GIFT Week 5 Make Art That Sells

I've been slow in writing up my experience of week 5 of the Lilla's MATS course as there's been so much to think about. My brain is trying to process everything and needs to have a spa break or similar.

So Gift week was another area I had little experience in but was looking forward to immensely. The mini was to think about collections. I gathered up what I felt were the most interesting collections ( as I have far too many lurking all over the house)

The bowls especially had some great patterns and linework. Also the patterns within the Burmese laquer work were so beautiful and I loved the way they repeated outwards. For some more research into this market so I paid a visit to my favourite gift shops.

When the assignment came through it was the create a zipper pouch based on a trend that Lilla felt was emerging. Something she called 'hyperlush' seen in catwalk fashion, and would soon be filtering down to other design fields. Once again flowers were going to be large part of this look, so I asked some very kind local florists if I could photograph their beautiful displays.

I realised at this stage I would be called upon to work with Photoshop a great deal in order to incorporate & manipulate the pics I'd taken. It was enormously frustrating to begin with as I hardly venture into Photoshop- I had to Google so many basic techniques about masks and changing hues.

I won't bore you with the details but I had a deadline of Friday night due to a very hectic family week end. I was so pleased with he end result - the ONLY piece that turned out the way I had imagined when I first made sketches. Despite having left my home country over 30 years ago I grew up surrounded by Burmese craft and I wanted to combine this with my vague memories of living there. I called it 'The Road to Mandalay' after Kiplings famous poem about exoctic Asia.

When Lilla chose this in her assessment I ran round the office screaming that I didn't hear what she actually said about it !!!  I never imagined that I would have client ready art after all these years out from the creative industry. All those late nights and self doubt - well I never believed it until then. OK I'm ready to believe I can do this.

WEEK 4 Make Art That Sells - Wall Art

I was rather nervous about Wall Art week as I haven't painted in years, and never with actual paint. However the week did start promising enough with a scavenger hunt of sorts, textures, papers, and other odd bits I had laying around the house. We were limited by colour scheme, based on our star sign, mine was apparently blue and green for Aquarius. I also put together a sheet of textures and shapes- which was satisfyingly messy.As always I had no idea where Lilla was going with this.

Lilla put together a great PDF collection of wall art that she hoped would inspire us, based on several themes. Geometrics, painterly, collage and mixture of all three. I've been very drawn to geometrics as the course progress and decided I wanted to concentrate on this in some way. As mentioned I don't paint as a such but gave two canvases my best shot. It soon became apparent that they were lacking in some sort of focal point or cohesive element. A bout of flu made me step away from them for 24 hours, however I was able to see where areas were lacking and hoped to make up for lost time.

I'm not sure if it was my cold & flu medication wearing off or my brain function returning because I decided early Sunday morning, approx 12 hours before the assignment was due I DIDN'T LOVE THEM. I very much enjoyed playing with paint and collage but I felt my skills just didn't match the grand plans I had for this week. 

I took many deep breaths and had a long hard think about what I could achieve in the next 12 hours. This was like a job for the A -TEAM, although I created a file called 'Plan B'. This time I chose the quote BEFORE I started creating and very much kept it in mind in the following hours. I had to call in the help of Photoshop and scanned in almost every bit of art I'd produced that week.

Thankfully I really LOVED what I created, and despite the long hours and complete turn around it was worth it. This course is teaching me so much about myself and calling up reserves of energy I din't know I had. Also I learnt that it really is important to love what you do, and I still enjoy creating aesthetically pleasing ladies even after many years away from editorial illustration. 

Dream home decor job...a half forgotten joy

Lilla starts each module with a generous overview of the market we'll be concentrating on that week. Also in the home decor overview she mentioned to pursue anything that interests you, as that genuine joy will come through in your work. And its all part of what makes me, ME & unique, which of course is incredibly important. It set me thinking down this path...

I'm a Advanced Open Water diver & I love tropical fish & I'm proud of it.

My other half though I was crazy when I announced I wanted to learn to dive off a tiny in Malaysia - I can barely swim! However I was totally hooked. That first dive was so colourful, vibrant, & the vast array of wondrous new stuff that was out of this world almost blew my mind. Maybe it was the weightlessness or the yoga like mindful breathing that also contributed to this passion.

My BCD, wetsuit & weights are long gone but I often think about the cobolt clear waters & dazzling fish. A dream home decor assignment would be a collection based on tropical fish studies. I just had to quickly doodle butterfly fish - so my different markings, and funky eye masks, some look mournful, some look cheeky ooohh...

BOLT FABRIC update

The whirlwind that was week 1 of the Make Art That Sells has abated slightly while we await the week 2 brief.

When I posted my finished design on Facebook ( and on Flikr ) I wrote 'Challenging is an understatement...' Having no prior experience of textiles or fabric design this opened up a whole new world of opportunities, a chance to try something new..right?! I felt there was a huge gap, a gulf even between my doodles or pen and ink work ( that I loving produced during the mini exercise)  and what was expected from manufacturers seeking a super bolt fabric design.

I couldn't get my head round translating my line work into 'icon's that were needed to make up the bulk of the design. Sure the pyrex dishes were retro & funky but about the berries. I was under the assumption ( rightly or wrongly) that linework for fabric design had to be stylised and almost abstract. I hit a road block on the Friday, two days before the deadline - I was feeling the fear. 

Now it gets kooky. I meditated on what I should do. I thought very long and hard about times in my life when I was excited to create art. I had to travel back quite a way. An image of the print room at my old uni sprang to mind...ok print room, silk screens, etching, collograph, monoprints.....that was it. I used the mirror of a old bathroom cabinet to print off, the shapes of the pyrex dishes and lil blobs for the berry shapes. I hadn't been gleefully happy with a paintbrush in hand for years.

Almost every image I had was scanned and then traced in Illustrator. Then I had a small break through - the linework placed on top of the monoprints looked marvellous. Although playing with the layout was like some mad suduku game, which bit fits where to complete the challenge.

I'd like to add that I was still doodling for Shutterstock in the evenings, and helping my kids with homework, wiping the cooker & faces etc. until they were in bed. Time management has to be more of a priority next week.

So I finally uploaded late Saturday evening, after playing with the colours and co-ordinates one last time. The relief was immense, but I was also wildly elated. The amount of times I had to wrestle and knock down that negative self talk that cropped up at inopportune moments. I was also rather proud that I had put something out there that wasn't a doodle. 

Having the Facebook group was a fascinating experience. I hadn't worked in a studio since my eldest was born. The Facebook MATS community was so supportive and enthusiastic it was a revelation after years of working from home away from my creative friends.

 It remains to be seen if my design fits the bill for the bolt fabric market. However the main thing is how far I have travelled creatively, I feel there could be some mile stones in the coming weeks.

BOLT FABRIC Make Art that Sells - week 1

So here we are. On Friday I signed into the MATS Facebook group & introduced myself. I felt a bit awkward about posting an image but I though what the heck I'm here to improve and expand and explore...& beyond

There was much anticipation on Monday morning when I got back from the school run. To begin with was some wonderful guiding info about the bolt fabric industry and some insights into the different image categories that sells. This was really useful for someone like me as I only had a basic knowledge gleaned from my surface pattern friends

 The mini assignment this week as to explore and draw berries and retro Pyrex dishes. Fabulous I thought - permission to draw for my pleasure - with a purpose though.

I went out with my camera and took pics and gathered berries I found in the green spaces around my  house. I had SO much fun doing this and spent almost the entire day just with my berries using (ols school) pen and ink, coloured pencils and oil pastel at one point. I knew at some point I wanted to render the berries in my brush pen and explore there shapes further. 

I was lucky enough to have two retro pyrex dishes of my own but there was a wealth of images online. I love love reto and spent the evening looking at all the patterns and shapes. 

All this time there were messages & uploads on Facebook with sketches and doodles of what other on the course were doing almost in real time. That was a fantastic feeling knowing that we were all in this together. I was amazingly inspired by the diversity ranges of styles and experiences.

Alas my Shutterstock work was calling me and I had to bid a fond farewell for the day....

Its about to start...Make Art That Sells group 2

Yipppppyayayay. It seems like I've been waiting to start this course for ever. When it was launched earlier this year ( May ? ) I didn't feel the time was quite right, emotionally, spiritually or financially. MATS was my goal, so I dug my heels in and found a solution that would work around the kids and finances. And here I am...I'm so excited I'm literally jumping around. Learn more about the course HERE

Today I had some images that I felt would inspire me on the walls of my work space, which is different from my Mac space. All the things that get piled up in that room are now in the garage for the next 5 weeks. I've printed out all the paperwork, filled in the mini questionaire. Also handwritten a note to myself that I AM CONFIDENT/ TALENTED/SMART/ ENOUGH. 

So I have all my lovely inks, pens paints, masses of papers lined up just waiting in anticipation for the Mini Assignment for Bolt Fabric.  I'll be posting more about what I get up to on this magical journey...hope I've packed enough underwear!

Make Art That Sells...Lilla Rogers e-course PART 1

I eagerly anticipated Aug 1 when registration for the Make Art That Sells course was open. From the email that arrived the next day welcoming me, I KNEW I had made the right choice. The vibe was just what I was hoping to hear. I have signed up for parts A&B which will take place in Autumn the continue in the Spring of next year.

Each week we'll be covering wondrous areas such as children's books and gift. And there are areas I have never even contemplated as an illustrator like bolt fabric, scrapbooking and party paper.

Lilla wants us to ask ourselves some pretty thought provoking questions like...what are you hoping to achieve in your wildest dreams??? Ooooh I can think of many...where do I start...? And what do i consider to be me strengths, such as - highly motivated/ learning new trends.

On the realistic side she wants us to be OK with our fears...in my case its being out of the loop for years  thus lacking in confidence and skills. In the 'level of commitment' box I'll be saying I've cleared my diary for 5 weeks - it'll be the biggest thing in my life, I'm sure of it.

Lilla has very kindly provided a diary so we know what to expect each week from mini projects to business & life tips- how good does that sound!

I feel the last paragraph sets the tone of her style, and why Lilla is so successful. She asks us to VISUALISE happily working in our studio space so that we can connect with the dreams we are striving for as artists. As she states this is a wonderful investment in myself - I simply can't wait til October

...I'm so inspired by these people & Lilla Rogers course sounds AMAZING tooo...

So I entered a meditative state late last night...no not really my head is full of stuff even at 12 midnight.

I'd been mulling over the Rachael Taylor e-course The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design. I looked through her blog and found designs that her graduates had worked on . Totally fabulous, and inspiring and just wanted to be involved. Some more can be found here & on Rachael Taylors blog.

Luisa Franco

Maria Bautista

Loni Harris

However in that semi- sleepy thoughtful state last last night I asked myself if I wanted to just do surface pattern? I asked myself would I like to have a hand at 'childrens picture books' and ' scrapbooking'  Well yes was in inner voice. I already knew about the 'Make Art that Sells' e-course that Lilla Rogers runs. Today I found the Facebook page for Lilla Rogers Studio and discovered what some of her students have been up to just in their first week. I want to add I'm so lucky these lovely people are sharing their experience of the course, to help me make a decision.

I really love the diversity surrounding the original brief...

Brook Witt

Sarah Laws

Here are a few from Flora Chang's process on the course....

And also thought to myself have a look at the graduate degree shows at are on now & perhaps New Designers at the Business Design Centre.

So decisions decisions...whats it going to be??? I'll try that meditation again to help mull things over...