new stuff

hey, now that all the hullabaloo of surtex is over, I can share some of my new stuff I took. Well, I guess it wasn't exactly a state secret before, but, everyone always seems to keep surtex stuff all hush hush, beforehand, so what do I know? Anyhow, here's some of what I took and no, you can never make enough stuff. Check out my site for lots more... (ok, that may be an exaggeration... some more?!)

christmas gift wrap competition

ok, a post or so ago, I promised that I was laying off contests and also would not become a spoon flower junkie, stumping for weekly votes. This time I really mean it.* I only intended to enter the annual tea towel contest. Seriously. But then I saw the next one was for Christmas gift wrap, based on ornaments. Being the Christmas addict I am, I couldn't resist, so I adapted some ornaments I had from an old card design and here ya go. If you feel so inclined, toss me a vote! And I hereby resolve to stop entering these things! 

*Unless they are really a super cute or fun idea and I can't resist.

happy spring and Surtex thoughts :)

Each month over at Happy Happy Art Collective, we have a group project. This month was to make a spring pattern. With such a dreary April, I was really in the mood for some spring flowers and of course, felt the need to add some friendly insects to the mix. Head on over to happy happy, and see what the girls have done so far!

In other ramblings, I just got home from walking Surtex the last 2 days. I had never done this before and it was, to say the least, a virtual eye candy overload! You really have to walk it to believe it. There is such a variety, from independent artists, to design studios, to group collectives, to agencies, all under one roof. In retrospect, I wish I had looked at more binders, look books, etc. toget a better idea of how much art is needed to make it worth your while, but I didn't want to get in the way of any potential business. I really enjoyed seeing how different artists handled their booth design and set up. I could see myself really enjoying that aspect of exhibiting there.

And if that wasn't enough, the National Stationery Show is adjacent, which is even bigger! I really wasn't prepared for that. Soooo much to take in. There is everything from major players like American Greetings and Madison Park, to rows of small letterpress shops, Ecojot (major drool... and Carolyn was there and was so kind and friendly), Tattly, a few small toy companies, the list goes on and on. It was difficult as a newbie with little knowledge of the paper market, to decipher which companies actually solicit work from artists. Most were forthcoming in answering questions. 

The best part of the whole experience, was the opportunity to meet soooo many artists I have come to know online from all around the world, which was just wonderful. 5 out of 6 of us from Happy Happy got the chance to finally meet, which of course was a major highlight (we missed you Denise Holmes!!) Lauren Minco's And Tammie Bennett's booths were absolutely fabulous, not to mention the Dottie Wrens, Forest Foundry, Tracey Mattocks, Kim Moulder, Kathy Weller, Victoria Johnson, Cultivate Art Collective, and so many other wonderful MATS artists. All very inspiring and just great people to meet and talk to. If you've never gone, GO!! Will I ever do it myself or in a group? I really don't know at this point, but it was certainly food for thought. 

business card palooza!

I'm not sure what a palooza is, but here's my little set of cards that I plan on taking to surtex next week. I hadn't ever really done business cards before, but all the cool kids seemed to be doing it, so I thought I'd jump on the moo bandwagon, too. Now my goal is to come home with a quantity less than 100. Wish me luck! I'm thinking there must be some sort of card game I could come up with for the leftovers ;)

uppercase :)

I finally got my copy on Friday and I must say, it still seems surreal. I submitted on a whim at the last moment, figuring I had nothing to lose and to say I am humbled at being included is a huge understatement. I had done the middle and bottom patterns as an offshoot of my second round submission for the GlobalTalent Search, last fall and the top piece was an extension from the final assignment from MATS A for giftware, as you can see below. 

I gotta say, when I look through all the pages of loveliness and then get to mine, I still get a "what does not belong here?" moment, but I'll take it. It's not flowery or super graphic in nature, but kinda goofy like me, so I guess they needed a dose of that in the issue. What can I say, but now my silly anthropomorphic flirtatious pear has now had her thirty seconds of fame, and that's a good thing :)

uppercase??? say whaaat??!!

Yup, it's true. I have no idea how or why, but I somehow made the cut and will be in the April issue of Uppercase which will feature the surface pattern design guide. I've never been in anything! Evidently there were close to 300 submissions of which 100 were selected. I ended up submitting at the last minute, sending in two different collections that I had already done. I will be interested to see which ones actually got in. Needless to say, I am humbled to know I made it. The beautiful art of fellow MATS graduate, the talented Jan Avellana, is featured here on the cover. Congrats Jan!! If you are not a subscriber, you really should be... it's a great publication and I pour over every page as soon as it arrives in my mailbox. Better yet, act before April 30th, and you can use this code, USPDG2014, to get $15 off your new subscription or renewal. Check it out here!

Below are the 2 collections I submitted. Can't wait to see what got picked!