February is always a long month. The weather is usually cold and I’m tired of being cold. I know other people are inspired by winter, but the days are short. By the time that I’m done with work, it seems like it is already dark and my time to do any photography has vanished. I’m just going to admit that this interferes with my productivity. We had record cold and hot temperatures this February which is pushing my interest back to weather.

This month’s photo inspiration was two photos. One taken at the height of summer, the other taken on a slightly wet December day.

I was really interested in the shape and color of the leaf. The shadows and texture of the pavement contrasted so sharply with the leaf. From the image of the butterfly, I decided to focus on the eyespots of the wing and the interesting shapes and colors.

The Leaf Motif block focuses on the essential shape of the leaf; arranged in a traditional repeat pattern.

The Medallion block recreates that distinctive eye pattern from the the butterfly wing and involves multiple layers of applique.

The applique patterns are available on my website and are free until I get the next block patterns completed.

The art blocks are almost completed. They both focus on the leaf shape. One explores the shape and shadows of the leaf in greater detail. The other block focuses on the texture of the lear.