A Love For Mirrored Repeats

I've been doing more drawing for fabric recently, and I've discovered that I love freehand drawing patterns that look somewhat damask-y or rococo when using a mirrored repeat.  They're coming out in unexpected ways, and quite lovely in the previews.  It's exciting to get further into this facet of designing.

This is my Cecil design in the chocolate colorway.  I've been listening to Welcome to Night Vale and thought the oddly lovable voice of Night Vale, Cecil, was a great inspiration for making a pattern.  Since making Cecil, I've done a few more similar designs, but I haven't seen any of them printed on fabric yet.  Once I do, it depends on how they come out whether or not they will be for sale.

This one is Vena in the colorway Goldenrod.  I don't know why I named it Vena in the first place, but searching tells me that it's the name of a character in one of the classic Doctor Who (Sixth Doctor) episodes, Timelash.  I like Who well enough to call myself a Whovian, though I have seen much more RTD Who than classic.  Still, it's a lovely, elegant design that does well in repeat form, worthy of the Doctor Who-verse princess that shares its name.

To see more you can visit my Spoonflower Gallery or my portfolio website.

Slush Pile: No Answers

Only questions, no answers.

B&W Hydrangea

I set up a still life shoot the other day, with a teacup and a hydrangea.  It was during the really hot weather, and I wanted to shoot but there wasn't much outside that didn't look like it was suffering under the heat.  So, I found my favorite natural light spot and set up for a few shots.  This was one of the few I liked, the other I put up in my etsy store.

For processing I used some Black and White actions from Florabella, which has been one of the best investments I've made for photoshop.  It has a variety of great black and white actions that have a distinctly different look.  Before that, I cropped the picture in Lightroom and tweaked it to make the color bolder, so it would show more range once converted to black and white.

I really liked this end result, but I'm not sure if I will put this image up for sale or not.

Paper & Stitch

Is everyone as excited for the arrival of Baby Cambridge as I am?  I cannot wait to find out the name of the new baby!

But as lovely as that news is, I have a (much smaller) bit of news of my own.  I'm a featured shop on Paper & Stitch for the next month.  It's a really exciting opportunity for me to have my work reach a wider audience.  Today, my photo Nerdy from my series "Still Life with Nerds" is even on the front page.  I'm super excited!

I'm so glad to be part of this month's exhibition.  Head on over there and check it out, and if you've found me because of Paper & Stitch -welcome!  As always, if you want to buy a print from my etsy store, sign up for my newsletter for a discount code.

The Mount

There are so many great places to visit in Western Massachusetts and I have yet to discover a great deal of them.  Until my last trip to Lake George, I hadn't even really spent much time in the Berkshires, but I'm always inspired in the fall to get out more.  Productivity-wise, it's always my busiest time of year, because the colors and changes make for great photography, the weather is kinder than the heat of summer and spots have less vacationers.

The Mount was a place I discovered and fell in love with on my last trip to the Berkshires.  Originally a summer house built by Edith and Teddy Wharton, it's undergoing restoration into a historical site dedicated to the legacy of the author herself.  The house was designed by Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr (who also designed the second and third floors of The Breakers), incorporating some of Wharton's favorite European influences.  It's a beautiful site, and from what I saw of the restoration it's coming along very well.  Above is a picture of it from the back, taken from the grounds.

These are a few photos I took during the guided tour, which took the group through most of the house and explained the process of renovation, as well as the history of Edith Wharton and the home.  There's the option of the guided tour, which I recommend, or to go through the house and grounds on your own.  I'd really love to go back and see how much has changed since my initial visit.  If you have the chance to visit, let me know what you think of it.