Happy New Year!

Thank you for following my blog, hopefully you'll come back in 2012 too!

Where My Heart Is

I have always wanted to learn how to draw. After getting a bachelor's degree in design I was not satisfied with my illustration skills. Then I started to draw circles. You know this "repeat 10 000 times and you'll learn it". I have made more than 10 000 circles I'm sure. I do not know if I have become much of an illustrator but I have definitely got passion for using my pens. Keep me away from them for few days and you get a very angry and frustrated woman! It's where my heart is, truly!

A glimpse of what I've just made: more handmade business cards. (Look at my treasure box of handdrawn papers, it's pretty full!)

Back to Fabrics

I had to take a break in fabric design to prepare the home for Christmas. After the break the previous designs looked too conventional, too stiff and too far from my style. So I started working with a new design, much more complicated, colorful, including several layers of hand drawings.

I also tested if the pattern works with less colors, here you can see the pattern repeats too.

My word for 2012 is the same as the word for previous years: Color!

Merry Christmas!

This is the first Christmas after moving to the new house. I finally have the space for a real Christmas tree!

I made this ornament years ago when I used to make hand sewn quilts.

Merry Christmas!

Getting Closer

I feel very relieved. This is the direction I want to go, what do you think?

After previous sketch I knew I have to turn around my idea of showing texture inside the motif. Here I let the rug type texture lead and got ornaments in the background.

I still have to think about the pattern repeat though!

The Next Sketch

My sketchings for the new fabric line continues.

I find this too old-fashioned, too christmassy, too everything. Clearly this does not really go along with the vision I have in my head.

Close-up:

For me it is important to get to the bottom. The worse I make the better I see what's wrong. I have a plan for the next step now and it is totally different than it would have been if I had not make this sketch!

Moodboard

Here's my design moodboard for the new fabrics. I have included the color swatches as well. My goal is to interpret the history of arts and crafts in a new way. Very challenging!

About the design process:

It is funny how I was not ready to make a moodboard before I made the first sketches. I had structural issues. I was worrying about how I could construct the design. Even if I am still not quite sure, I am more confident and know where to start the actual sketches and what source material I must gather. Then I became worried about the target group, the interiors the fabrics should fit in etc. Now after thinking about it by working with the moodboard, it is much clearer for me.

Sometimes it is really good to put words on paper too. I wrote few sentences describing the design idea. (If you are interested you can read it at Flickr.) I also like to talk about the ideas, that way they develop too.

I find it really important to keep track of my own style. One tool is to have a general style moodboard. I have that at Pinterest. When I feel uncertain or unhappy for whatever reason, I go to see the pictures and say: "Yeah, that's what I am fond of!"

Fabric Sketches

My big goal for the rest of the year is to design a new collection of fabrics. I have been searching ideas and thinking about it for many months already but have not actually started sketching. Now it's about time. So here are the first sketches, made quickly in Photoshop. Not final but I want to open more of my design process so I am bravely publishing these here and want to hear what you think.

Close-up:

This is the very first one:

Close-up:

Enigma

Original painting on canvas, see more photos at Etsy

Here's my my newest artwork "Enigma". The making of it started with the thoughts about the atmosphere in old, high public buildings. Like old libraries and churches. The decorated ceilings and the feel of space create almost spiritual experience. It is a mystery how the beauty can uplift the mind so powerfully.

I used acrylic paints here and added the details with pens and markers.

Home and Warmth

I hate houses with no textiles. It seems to be a trend now. At least I have seen many lately in my favorite tv show Grand Designs.

For me, creating fabric is one of the main goals whatever I create. I like to study texture and structure and it never bores me. Before I grab my pens I can feel pretty uninspired but after thinking about fabrics, I am soon creating in full speed.

As seen in the pictures above, I've lately been into rugs. There are many beautiful rugs designed in Finland in the 40s to 60s that I adore. Like this Leena-Kaisa Halme's rug that I saw in the rug exhibition in Helsinki many years ago.

Textiles make home. When I need to escape from the world I take a romance novel and read few pages and get extra warmth from a homemade quilt. This digi layout is about me reading romances. I think my love for fabrics shows on the page as well.