A new project for the New Year

Geometric Mandalas Coloring Book now available on Amazon!

I’ve been intrigued by the thought of making coloring books for awhile, but it all seemed a bit intimidating and I wasn’t sure where to start. And then I realized it didn’t have to be detailed portraits of mermaids (which is good, but other people are great at that!) So I sat down and just did it.

Like so many things that seem complicated from the top down, the individual parts came together seamlessly and now it’s up for sale on Amazon!

I started with making the designs in Illustrator (still on CS5 with no plans to change…) and then saved them as PNG’s. Then I made a template in InDesign and just dragged them in one by one. I wasn’t brave enough to just put it up for sale without seeing a copy so I took the extra step of ordering a proof copy. Even with the holidays it was printed and on my doorstep in four days. And it was beautiful - that’s not bragging on the artwork, the printing quality and paper were far better than I was anticipating. And now it’s on to marketing and starting in on book 2 which will be floral patterns. I love that I can do a square book, it seems just a little more elegant than the standard rectangle!

I thoroughly enjoy the art of self-publishing, not because I have to do it all, but because I get to see the whole process end to end. It’s just plain fun!

Christmas is right around the corner!

Seriously, the time has come for holiday prints and patterns if they’re to be available when people start shopping for holiday crafts and decorating, pretty much any day now. I am so not in the holiday mood, right now! I’m still crossing fingers for the green tomatoes on the deck, not thinking about wreaths… Challenges are good though so here’s the first of probably many this month:

It’s based on a real, native plant but I’m not sure if it says holiday to people that aren’t familiar with it… But then maybe it doesn’t have to!

I’ve also been looking ahead to the colors of 2020 which usually start being discussed around this time of year when the large fashion shows happen. I’m not sure what to make of what I’ve seen so far, there are some pretty shades but nothing shocking or out of the ordinary. I’m going t guess that whatever Pantone picks for 2020 isn’t going to be as outrageous as coral was…

Coming to terms with my love of digital bling

If artistic taste has even a shred of DNA contribution than I know just who to blame for my love of a little extra embellishment. It’s not generally considered an upper-class attribute… I came to terms with this in my personal life a long time ago but found myself wrestling with it again in the studio this past week. Not from a point of acceptance but more one of communication.

The Alchemy of Digital Gold

You see digital gold foil effects are created by mimicking metallics with pixels. All is well and good if the pixels never leave the screen. When you print them, they don’t look bad; they’re just not actually metallic. Nothing is reflective nor does it catch the light. The real problem is that even a photograph of the “real” false gold ends up looking real because it’s back to being pixels again. So I initially decided not to use it on the new products I’m working on. So that nobody would be disappointed and I wouldn’t have to try to explain what to expect. I did okay for a bit. But then it was like trying to hide my true self. It didn’t feel authentic.

Embracing the Gold

So I gave in. And I LOVE these designs. I crafted a rubber stamp disclaimer (which nobody will probably read). Now I feel all happy when I hit that final click and the black placeholders turn to gold (or silver). The design comes to life. My ancestors are pleased. At least the ones that gave me the glitter gene. The sober ones from Vermont can’t get a word in…

A Sneak Peak at Quarter 2

My new shop will be going live soon. I’ve been hard at work creating all new designs for it, with the underlying rule that if I wouldn’t buy it, it doesn’t go up. So here’s a sample of some those designs…

Those only look wild and colorful until you see these:

The next chapter

I’ve spent the last six months seriously exploring pattern, surface design and related tools and techniques. Sitting down in January to do taxes means a hard look at what has made money and what hasn’t. It’s now time to get serious (but still play!)

So in that vein and knowing that some good things can’t be rushed. I’m working hard on the business end of things - really focusing on getting rid of those limiting thoughts and pushing through the noise of the Internet. I’ll be moving some things around and also really zooming in on my strengths - making more designs like the one above that combine my love or gardening with folk art. It’s simple, it’s abstract, and yet it was drawn from real life - a snowdrop picked just yesterday. Art is certainly subjective and yet there are ways to add value and not just more choices - that’s important too for this next phase of entrepreneurial greatness…

Mermaid patterns

Once you go there, you can’t come back…

I’m pleased with the sea-greeny texture but I wonder if the pearls aren’t just a bit too much? But is there such as thing as too much when it’s mermaids? I think not.

Introducing Uncle Henry

My Uncle Henry was a character. A veteran of the Spanish-American War and World War I he claimed to have taught Roosevelt how to use a machine gun (possible and feasible but not verified) and later as a telegrapher in Chicago to have been the one to broadcast the famous moment when Babe Ruth pointed and hit - also not verified, but with the wonderfully plausible cover that he was the one reporting it because nobody else in the press box was paying attention! He went on to become a union organizer and took great pride in getting equal pay for women telegraphers.

He also took great pride in his handwriting, carefully lining even envelopes before writing out the address. This font is based on that handwriting with some modifications to make it work in the modern world.  Most of it is based on a 2-page letter he sent me when I was fifteen and he was in his nineties entitled "Research on Embalmed Mummies".  That pretty much sums up Uncle Henry!

Uncle Henry, the font, will be going on sale next week. I've no idea if it has commercial appeal, but as a labor of love I'm convinced it will find its place, even if its just on family Christmas cards.

Christmas Glitter

For no particular reason, I've been working on holiday designs these last few weeks. It's just fun to make sparkly, pretty things. I'm not sure what the market is for this right now but perhaps if I put it all on a mermaid...

It's interesting to see what trends are forecasted and how people respond to them in real-life. While I'm not much of a study the trend first and then create, it can be fun to experiment. I did this recently with a small design that was created from an accident and started in black and white. When it came time to apply color I didn't have any strong preferences so went with the current hot color for summer - bright orange. It's proving to be more popular than I expected. I'm not however, going to recolor my entire portfolio into tangerine! Not today, anyway.