Well the results are in for the Spoonflower 50s design contest. Since this was my first submission I wasn’t expecting to crack the top 10, which I didn’t. That’s ok, I’m new to this textile design business and there were so many great designs in this contest. I especially LOVE the winner Atomic Fish by brightonbelle! It was the first one I voted on.
This is my entry for this week’s contest, entitled “Tiki Weekend”. I think it would make a cute table cloth for a picnic.
I was absolutely thrilled to pick up my mail this Wednesday because my college alumni magazine, the University of Hartford Observer, came out and I did the cover illustration! One of my professors recommended me for the job and I was so excited for the opportunity. It was definitely a challenge to come up with imagery that would suit the topic of the article and also be visually interesting. I knew there would be a lot more Hartford Art School alumni reading it, so I didn’t want to disappoint! The major turning point for me in this piece was scanning in fabric to make this digital artwork have more texture.
The article was about alumni who work in jobs related to their college degrees for a number of years and then make a dramatic career change. http://www.hartford.edu/observer/
I recently discovered the awesome website, Spoonflower while reading one of my favorite blogs how about orange. Jessica Jones, the author of this blog is such a talented designer and I was totally in awe that she designs textiles too, something I’ve always been interested in. I was thinking about sending her some fan mail asking her about how she got into that, but then I saw on her FAQ’s page she already answered that question. She mentioned Spoonflower as a resource to use if you want to try printing some of your own designs digitally.
Of course I checked out the site to see how much it costs to get some of your own fabric made. It ranges, but is about $18/yard for basic quilting fabric. Well then I also saw that they hold weekly design contests (I sense new obsession!). This week they have a 50s style design contest so of course I had to try to come up with something. I think this will be a great way for me to test the waters on doing textile design, then maybe I will get something printed when I’ve had more practice.
This was what I submitted, it’s inspired by something you might find in the background of a 50s cartoon:
And now for my third wedding invitation suite for 2010! This one was also for a cousin getting married this summer. Her colors are purple, turquoise and black and her flowers are going to be orchids. The simple, but elegant orchids liven up the the edges of classic cream paper. I think it’s a really nice mix of modern and traditional design and I’m very happy to showcase this one in my portfolio!
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my latest wedding invitation creation. This was done for my cousin. I originally presented the idea of doing a simple Greek key design (since she is Greek) along the side in light blue. She then came back and told me she liked the Greek key, but was thinking green and maybe something with vines. I wasn’t sure how to marry these ideas, but this is what I came up with: little delicate leaves growing off the Greek key. It was fun to design this specific to my cousin’s personality and pay homage to her culture.
I just got back from a road trip to New Orleans last week. It was a loong 16 hour drive, but well worth it! As we drove further south it was fun to see the leaves start to pop and the grass getting greener. However, not fun watching it all gradually go away and turn brown as we drove back north. I thought I’d post some of my favorite pictures of this beautiful city full of character and flavor:
In a few months I’ll be packing up my apartment for some place new… which is yet to be determined. But I’ve been in my little place for almost 4 years now and it’s going to be hard to say good bye. Well not hard to say good bye to the drunk college bros that yell on the front yard at 3 am. Me and my cat Mabel are ready for a somewhere a little bigger and hopefully better.
So I thought I’d post some pictures:
Here I am trying on the t-shirt I designed for my boss’s friend’s up north Wisconsin cottage. He wanted it to have a bear and wolf in a “Hanna Barbera” 60s style. Totally up my alley! Makes me think of good times “Up Nort” with friends like the time my sister and a friend and I stayed at the Hiawatha Motor Lodge in Eagle River.
Here is a better picture of the art. Love it!
Since spring is almost around the corner I decided it was time to put up my felt easter egg ornaments. My mom had an easter tree with little wooden easter eggs when we were kids so that was my inspiration. I got the branch and white vase from Michaels for around $8. Super cute!
I’m currently busy working on two more wedding invitation suites, which I’m very excited about. To be fair I’m going to wait until the invitations are in the mail to post the final pictures. Both the brides are family and I want the invitations to be a surprise for people receiving them. But here are two teasers:
