Proportionally Perfect

If you have been following my blog, you know that I am fascinated with the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio (also called the golden proportion, golden mean or Phi) is often referred to as the perfect proportion. It occurs in nature, in the human body and in animals, in ancient art and architecture, even in many of our quilt designs. Did you know that ratio of the width of the credit cards in your wallet to their height fits the Golden Ratio? And I know it sounds odd, but even the stock market trends conform to it. Go to http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com and pull up the five year chart. Note that the distances between the large dips and rises fit the proportions of the Golden Ratio………hmmm.

Designs with golden proportions more pleasing to the eye and quilters often choose designs with this proportion because it “feels” right.

 

 

We recently found this fascinating video which gives you, without words, a look at the Golden Ratio, how it works, and how it is found all around us. I encourage you to take a look at “The Golden Key” by Jonathan Quintin. It makes you forget that the Golden Ratio is all about math!

 

 

After, you may want to look back at my blogs, “The Magical Golden Ration” and “Fibonacci and the Golden Ratio.”

Not to get too technical but the Golden Ratio mathematically is 1 to 1.618 or .618 to 1, that pleasing proportion we talked about earlier that we are drawn to in designs because it strikes us as being right. I developed the Golden Gauge Calipers because, though no one believes me, I’m really not fond of doing math. This is a handy tool that eliminates the math and lets you see the golden proportions in objects.

 

 

We put them to the test on several quilts and even one of my new Safari fabrics.

Artists and craftsmen and designers of all disciplines use the Golden Ratio in their work whether purposely or just because it feels right. So whether you are looking for the perfect proportion of the height of a rectangle to its width, the width of one border to an adjacent one, the height of a vase to how tall the flowers that go into it should be, give the proportions of the Golden Ratio a try.