Each scarf series begins in my sketchbook: random doodles converge into specific patterns, then one pattern is singled out and refined over and over again until it is perfect for a scarf. My initial ideas come from all sorts of places: the scenery I pass every day as I walk and bike around Richmond, patterns of light and shadow, and even from the technical process I use to make the scarves themselves. The design for my next scarf run, however, began with a memory. A portion of the scarves in this series is already spoken for: a lovely woman named Josie has requested a set of scarves with personal significance, meant as gifts for her sisters. She wanted something inspired by the memory of her father, who loved the ocean, had Irish-blue eyes, and wore a blue-and-white polka-dot necktie (this resulted in his children having a particular fondness for the color blue). What a lovely set of details to work with! I designed the motif on the left around those details, thinking both graphically and abstractly about the surface of water, the rhythm of waves, and seaweed in the surf, with polka-dots that also reference bubbles in water. I will make a set of six scarves from this design, but only two will come out the color of Irish-blue eyes.
