I did not need a new thing to do but…. Playing with visual patterns and playing with words came together last year when I discovered I could have them printed on fabric. Whether it is geometric repetitions or organic layers of freely written words, this has been so much fun!
The practice was and continues to be somewhat of a distraction from my other work but I am cutting myself some slack. It is something I can do when the task at hand is wearing me out – but I still want to do something creative.
There is a calming aspect to creating a repeating design – much like knitting. That is not to say it isn’t work. Getting the repetitions right is challenging and juggling multiple iterations of the same design sometimes results in the digital version of a few broken plates.
I have converted a few drawings to fabric designs (I love how pencil drawings print on Cotton-Linen) but the calligraphy is more fun.
All the calligraphy for my designs continues to start with pen on paper (some of it has admittedly had a former life as part of an animation and you might spot some of these words on my Vimeo page). I work with the edited calligraphy in Corel Painter and in Photoshop before sending the finished designs to Spoonflower™ where those fine people print my work on yardage of one of their fabric options.
Every design needs to be printed and proofed by me before it can be for sale. I am impressed with the quality – especially the color, which is quite true to my originals.
So, what do I do with all the printed samples? 2021 continued to be a year of the mask so I made a few from multiple layers of printed Cotton Poplin. Listening to the news, it looks like I might need to make a few more. Sigh…
My sewing I keep simple. Reusable gift bags now have calligraphic family names, tea towels declare “joy” and bandanas sing “Sister”… and I love the word “Sing” on anything (although I, myself, do not sing in public).
You can see what I have created and curated at my Spoonflower Shop.
I continue to distract myself with new ideas, but if you have any suggestions, I am open to them.
If I don’t get back here again this month, I offer my sincere best wishes for whatever holidays you celebrate at this turning of the year. May you enjoy peace, comfort and joy
In the meantime, although there is snow on the ground, I am busy animating tulips!