for Men - Black Islamic Pattern

But it's partly the use of rich colour in Islamic Patterns that draws the eye. So I've used some modern colour combinations to create some very chic Bathroom Accessories -

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

Islamic Patterns in the Bathroom

Here are some device cases - iPhone 6 cases are shown but other Case-Mate cases are available in the drop-down menu under 'Device Type' -

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

iPhone 6 Cases with Islamic Patterns

And finally, a collection of chic and modern Beachwear with traditional Islamic patterns that all coordinate so that you can mix'n'match the accessories to your heart's content -

Click on the image below to see the full collection -

Beachwear with Islamic Mosaic Patterns

I hope you've enjoyed this brief look into the traditions of Pattern in Islamic Art and the ways in which we can draw inspiration from the geometric pattern grids that it's based on to create beautiful Greeting Cards and modern Home and Fashion Accessories for everyone.

Thursday, 7 January 2016

Shopping for Gifts and Greeting Cards for Men

Last month I touched on the difficulties of buying gifts for men and promised to go into it in a bit more detail this month, hopefully offering some helpful advice as well.

Whether it's a husband or partner, a father, a son, a grandson or a friend or colleague, choosing the right gift can be quite a headache!

So first we need to understand why it can be so difficult.

I realise I am about to generalise dreadfully but there do seem to be some common threads running through the reasons that it's harder to choose a present for a man than for a woman.

Whereas women tend to be thrilled to receive all sorts of totally unnecessary 'accessories' and ornamental bits and pieces, as long as they suit their style, men are more inclined to think in terms of practical, useful gifts. (This, by the way, can lead to some friction when men buy us household items, such as vacuum cleaners - and in my own case, for my first married Christmas gift, a very functional stainless steel ladel!)
Related to the above, while most women can go into a gift shop or craft shop and pick out a dozen frivolous little items they'd love to own, men tend to think much bigger. The things they aspire to are more likely to be cars, boats, houses etc - probably not within our budget for birthday gifts but things to be saved up for.
Unlike women and girls, men and boys are unlikely to tell us either directly or through dropping hints, what they'd like for their birthday or Christmas.
Because the things men would like to own are likely to be useful, easily justified items, they tend to just buy them when they need them - I have this on good authority from my son.

So all these factors together can leave us with a problem but here are a few ways we may be able to make the gift-buying a bit easier:

First -

Have you tried asking him outright what he'd like for his birthday or Christmas present?

He's unlikely to drop hints so that may well be the best course of action. But do choose a time when he won't feel harassed about something that is supposed to be a source of pleasure - don't try to talk about it when he's preoccupied with something else, such as work, a tv programme or a project he's wanting to plan.

If asking him a straight question doesn't provide you with a useful answer - and often it won't! - try approaching it from a different angle.

Does he have a hobby that could be enhanced by a gift related to it? Even if it's not a strictly practical hobby-related gift, maybe a coffee mug or t-shirt that acknowledges the importance of his hobby in his life would go down well?

It may even be that it's up to us women to know best what a man needs before he knows it himself! After all, we're supposed to be good at putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, aren't we! So maybe you can visualise how pleased he would be to receive something with his monogram or name on? A Travel Accessories Bag, for instance, or maybe a sleeve for his tablet or laptop?

You may need to do some detective work - notice if there are particular book reviews in the newspapers that seem to interest him; where does he linger in the DIY store? Does he buy a specific magazine or journal regularly? Maybe a subscription to that magazine would go down well? Is he a wine buff? There are plenty of wine-related accessories on offer, though his preference will probably a bottle of really good wine! If you have serious money to spend, maybe an 'experience', such as a hot air balloon trip, would be a gift he'd remember with pleasure.

If all else fails - and I'm resorting to this increasingly with my teenage grandsons - there are plenty of gift vouchers on offer, either for hobby-related gifts, such as gaming, for treats such as a therapeutic massage or for more general stores.

Still stuck?

Here are some of my Zazzle Collections where you might find inspiration. I realize that my Zazzle stores may well seem to be full of floral designs - I love my garden! - but I try to make sure that I balance the pretty and feminine with designs more suitable for gifts for men. So take a few minutes to browse - you might find exactly what you need!

Looking for a smartphone case as a gift for a man? Look no further - here you will find a selection of Case-Mate and Savvy cases for the iPhone 5 and 6 as well as Samsung Galaxy smartphones. The ethnic and tribal patterns in subtle colours are from my 'Jungle Drums' collection and many of them are ready for you to personalize. All can be easily customized by changing the scale or direction of the pattern for a truly personal touch. (Don't forget that these designs can be adjusted to fit any of the Case-mate cases - just choose your model from the drop-down menu immediately below 'Device Type' on the product page.)