Studio Time: Exploring Patina & Texture

When I started playing with creating the Texture & Patina collection I admit I struggled. I stared at the photos, color palettes, and ideas for about 3 days with...nothing. Bupkus. Nada.

I knew I really wanted to explore Texture & Patina because that really resonates with the core of my personal design aesthetic - organic, rustic, textural and primitive.

One of the ways I broke my creative impasse was by getting ink, brushes, and paper and just playing. I particularly loved this photo with the blue paint and rust. I wanted to figure out how to translate this into a two-dimensional design.

Here were some of the marks I made through playing. I scanned these into Illustrator and played with the automated Image Trace.

 

The marks on the left translated into the scratchy pattern below. I have two versions... one more scratchy and saturated, one a little simpler. They make great blender fabrics for quilts.

What ways have you explored to a creative block? 

Artfully Meandering: Pivoting

Ain't that the way it goes,
Always stumbling into something,
Life's an open road,
You gotta take it,
If you just let go,
Lose your way to find that one thing
You've been missing
You almost missed it all

- "The Way it Goes," Gloriana

Songs that Speak to Me

There is something about the lyrics in Gloriana's 2009 song that really speak to me about my life's journey and my creative exploration. Sometimes getting lost leads to the best breakthroughs!

Texture & Patina - Where I Started

When I started the Texture & Patina collection, I took my cue from the colors in the photographs I took. Then I modified the colors a bit to capture more of what I really wanted. The core design that really struck my fancy was the textured plaid. 

I then added fruit designs with Zentangle inspired doodling in them. My mom thought the fruit made it country-ish. I think I agree.

I'm really torn between the above plaid and the Zentangle inspired background below.

Pivoting

And then I moved to Florida and wanted beach inspired decor. I started with the plaid that I loved so much and just fell in love with the coloring. So, I kept going and created a total of 8 color ways to expand the Texture & Patina Beach Bright collection. There are 12 designs in 8 colors coming over the next three months.

Your turn:

Have you ever "pivoted" creatively? Were you happy with the results? Or disappointed?

Artfully Meandering: Creative Floodgates Open. A review of the deluge...

So, the creative floodgates have opened. I am beyond jewelry now. Here are all the things I have percolating and are now starting to come to fruition!


Surface Pattern Design

I took a random class on surface pattern design and have now expanded my art interests into creating designs for my own home! Here is my "beach blues" I printed through Spoonflower.

And am finishing up re-upholstering a cute little bistro set. 

I also printed some pillows through Zazzle in a bohemian collection for my bed. I've also been  repainting and refinishing my furniture so it coordinates better and just generally organizing my home.

Kanna Inspire

I did a pilot of an inspiration magazine with an original cast of 16 artists. The enthusiasm from the initial launch was great! I'm working on getting legal ducks in a row to relaunch my inspiration magazine. Here is a proof of the next issue (launch date is still open).

Sticky Note Project Management

Another thing I've been piloting on myself, and select friends and family is converting what I've learned from my day job into a personal task/project management system. In the digital age, I've found there is a nice balance/tension to still using old-fashioned paper. But, not just any paper. I am known at the "sticky note queen" when I'm collaborating with my team at work. I've combined my new surface pattern designing skills and have made a way to manage my own tasks in a pretty and organized way. I still use digital lists, but the paper is more tactile and "in-my-face" so I don't forget as easily.

Jewelry

And hopefully, I will be able to return to the thing that started this whole journey... jewelry! I'm not sure about being able to start up lamp working again, but if I can't do that yet, I will explore polymer and ceramics to round out my skill set and materials.

Knitting

Last but not least, I've finally conquered knitting! I've been knitting scarves for years and years and years and now have graduated from scarf land (although I still love making scarves). I have decided to keep this piece of creativity as something I do to relax at the end of the day. I will still need a creative outlet if my art business takes off. As I was starting to gain a small amount of traction at one point in my business, I realized that making art would become a responsibility and not a creative outlet. So, I had to find something to stay as joy for the joy of creating - no strings attached and I've decided knitting will stay mostly in that arena.

Artfully Meandering: Designing fabric - new beach themed pillows and fabric

A few years ago when I was coping with chronic migraines I started taking a bunch of different classes. One of the classes was surface pattern design. 

It was a very random side trip in my art journey. I never really had a particular interest or even knowledge that such a thing as surface pattern design existed. It was just kind of a "hm, that's sounds kind of interesting, I'll take it" type of experience. And I truly started from scratch. I didn't have any design or graphic art background that most of the other students had, so some of my early work? Heinous. But, some of it surprisingly good and I'm even starting to revisit some of the ideas. It's been a consistent pattern as I learn anything new such as lamp work, polymer clay, metal clay. I start with really ugly things (but with interesting possibilities) and some surprisingly good stuff. I'll share another post on the surface pattern design journey. 

What I love about surface pattern design is being able to make things I visualize for my home into seamless repeats for pattern and objects. Learning how to create repeats that I can use as backgrounds on my blog? Score! (Yep, I made that bright yellow/green organic plaid on my blog.) Creating my own fabric for use in clothing and pillows. Bonus!

Texture and Patina Beach Blue

by Jenn Borek

Zazzle 

I've searched some of the various third party customization stores and I settled on Zazzle for the level of control I had over the products my designs would be on. I earn a design royalty on each object sold with my design on it. If I promote the product, I can also earn an additional commission.  I've ordered products from Zazzle for my own home and have been very pleased with the results of the pillows (my favorite!) and the wall art and cards. Their service is excellent and the prints have turned out very well. 

Recently, I started decorating my home in a beach/ocean theme. I'm not a huge fan of the ubiquitous motifs (that are everywhere especially once you move to Florida). I decided I wanted to embrace beach living through color. The varied blues and green are what take my breath away about being near the water. 

I got my pillows yesterday and I'm in love! I made four designs in the brighter palette for this effortless boho vibe. 

And to maximize the designs, each pillow has a "bright side" and a "subdued" side. The subdued side is two-toned. Flip the pillows to mix it up.

If you're a "matchy-matchy" type of person, just order two of the same pillow. 

Spoonflower Fabric

In addition to pillows, I got two yards of the fabric through Spoonflower. The colors in the fabric pop a little more than on the Zazzle pillows. I'm going repaint and reupholster some bistro chairs with this fabric. Can't wait to get moving on that project!

I really, really love the pillows I ordered through Zazzle and fabric through Spoonflower. I've been very happy with the quality and service of both companies.

If you are digging the fabrics or pillows, order yours through the above links! I earn commissions on each sale. 

If you want to design your own, both have "create your own" options on each. I have been very happy with their service and can happily recommend them to others.

Studio Time: Zazzle Products - Pear Pillows

I've ordered some of my products from Zazzle to see how they turned out and I'm VERY pleased with the pillows. I designed these pillows with different backs to give you more options depending on the mood. I love the bohemian artsy look you get with having four different pillows.

 These are the 20x20 pillows cotton throw pillows. They are available in 16x16 cotton and also available as options for the polyester depending on your preferences. Zazzle runs regular specials and I bought these when they were 60% off. They are very soft, and the printing turned out wonderfully on them. 

Here are the regular prices for the different sizes and different pillows. If you sign up for Zazzle, they'll send you notices when they have different discounts. The prices are comparable to Pottery Barn pillows and I was just as happy with the quality.

If you're interested in purchasing unique pillows for your home, click on the link below each design to bring you directly to the link for that design in my Zazzle Store store!

Pear 20x20 Throw Pillow Pillows

Pear 20x20 Throw Pillow Pillows

Pear 20x20 Throw Pillow Throw Pillow

Pear Plaid 20x20 Pillow Pillow 

Studio Time: Textured Apple Collection

Next up to share is a sampling of the Textured Apple collection. My goal with this collection was to start adding light layers and texture. I really love how the bottom right complementary pattern turned out. It fits the rough, distressed texture I love in design. 

In other background news, I'm working on background items like working with a lawyer on proper filing of paperwork, copyright, trademark, etc. I've starting hiring freelancers to help with areas that are beyond my skill set or too far beyond my capacity. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Studio Time: Fruit Collection - Pear

A peek of upcoming work and the story behind the scenes. I've been working on this collection off and on between moving and getting settled into a new place and organized to get this business going! 

