Winter is here! How fitting that on this first day of the new season we have gotten our first real snow here in Providence, and that I have these illustrations to share with you. SO Rhode Island asked me to create 4 half-page illustrations for a winter story. I am seriously filling up my portfolio with the color blue; it is my favorite, especially in minty hues.
Hello, friends! If you've had an eye on anything in my shop, now is a great time to grab a few gifts (and perhaps a treat for yourself). For the rest of this week, use code HOLIDAY2010 when placing an order through my etsy shop to get 20% off any order (valid until next Monday the 20th). I have most items in stock (will ship immediately), and anything that I've run out of will ship Monday the 20th at the latest. Which is conveniently the USPS holiday shipping cut off date (for U.S.) ! Ah, and I almost forgot to mention- I'm also including a free bird ornament with any fabric item purchase.
I hope this helps you cross some lines off your to-do list. Hope you have a peaceful week!
I am getting so excited for Bazaar Bizarre Boston this Sunday, it will be my first time attending or selling there. I'm sharing space with fellow artist friend Karli Hendrickson who makes awesome prints. Come visit us at booth 114!
Here are a couple spot illustrations done last week for a holiday cover story. Hope you're having a great Monday!
A few of my favorites lately, collected on my tumblr: http://holdtight.tumblr.com
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.
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!)
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.
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.
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.