New Box of Crayons

OK, how many of you art lovers started out as kids who loved getting a new box of crayons, all pointy and full of the smell of wax. In an art store, I revert in seconds to a kid in her type of candy store. My darling husband gave me Pantone markers and a sketch pad for our 8th anniversary this July 2. I couldn't wait to crack 'em open.

With the heat pushing me out of the studio into the only air conditioned area of the house, the bedroom, I found myself enjoying 'the doodle.'

My first two are named Supermoon and Rainstorm

Then came Autumn Inside...

Heatwave...

Vacation...

And Geology, which I am still working on.

I am having so much fun! You can see that I love graphic design, which is what I studied most of in college. Even my paintings in college were graphic in nature, resembling silk screens. For two years, in the summers before my Junior and Senior years, I worked for a company called Gravure Engraving. They primarily produced copper cylinders for the printing of fabrics. In the art room I learned to find the repeat in a drawing, and redraw it in order to create a perfect 'step' repeat. These were the years before computers. I often wonder what those 30 or so people are doing now for a living.

Well, I was doodling and surfing the net basking in relative cool one day when I wandered upon Spoonflower. Some of you may know this company. Spoonflower makes it possible for individuals to design and print their own fabrics, wallpapers and gift wrap. They do this by using large format digital inkjet printers which have been modified to print on yardage. Unlike the former employers from my youth, this company is eco-friendly using water based inks and natural fiber textiles. 

If you find a design you want to buy while looking through their many options, you have a choice to buy a sample (8" x 8") for $5.00, a fat quarter (21" x 18") for $10 to $11, and yardage that costs $17.50/yard for basic combed cotton. Starting at $15.75 you can design your own fabric for any use at home with 10 different grades of natural fabric to choose from. You can have your design tile stepped, half stepped or mirrored as well as a few others. When you go to reach for that fabric you just can't find, you now have the option to make it exactly as you want it. Here is a link to Spoonflower so you can have hours of fun looking at all the designs: http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome

So I may be reworking a couple of these in order to create a repeat that I can make up into fabric. Won't that be so much fun! And perhaps someone else will want to buy my fabric too. More fun! I will keep you informed as I go through this process. Perhaps you will be seeing my fabrics soon!