Great Light Boxes

I love these cutout patterns for light boxes seen at Catus Restaurant.

Coffee Love Reworked

 

Creating new designs can make me feel like I'm making progress but  sometimes looking back and reworking old ones helps me to see what I've learned.  In this case for Coffee Love, I've chosen colors that work together better, varied the scale of each design and simplified the mug motif into a new pattern.  The previous version is below.  I think I've made progress with the new one!

 

New Collection

 

Designing cards to give to family and friends has been a great way for me to be inspired and helps me to finish a project.  Karis' Summer Collection above started from a card for a friend's baby shower. The baby's name will be Karis which means "graceful" in Greek.

 

W3 & Phone Case Packaging

 

 

 

 

This iPhone case will be one of the prizes at Women Wine and Wisdom one year anniversary celebration tomorrow.  I've had fun making the packaging for it!

 

 

 

 

Seven Times 10

 

 

A family member turned 70 recently so I made a card for him.  It was good opportunity because I did not have a 70 card in my Milestone card series.  I have continued with the design by cutting and rearranging:

                                                               Imposing grid and colors:

 

And stripes:

 

"It is literature moving as light passes through geometry..."  j.c.

Line Drawing Class

 

Recently I came across the art work of Lisa Congdon and I am so enthralled by her work.  She is talented in many arenas like illustration, painting and pattern design.  There is an ease and lightheartedness to her work that is delightful.  She is teaching a Line Drawing class at Creativebug.  The first week was about drawing flowers and this week is about geometry.  It looked fun and not too time consuming as far as the video sessions,  so I decided to take it to get my creative juices flowing.  

 

 

This is my first attempt at flowers and triangles, Lisa Congdon style.  It was actually really fun to draw the same shapes over and over and let it just flow onto the paper.

Our Faithful Four Legged Companions

 

Lilo can be very patient.  Usually, she waits for me on the sofa perched on a comfy pillow waiting till I am ready to take her on a walk.  Sometimes she falls asleep during this time but other times she just stares intently at me until I finally get up from the computer.  But in this picture,  she could be telling me that I need to get back to blogging more often.  Thank you Lilo!

New Work - Chairs

 

 

The idea of chairs was prompted by a friend who posts a Creative Brief on her blog http://anchobee.com/blog/ once a week to help keep her and her designing friends designing.  Community support is so important in any setting but as an artist working alone it is vital.  I appreciate Andrea's commitment to her work and colleagues!

 

Below are patterns that are part of the collection.

 

 

Milestone Cards

Our best friends are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this year.  I thought that says a lot about their relationship and merited a special card.  After designing this one I decided to do some more for momentous years that are celebrated.

 

 

Work in Progress

I've been working on a new series of patterns in response to the Tigerprint shapes competition.  It was a fun exercise being inspired by the eye catching jewelry trend of the day and working through the process that I am sharing with you.  Although my designs were not what they were looking for, I have come out with some designs that I think are unique but still in process.

Bold, colorful, geometric jewelry trend of 2013

 

 

Some of my sketches

 

 

Mood board

 

Not liking the colors, too busy.

 

 

Getting better but still a work in progress.

 

Maybe.

 

Better.

 

Will update you with progress!

 

Get This Book!

 

My husband and I were browsing a gift shop recently and he suggested we buy this book.  I don't usually buy books from gifts shops because they seem to be all about being pretty and not have much content.  But we bought this one because it was about artists (of course), relevant looking content and some nice sketches.  I've finished reading the book and I am so excited to share with you!  There are so many take-a-ways from this book but  a few of them that are strongest for me are:



* Nothing is completely original.  It's the collection of what we like and admire, what we are made up of i.e. our history that influence us and therefore our art.  It is this idea that the title refers.

*  Don't spend so much time on the computer when designing.  The only part of the body that is active when on the computer is the brain and fingers.  Set up an analog work station (which I already have but don't use as much as my computer station) and spend more time using pen, paint, paper, etc.
This will allow us to use all the senses.  "The computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us - we start editing ideas before we have them."  - This quote made me cringe and laugh at the same time because that's me!

 

 

*  The above excerpt from Steal Like an Artist made me laugh because it's so true when I am going through the design process.  It's just so comforting to know that it's not just me who have these thoughts and I need to remember to persevere in the Dark Night.

 

 

This book is for everyone who aspires to work through the process of being creative.

Eugène Alain Séguy

 

 

 

 

When I saw these designs on my computer screen yesterday my eyes widened and my heart started beating faster.  The colors, subject matter and style is intriguing and exciting!  The work is by Eugène Alain Séguy, an early 20th century French designer who was a part of the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements.  I think he must have stood out as unique during those times -  I would not have thought of Art Deco nor Art Nouveau since the his work seems illustrative and animated to me. The colors are vibrant and reflect the current trends although these were created long ago.  The forms are a recognizable abstract with subjects of nature including insects, flowers and crystals.  The prints were produced using pochoir technique, a type of hand-stencilling used to produce fine prints in limited editions.

Keka Case Licensing

I got a new licensing contract with Keka Case!  Based in San Francisco, Keka Case is an energetic, positive online company selling designer iPad and Kindle cases.  There are loads of beautiful designs to choose from lots of great artists.  I'm excited to see my work on these products and feel honored to be apart of the Keka Case team.  New products including Samsung Galaxy cases are coming soon!

Nice Gift!

I received in the mail a goodie bag from 1973 http://nineteenseventythree.com/index.php for being one of the top ten finalist for the gift wrap competition they had recently.  As you can see, the designs are fun and refreshing.  I love the recycled feel of the papers too.  It will be hard to actually use these because it's just so nice looking at them.  Thanks to 1973 for the opportunity to be a part of the competition, recognizing my design and for this generous gift!

1973 Competition

 

I entered a gift wrap competition for 1973 http://nineteenseventythree.com/ and my Tropics design was in the top ten finals!  I am so excited and honored to be mentioned with all the great entries.  Below is the winning design by Anna Dunn. 

 

 

 

 

Light Pendants

I was enchanted by some lovely light pendants in the grand lobby of Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier.  But as a prelude to the pendant pictures, one must see the surroundings to which the artist was inspired by and to which he specifically painted and created the pendants.  

 Mount Rainier (elev. 14,409 ft.) is still covered with snow this June. 

 

 The vastness is exposed as the trails are covered by snow.

 The sound of snow melting water falls is a reminder that the mountain is alive.

 

 Paradise Inn is a rustic lodge built in 1916.

 

 These hand painted and one-of-kind light pendants were created by Dale Thompson, Artist-Naturalist for the lodge. 

 

 Each pendant is unique with paintings of surrounding Alpine wildflowers.

 

 

 The pendants provide a soft light to the grand lobby as well as creating visual interest.  The soft, delicate style in which Dale Thompson painted the flowers is a reminder of the fragile wildflowers.