A pattern a day – #365 patterns

I am one month in to #365patterns and the creative ideas are still flowing freely! I have been building up my hand drawn motif collection and daily patterns are coming together as collections. My goal to be creative everyday has been accomplished.

#365 patterns is a fun project developed by Melanie Burk of Fifth & Hazel and Alma Loveland of Ollibird over on the Caravan blog.

The rules are easy – create a pattern everyday and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #365patterns. No one is keeping track! (you can create as often as you wish). I have taken my participation quite seriously mind you ,so prepare to see me there everyday. It is just how I like to roll. I am also really enjoying the Instagram community over there.

I thought I would share some of the work I have been creating. I am happy to say I have been learning lots from this practice.

My use of scale and repeat have all improved.I am trying to work with all forms of pattern making – block, half drop and random.I am working with florals,geometrics, abstracts and trying my hand at conversational prints too.It’s the perfect place to  experiment and see what flies.

I have been trying to push myself out of my color comfort zone. It’s always easy to gravitate to color combinations that you love and find easy. My goal has been to try more and different color combinations together. I can tell you that there have been days I have created a fine mess! I am still at the stage where I work best with 2-3 colors and their tints. I would love to be more daring, but still need  a bit more practice combining it all.

My daily pattern making has motivated me to approach my surroundings with eyes wide open – always on the lookout for new inspiration, textures, and motifs that can be applied.It has encouraged me to combine different motifs into collections.

What I have found most rewarding (and very interesting) about #365patterns is that it has helped me to discover my true style. When I stay true to my style, this pattern making process comes very easy to me.I feel happy and content with my designs. When I try to work with other styles that are not “me”, I feel uncomfortable, frustrated and always thinking…this is just not me. It has been an interesting discovery. Does this make sense?

Think you might be interested in joining us? You can start anytime!
Please come and friend me over on Instagram. I love a little bit of visual stimulation and would love to see your pics!

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Inspired by…my very own tree motif

I have spent the day updating my little site here. I have been playing around with a new theme and trying to customize it. There have been some moments of joy,some moments of frustration and definitely a moment of panic as I accidentally pushed the Publish button while playing around. I frantically undid this and that and managed to delete my post however not before it circulated through facebook and twitter. I apologize to any who were notified and dropped by- I am sure it was good for a laugh! I received a couple of “likes’ so I am guessing that someone out there had a nice little chuckle.

Unfortunately, it has scared me off of my quest to design my own website.I am a DIY’er by heart, but I am one step closer to hiring someone in this situation. I am finding it to be a two steps forward-one step back kind of process.

So onward with Art Everyday Month. When I was last here Friday I was playing around with the theme trees. I have stuck with it and am slowly creating some tree and leaf motifs which will hopefully be part of a bigger collection one day.

It’s interesting to note what inspires you when you let your imagination run rampant. I have only covered my inspiration for some leaves,branches and a few trunks here, but one cannot forget the layers of soil, the seedling, the beautiful texture and line of bark, the girth as it grows and the perspective it offers. Think about the forest as a whole.Think of all that is involved from the moss clinging to the side or mushrooms sprouting by its base. Think of all that lives within the forest.

Of course the only song I have in my head right now is “if you go out in the woods today, you will be in for a big surprise..”

Needless to say I now have my work cut out for me, thankfully with no shortage of inspiring thoughts.

It’s Art Everyday month ~ Hop on over to Leah’s blog for more info on Art Everyday.

See you in a few days!

Inspired by …the abstract.

For Illustration Friday – Stripes

If you look closely you will notice that my abstract piece is all about the intersection of horizontal and vertical lines. Do you see it?

It was either that or a poorly drawn zebra:)

As I continue plodding along through the month of November and the Creative Everyday project I have come to learn a few things…

I need to be creative everyday. It only has to be a half hour, nothing more, hopefully not less. Its my down time. Time to think and ponder…or not.
I enjoy the process of creating. More playing, less thinking. Love abstract for that reason..even though it is much harder than it looks.
I am not a finisher. I find it difficult to go back to a piece especially if it is “of” something.
I need community and challenges, mixed with a few pats on the back, to get me out of my comfort zone.
I need to discover more colors and how to mix instaed of going back to the same old.
I work best in short bursts of creativity.
I have gone from creating for etsy to creating for my blog. I am not sure when that transformation came about, but it goes without saying that I am wholeheartedly enjoying blogging about my creative journey and the community I have developed around me. I am feeling very content and satisfied with where I am at right now. Etsy can wait…

Enough about me….

How are you finding it to be creative everyday?