Here are a couple spot illustrations done last week for a holiday cover story. Hope you're having a great Monday!
Handmade Christmas
Favorites lately
A few of my favorites lately, collected on my tumblr: http://holdtight.tumblr.com
Oh Comely magazine
Have you heard of this new magazine, Oh Comely? I love their concept; it's about people and their quirks and their creativity, rather than money and what it can buy. I spent an evening reading through this issue and very much enjoyed it. Oh, and I have a little page in it! I was asked to create an illustration about a childhood memory of discovery.
There used to be a small, intricately inlaid wooden box tucked inside the old hutch in the dining room. I remember my dad taking it out one afternoon, and showing me how to open it. It was a puzzle box, the kind that looks like it has no opening. He would take the box and slide these secret panels, one on each side, little by little. It seemed to take hours since the panels only moved a tiny bit at a time. But eventually we slid the lid off the box, and I let its contents tumble to the ground – a jumble of time-worn skeleton keys. I sat on the floor and studied each key, searching for clues, imagining that they opened doors all over the world. Later, when my dad wasn’t there to open the box for me, I would sneak the puzzle box out of the hutch and work it open myself, just to sit and stare at the keys. But I pushed the panels too hard, and the secret inner workings broke. I put the broken box with the trapped keys back in its place, and was eventually found out. I don’t know where the box is now, but I suspect it is locked in a chest in the basement. I used to hide the key to that chest in an unfinished wall, but the wall was plastered over and I don’t remember if I ever took that key out in time.
My homemade room decor
This is a little different from what I normally post, but I wanted to share a couple of my favorite projects I've done around the house. They are simple but make me smile. I Hope you like them, too!
I made a jewelry display out of a handful of buttons, embroidery thread, and a sturdy branch. Just thread the buttons onto the center of a long-ish piece of string (about 3 ft), wrap both ends around the branch until there are only a couple inches of string left on each end. Wrap those tails around the string between the button and the stick in opposite directions. Knot securely. This creates a little bit of space between the button and the branch so your jewelry can hang more easily.
I used a sturdy branch to hang a sheer curtain dividing my desk and bed. Nothing fancy, just some eye hooks in the ceiling and colored thread holding up the branch. (Excuse my mess!)
Banking on Better Times
Last month I created this illustration for New Orleans Magazine, and I wanted to share a bit of my process. The article was an overview of the state of the economy, and I drew a few major themes from it- uncertainty, hope, and tentativeness.
My sketches show banks (some doing better than others), piggy bank hot air balloons going wherever the breeze takes them, and businesspeople peeking out from other their umbrellas hoping for the sun to come out. My favorite was the last one, so I was delighted to hear that the client wanted to go with it.
I started with a background wash on a subtly printed fabric. My color scheme was dusty blue and green with accents of orange and red, and for this painted layer I worked deeper colors towards the bottom with lighter colors at the top.
I layered a pencil drawing of the characters with other pieces of fabric and more drawings here and there. I love the freedom I have with Photoshop to take my hand-made elements and tweak them all to 'work' together. I hope you like my little sneak peek- take a look at the digital issue of New Orleans Magazine to read the full article.
RISD Fall Alumni Sale 2010
This Saturday was such a perfect day for a sidewalk sale! The weather was beautiful and it was so great to meet and chat with so many people. I've stocked my etsy store with some new things and am working on getting ready for the rest of the season- look for my work at this year's Craftland Holiday Show as well as Bazaar Bizarre in Boston. Here are two photos I snapped before things got busy, and the last two by risd president John Maeda.
Wedding Wine Labels
A couple months ago I was approached to create a set of custom illustrated wine labels for a world-traveling couple's wedding reception. One of the aspects of illustration that I absolutely love is being challenged will all sorts of different projects; experimenting with new materials and formats is so exciting and rewarding!
The client was looking for wine labels based on each city they had traveled to as a couple to use as table markers for their reception. They were really a dream to work with, and the process moved smoothly along from mockup to final designs. I created a simple but elegant drawing for each label, then pulled from my fabric collection to reference designs and colors reminiscent of each city.
I think these add a great heartfelt touch to a celebration, and I am so glad that I had the chance to work on this project.
If I Was You...
I recently participated in a collaborative illustration project called "If I Was You." Each week, an illustrator creates an image based on the artist from the previous week, answering the prompt, "If I was you, I would...". Hannah Warren was my inspiration, and it was great to dig through her work! I read that her favorite things are "Family, friends, my boyfriend and all you can eat buffet." So here it is, Hannah! If I was you, I would invite all my family and friends over for a homemade all you can eat buffet.
See the rest of the entries to the If I Was You Project, and check back in a couple days to see what another illustrator would do if they were me!
Growing a Greener City
Happy July! This is an illustration for the cover of the July issue of Providence Monthly. The idea was to combine the Providence skyline with a growing garden. I spent a lot of time drawing out the vines and leaves; it's great to get to illustrate for the cover because it is printed so large that details translate really well. Here's a slightly different version than was used:
...and a snapshot of the cover:
Slow & Steady
It's no secret, I have a definite obsession with patchwork. There are some images that instantly hit me as a perfect opportunity to show off some mixed-and-matched fabrics. This was one of them! I loved piecing together flowery fabric to make this tortoise's shell.
Want a Slow & Steady print for yourself? It's available in 5"x7" and 8"x10"!