This is the final product for my alternating figure ground project. The objectives of this lesson are to explore positive/negative shapes and figure/ground meaning in a composition, become familiar with the visual characteristics that achieve a figure/ground relationships, analyze the shape components of a common object, studying visual qualities suitable for a figure/ground composition and pattern development. We were to take a picture of a tool of our choosing and outline it and then use a segment of it to make a pattern with alternating figure ground. An “alternating” figure/ground occurs when the positive areas of a design become negative and the negative areas become positive. To see my process as well as some other concepts and products go to my dropmark here.

This is the "shape" made from a pair of hedge clippers and is what the three patterns are made from. It is the section from where the 2 handles meet in a joint and duplicated 4 times around the center. It and all the patterns to fit the project must be 50% white and 50% black to demonstrate alternating figure ground. There were other objects created from the same tool that you can view on my dropmark.

This was a simple grid pattern from the object which was then rotated at about a 45 degree angle.

This is a much bigger grid pattern made from the object earlier. It had the black and the white switched around to better demonstrate the alternating figure ground.

Lastly this one is basically the first grid I used its a simple 2 by 2 grid of the object and was used as a base for the grid patterns in the other ones.

These three are blue color pallet variations of the final products.