Make Art That Sells - Week 5 Party Paper

For the final week at Lilla Rogers School, she asked us to design party plates, napkins and cups. We were to take our inspiration from Ukrainian and Bavarian folk art. I'm familiar with Swedish folk art, but not so much Ukrainian. Searching the internet, I found some really beautiful paintings by Maria Primachenko, you can find some of her work here. She has a very vibrant color palette and her images are more intricate and detailed than you see in Swedish folk art.

This was the week where I had the least amount of time to complete the assignment, as we traveled to Arizona to visit family. I focused on creating a collection that I would buy for a party. Something bright, colorful and graphic. I would love to revisit this assignment and create new designs that include birds, perhaps in a more typical folk arrangement.

All in all, I really loved this class. Stay tuned for my next post summing up what I learned....

Make Art That Sells - Week 4 Editorial

For Week 4 in Make Art That Sells,  Lilla asked us to design a map of the city or town we live in. The city's name had to be hand lettered. I really loved this assignment, but I got a little stuck on some of the endless possibilities. What should I include, should the scale be accurate or exaggerated, should I put an editorial spin on it?

There are so many things I love about Portsmouth and wanted to include them all on my map, but it was difficult to fit everything in, and render it how I hoped in the tight timeframe. In the end, I chose to focus on the spots I love—the crooked, old buildings in Market Square where I love to shop, the busy waterfront with tugs, islands, bridges (and whales!), Prescott Park, Strawbery Banke (and yes, Strawbery Banke is spelled correctly with only one "r"—not sure why).

During this assignment, I realized I love hand lettering. I spent a lot of time with a brush and india ink, pens and paper, writing Portsmouth time and time again on sheet after sheet. If I had more time, I would have loved to doodle the letters, creating textures and patterns and lines and swirls. So that will be my project for another day, hand drawn lettering as the art...

Make Art That Sells Week 3 - Scrapbook

Whew! I've been so engrossed in my Lilla Rogers class, that I barely have time for anything else (just ask my family). I really love how it's pushing me out of my comfort zone. Having to post my work alongside so many talented individuals forces me to ask myself if I'm submitting the best piece I possibly can in the time allowed. Each week I love seeing all the different approaches to the same assignment.

Last week we covered The Scrapbook Market. I must confess, I rarely look at the scrapbooking section in the craft store. I barely get my photos downloaded into iPhoto, never mind print them out and arrange them artfully in a book with patterned and embellished papers and cool dew hickies. And, to top it off, she asked us to draw vintage typewriters and cameras. Right there and then, I knew it would be my least favorite week in the class. Lilla kept saying how 'fun' and 'easy' these items were to draw. Easy? Umm, not for me. Give me a dog any day...

Nevertheless I tried. And tried again. I wasn't so successful with the typewriters. I had a few cameras that were passable. But, designing the page was actually pretty fun. I put a mid-century spin on it with some retro shapes and fonts. I snuck my line-drawn cameras in with color and pattern as camouflage. In the end, I was satisfied with my work. It made me realize I can, and should, do more with hand drawn images. Was it gorgeous and layered with dreamy washes like many of the other artists' work I saw? No. But I think that's not my style—even though I admire that quite a bit.