Pattern In Painting

September 04, 2014

Anna Valdez, an Oakland based visual artist has a background in anthropology and archeology, and her paintings are a rich landscape of everyday household objects including textiles such as quilts, scarves, blankets, as well as objects like ceramic mugs and vases. Valdez’s paintings explore her own history and traditions and she explains that “[t]hese items exist as a part of my domestic environment, and I have put them in my paintings to understand the domestic sphere as emblematic of both personal and collective experiences. Valdez’s paintings tell her story as well as a more collective global story of everyday life.

Project Bly’s found objects and textiles also tell stories of everyday life around the world. Inspired by Anna Valdez’s paintings we picked out our favorite patterns from textiles and ceramics. Although often from cities across the globe from each other, these objects tell a story of a connected world.

Inspiration: Rugs from Oaxaca, Mexico; Hats from La Paz, Bolivia; Ceramics from Bukhara, Uzbekistan; Textiles from Kumasi, Ghana; Suzanis from Bukhara, Uzbekistan.