Line and form

I was looking at a blanket my friend Clare has crocheted for someone and she used the entrelac pattern, which she had used to make me a jumper.  So it was quite interesting to see how different it looked in a blanket.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed that it’s not a square, but a rectangle shape.  I have knitted and crocheted blankets myself before, so i was surprised that I missed it!  Once Clare told me, I realised that there were two of the diamond shapes in the middle so of course it would make the blanket rectangular!  Clare said that if she was going to make a square the middle would be one.  

Actually, this started to get me thinking about line and form.  And it took me back to the Egyptian pyramids!  The Pharaohs obviously understood the concept of  the beauty and majesty of the pyramids and their creation.  And you have to admire their ability to work out all the angles and lengths and the equipment they would have needed to figure everything out and communicate it to the workers.  Because if they got it slightly wrong, that could compromise the whole structure.

This led me to consider why lines and triangles and squares and rectangles feel just so beautiful and satisfying.  They really make you feel like something is completed when they are straight and perfect.  Just look at the windows and doors in your house.  They are beautiful and perfectly balanced.  If they weren’t, not only would you notice it (because it wouldn’t feel right to you) but they wouldn’t fit in the space made for them and the door would either scrape across the floor or not go down to the floor.

I must admit this then led onto me thinking about things that are curved - I am sure you have seen the child’s game where you move the circle beads up and down the smooth curves and lines.  And I know you have probably been in waiting rooms, waiting to see a doctor or dentist and seen one.  Personally I find them irresistible.  It’s the feel and the movement in curves and lines that make it so appealing I think.

And have you ever known things in museums and places where you just want to reach out and touch the form and lines of the sculpture or painting?  I mean, it’s just the sheer beauty and perfection that creates that irresistible urge within.  The fact is, the people who work in these venues know how it makes people feel so they either have a notice telling you not to touch or someone standing there reminding you not to touch.

The beauty of line and form is a pleasure we can all participate in.  In the beauty of these things it calls to us and we beautify our homes with pictures, books and ornaments to please not only ourselves but to others that either live in our houses or visit them.  Beauty can be found in many things really and even if your taste is not the same as mine, it doesn’t really matter.  I can see the beauty and appreciate it anyway.

So next time you are out or online and see something beautiful, you can look at the lines or curves used and be able to work out just why it impacts you so much.