I did a bunch of what I would call "ugly sketching"... just doodling on the color palettes I picked out. I pulled out previous work I had done that never made it into an official collection and picked out components I liked. I used sketches that surprised me... half-finished pieces that I liked better than the finished work. Below are the final drawings that made up the above collection. Yes, it's that "simple." It took a few hours to create these drawings. The heavy lifting of the work was done in Adobe Illustrator - coloring, manipulating, placing, sizing. Illustrator has recently gone through a major upgrade and I'm having to relearn the tool. I'm struggling a bit and it's taken me longer to finish work than I would have liked. 

8x8 prints are available in my Artfire shop.

Kanna Glass Studios Artfire Shop: Country Plaid Pear Print

Kanna Glass Studios Artfire Shop: Country Gingham Pear Print

I'm also testing out having these prints on Zazzle products as pillows, coasters, and smart phone cases. I've set up shop here, but I have not yet ordered my own Zazzle products, so I cannot comment on Zazzle's quality or speed of delivery. However, I'm planning to order all of the pillows and will share the ideas I have. I'm really digging the bohemian vibe of mixing and matching this collection!

I also have a Spoonflower fabric shop and have some of my Pear Collection. I'm planning to make room darkening curtains out of the green plaid (my absolute favorite of the collection). It's currently the background of my blog right now! 

Studio Time: New work coming soon! A preview

I'm settling happily into Jacksonville, Florida. I'm near my family AND I'm near the beach! I still miss my everyday adventures of living in Hong Kong, but I can create adventures anywhere. 

I've only been here three weeks, but I'm already breaking out the art supplies. I've been creating jewelry and creating designs. Today's post is a peek at just one of the upcoming designs. 

I've been ruminating on my design aesthetic. One of the stops to my core design style is the country style. I have to admit: I'm a sucker for plaids and gingham. I find a warm, homey appeal in that design. I'm really pleased with the plaids in this collection. I've been challenging myself and trying to incorporate aspects of the southwestern design that I find appealing such as texture and organic lines.

Below is a single print from the collection: Orange.

The collection is targeted for release August 1! I will have the fabrics in my Spoonflower shop, these prints will be available in different sizes in my Artfire shop. I'm working on some other products to accompany this particular collection. I'll be sharing bits and pieces of the upcoming collection over the next few weeks. :-)

Artfully Meandering: The artistic journey of developing skills to match my level of taste

My creative juices have been flowing again and I'm so happy to have them back! I've been totally off my game for the last few years between health and moving around a lot. Next move - Jacksonville, Florida next month! 

So, I need to get into the practice of blogging again. I miss the everyday adventure of when I lived in Hong Kong. There was so much to write about! But, there is much to write about in any creative adventure and my goal is to develop a regular practice of being creative (writing and art). Today's post is a push in that direction. While this isn't going to be a perfect post - I'm pushing myself out of my uncreative funk and "just writing."

The Gap between Taste and Skill

Today's randomness was sparked by reading an interesting quote from Ira Glass on Julie Hamilton's blog. The quote was about the gap between our taste and our skill. It crystallized a line of thought I've had for a while about my own art and whether it was "good enough" to be put on display, and more critically, "good enough" to sell. 

I wouldn't say I have killer taste. I have a defined taste, but it's not as refined and killer as one of my artist friends. (She did an amazing job on a brochure created for one of my jewelry collections. It made me jump with excitement when I saw it. It's the second brochure down on this page.) She sent pictures of her home remodel and her home is a representation of her killer taste.

Southwest Style

Southwest style epitomizes my personal aesthetic. Elements that I love about Southwest style are rustic, handmade, arches, washes of color, texture, minimalism, and patina. I love the eclecticism permitted by southwest style. And I love seeing the imprints and evidence of the "hands" (i.e. an adobe house) that made the object. Those elements are found across the world in styles such as western, country, French country, Tuscan, Moroccan, Spanish, and Mexican.

A Retrospective of My Artistic Journey

Some of the jewelry pieces I've made after five years of making jewelry and glass beads finally were approaching the embodiment of that aesthetic. But it took five years of experimentation and work to get there.

