For family gifts this Christmas I wanted to decorate picture frames. It’s remarkable how a plain wood surface can be so completely transformed. Primitive abstract designs were what I tried first. Then, looking for something more like I might find on ancient pottery, I started doing geometric patterns. Even the same pattern can look completely different in reverse.
The thatch weave pattern finds itself in each of my designs. It comes from doing scratchboard for so long.
Below are the PDF templates I created for designing the more organic designs. The first prints full-size, and the second prints 6 thumbnail images for quickly sketching ideas.
The geometric patterns I designed with Adobe Illustrator. I printed them and used graphite paper to transfer the designs to the frames:
