Wednesday, May 18, 2011

new patterns!


Here's to the end of another semester on my quest to conquer the trade of textile design.  The class that I am just finishing up focuses on using Illustrator and Photoshop as tools in the design process.  The repeats below came from an original painting of mine.  It's amazing how using these programs, you are able to quickly change colors, adjust shapes, rotate objects, etc to work out your composition and repeat.  I am by no means a computer person, but my confidence continues to grow as I see the perks of using technology!  I'm still unsure as to the right market and products for my designs....




Thursday, February 3, 2011

Indian Block Printing

I recently did a presentation on this ancient craft for my Surface Design Class.  Check out this unbelievably, beautiful video to see the delicacy and intricate nature of the process!  The video was made for West Elm who sells products from these Indian Artisans.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Photoshop Tutorial

Etsy usually sends out weekly emails with help on how to improve your store.  The nice part about these blasts are that they usually contain links from fellow Etsians writing how-to's on topics in the hopes that they can pass along stories of their successes and tips on how you too can succeed!  I usually don't spend much time on them as Etsy is a huge time suck, but this one seemed particularly useful!  Check out the link here and my impressive photoshop-ing skills below, thanks to this post!Etsy: Shop Makeover with Photoshop


BEFORE
AFTER

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I'm buying stock in gouache

  Nautical Florescence, Gouache, 12 ½x15 1/2
  Nautical Florescence II, Gouache, 13 1/4x14
  Greetings, Gouache, 10x13
  Geometric, Gouache, 10x21


Constantly rifling through flea market junk piles and antique store boxes, I am on the lookout for unique treasures to add to my growing collection of vintage ephemera. Looking at vintage travel postcards from the 1930’s and 40’s, I specifically was drawn to those illustrating sailing. The nostalgic, playful feelings evoked through a culture at ease, indulging in leisurely activities drew me in. Saturated colors and the graphic style used during the time period coincide with my personal design aesthetic and utilize colors that I typically gravitate towards. This concept was explored during a course on Surface Design, resulting in examples of floral, geometric, and conversational patterns in this series of gouache paintings.

Nautical Florescence II is featured in the new exhibit up at Silver Circle next month!

The Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam, Conn., announces, "Flora and Fauna,” a themed display featuring glimpses of plant and animal life as seen through the artist’s eye. The show represents 19 local artists that work in a wide variety of mediums. This exhibit will be held in the downtown gallery 2/2– 2/27, 2011