Don't get me wrong. I go back and look at my early work and there is much to love there, too. It's part of the journey. Some of that early work became semi-signature style and got a lot of attention. I still have a lot of my pieces in my personal collection and my sister has been the recipient of a steady stream of my work. I recently went through her collection with fresh eyes and thought, "Hey! That's pretty good! I should keep doing some of that." As my skill progressed, I looked at some of her pieces and realize how I can make things with better quality and longevity (all in all, everything I've given her has held up pretty well). All good things if I'm going to make this into a business.

I definitely had failures in there. I have some beads that I bought at my first bead show that have been in at least 4 necklaces. I just can't seem to make the right necklace for those beads. 

A Stop Along the Way - Country Style

I've been making lots of art for the upcoming issue of Kanna Inspire™. The dragonfly in today's post is an outtake that isn't making the cut, but it contains ideas of the collection that will be produced. I like the idea of it and will probably use the sketch in a future collection or to launch an idea for a future collection. 

I finished up a grouping of patterns and prints and my mom's comment was that "it looked country." And it's true. It did. While "country" is not my core taste, it definitely has elements that I am drawn to. It's a step in my artistic journey as I develop skill in drawing, manipulating Illustrator, and creating end products such as textiles and jewelry. I only make what I like and what I would use, wear, and display in my own home.  

Even these middle efforts still produce aesthetically pleasing results that are a representation of my artists journey to my core taste. 

Your Turn

Where are you in your artistic journey? Does your skill match your taste yet? If so, how long was your journey to matching skills and taste? If you're not there yet, what are you doing to get there? What are you making that you still love even though it's not at your taste level?

P.S. - A Shout Out to Artists with Killer Taste AND Skill

By the way, two of my favorite artists are found in Artful Blogging http://buff.ly/1iXyuJy in this issue! Julie Hamilton http://artisticallyafflicted.com and The Noisy Plume http://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/. Congratulations Julie and Jillian!

Studio Time: Watercolor Paisley Collection

More experimenting with digital tools to create hand drawn influences in my surface pattern design. I love watercolor and I'm playing with with digitals apps that let you mimic painting effects. Here is my first attempt with a watercolor collection in my favorite colors of blue/green.

Studio Time: Damask Butterfly Collection

I'm getting my creative mojo back. As I was going to sleep last night, I suddenly had the idea of creating a damask-like pattern using the whimsical butterfly I had started. I used Ideas on my iPad (part of the Adobe Cloud) to do the hand drawing that I'm experimenting with right now. I could see this as a teen girls bedroom set. 

Studio Time: Flower Stand Fabric

I'm so excited about my fabric from Spoonflower! The print turned out as good (maybe better?) than the design board. It's very cool to see the fabric in person. I'm planning to make a dog carrier for my dog, Sophie. I made a mistake on the repeat and lost the original file (so annoying), so I'm fixing that and will get it uploaded. I'll share the bag when I finish. 

Studio Time: Second Collection from a single motif

I've been continuing in the series of how I created my simple collections out of a single motif. 

Cheery Crazy Daisy Collection

The other design I picked up on was what looked like a stylized daisy. I love daisies. I started with the colorful check pattern on the top right. I loved the pastel colors. Then I started playing more. I started out with a more colorful and whimsical placement of the flowers. I ended up with some more traditional motifs on the top left by sticking with two colors and a traditional placement. 

Bedding Mock-Up

I would love to see this as a girl's bedding collection. A little different because it's blue in the background, but still feminine with the pastel colors and daisy motifs. I am a girl who prefers less traditional feminine colors, but still like bedding that says "girl," this is the type of bedding I would love in my home.

Blue Crazy Daisy Collection

I took the above collection and toned it down to a two-color set in blue and white set. A more adult version of the above set.

Studio Time: Flower Stand Collection

I'm planning to make a shopping bag out of this collection. I am having the designs printed through Spoonflower. I'll share the results when I get the fabric. So cool to have an option to be able to print your own designs on fabric! After I proof the fabric, I can make the designs available for sale to the public.