A Modern Quilt for The New Puppy

I have not been able to write here for a couple of weeks. I have a big project going on. And I am not talking about this quilt!

  

I am talking about the owner of the quilt!

She is my new beagle puppy Stella! As you can see from the pictures, see appreciates my hard work for the quilt.

I made the quilt from scraps that I found in the closet. I used to make a lot of quilts many years ago. Then I stopped. The reason was the lack of time to make really artistic detailed hand embroidered quilts and the lack of inspiration to make traditional ones. But now I have found a new trend: modern quilting! I am so excited!  

Stella wishes a long and warm summer to all of you! See you soon! 

Make Art, Reuse, Simplify!

When I made this handmade card I did not think of fabric. But the way I create art leads often to design. I love to reuse my illustrations and make new products from them.

I am so pleased with this fabric, made from the doodling. I thought this would not work as a repeatable pattern but it does! If you have followed my blog for some time you know how I hate simplified stuff. But I recently I have begun to turn more to simple things. And I have started to look my own work differently. These two designs don't really look complicated.I find it both funny and bittersweet to to be so excited about simple designs and simplifying! You will see some projects with a new twist in the near future! 

New Postcards

See my shop Peony and Parakeet for some new glossy postcards! 

I have more than 20 different designs already!

Painting With Wool

For a long time I have believed that the most valuable things are those that you can make yourself from start to finish. The question is only, where to start. This project was a very special one as I started with natural white wool. I had the idea of painting with fiber and I thought I could take a layered approach as what I have done with papers. 

My first step was to dye the wool by painting colors over it. Here's one of the rovings I dyed.

Then I spun the wool.

Here's some of the finished yarn. With spinning I added "painted" layers.

Then I chose the pattern. I could have designed it myself but I find so perfect one I decided to go with it. It's Stockport by Sarah Hutton from Rowan magazine nr 46. I chose to make mine it a little longer to really show off the yarn.

When knitting the sweater I made random stripes, another layer of paint. I think that the result really proves that the layered look can be done with fiber too!

Under The Spring Sun

There's spring in Finland and the first flowers are blooming in my garden!

I made this collage digitally from my scanned artwork. I tried to catch the power of the sunlight here.

My interview is published in ValeriAtelier's blog. Among other interesting topics, I was presented with the question: "What is your best advice for emerging artist?" Read the interview and my best advice for creative people!

Some Things Never Change

My favorite time in a normal working week is Friday night. That's when I turn the music on, grab the pens and brushes and start creating.

I often think about deep and complicated but the music I listen to is very ordinary pop. It really does not go along with my visual style. What I need from music is to create a kind of shield around me, assure that I can do it. It's been like this for tens of years.

Speaking of time over 20 years ago ...

These two old paintings are hanging at my home and I watch them every day. What I did then was pretty much the same that I do now: listen to bad music and get into a flow state. Back then I had just discovered cubism and some new hues of color. These paintings remind me how people stay same even if the years go by. New thoughts will appear, new colors and shapes will be discovered but the true identity stays.

Waiting for Summer

My blog is featured at Best of The Web edition of Be@Home Decor Blog. See the article!

Another exciting thing: a couple of new fabric designs! I have just sent these designs out for printing with some of the older designs.

The yellow fabric on the left is designed from one of my most popular design in paper products and it is called "Summer". The design on the right is based on my recent collages, like this card. It is always exciting to see new fabric for the first time. This time I will be so excited to see how Summer turns out!