Turn Over a New Leaf!

"Turn Over a New Leaf" is the title of my entry for the annual Spoonflower Tea Towel calendar Contest. A new year means new beginnings and is always so full of potential. To 2015, the best year ever! Vote in the contest here!

Les Parapluies de Sophie

Another Spoonflower entry, this time for the Umbrellas themed contest. I titled it "Les Parapluies de Sophie" because when I was naming my little illustrations in photoshop, they started to feel like characters: Para coeur, para fleur, para fraise, para pompom, para pois, para ligne, para froufrou and para sol. "Les malheurs de Sophie" by la comtesse de Ségur was one of my favorite books when I was young and I think Sophie would have like these cheerful little parapluies. Almost makes you wish for a rainy day! See all entries and vote here. Thank you for your vote!

Musical Chairs

Here's my entry for the latest "tables and chairs" Spoonflower contest. I drew a bunch of chairs and tables, scanned them and started playing with them to create a pattern. Somehow I couldn't fit the tables in, but I could probably fit it them in the collection somewhere on a different fabric. This design reminded me of playing musical chairs with its little row of mismatched chairs.  Are you ready to sit down when the music stops? See all entries and vote here.

Big Fat Art

Last week I took another workshop with Jane Davies at the Pacific Northwest Art School. The name of the class was "Big Fat Art" because we worked on large pieces of print making paper. I love working big because you can't get too precious about your work, you really have to use your whole arm to make wide gestures to cover the entire page, so you end up with interesting mark making techniques. We worked with color, line, shape, pattern and layering. Another super fun and inspiring class with an incredibly talented group of women! Jane is teaching again next year at the same school on Whidbey Island and I would recommend you register early if you are interested, her classes do sell out quickly.

Port Townsend Open Studio

This year, I decided to participate in the Port Townsend Studio Tour taking place this weekend, August 23rd and 24th, where 36 artists will open their studios for demonstrations and display of their work. For my demo, I will show how to do a monoprint using a gel plate with acrylic paints, masks and subtractive techniques to create a variety of interesting textures. It’s a fast, fun process and it’s all about layering and letting go!  My studio will be open from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday and I will be also be selling paintings, greeting cards, wrapping paper, fabric and other items. Please stop by if you are in the area!

Thyme after Thyme

Here's my entry for the latest Spoonflower design contest. You can see all the entries and vote here. You can also order this design on fabric on Spoonflower or as a cell phone or iPad case on Keka. The original name was "Green Vines" but I renamed it "Thyme after Thyme" on Spoonflower to enter the Herb Garden contest…crafty, n'est-ce pas? And who doesn't need a little more thyme?

Le Pied Dansant

Le Pied Dansant | Mixed media on wood panel | 12 x 12

I was invited to be in a group show at the Edison Eye Gallery. The theme for this show is "DANCE" . I cut out the song titles about the right and left hand in an old "Pageants for Piano" music book I have. I also added some text from my favorite vintage french astronomy book that talks about the movements of the stars. The title of the piece was inspired by a song by Stefie Shock, a French Canadian singer song-writer. The opening reception is this Saturday, July 19 from 5 to 8pm. The show goes until August 3rd. Come and see it if you are in the area!