GirlCrush Minneapolis with Jennifer Davis & the Jealous Curator

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Today I woke up and headed over to the SooVac Gallery in Minneapolis to attend GirlCrush Minneapolis : a workshop by the Jealous Curator featuring my very favorite artist, Jennifer Davis.



I was really excited because there were to be 14 ladies there, all creative people - ready to chat about art and the creative life (all of my favorite topics!) Plus, I was super excited to hear what Jennifer had to say about her own practice.



We had some great talks revolving around being creative and everyone was eager to jump in and chat at length about their own practice and their own struggles as a creative person. It was enlightening and fascinating to see how many different types of artists were there from Minneapolis.



We had a morning filled with great discussion and then an afternoon packed with creating. Each one of us was given a Plywerk panel to create on and Jennifer donated supplies and tears from magazines she had collected over the years.



I must have gotten so deep into my drawing that I missed the "collage" part of the project. Whoops. I don't suppose that's really that big of a surprise, but I ended up "finishing" a piece anyway with ink and acrylic.



After helping run a workshop last weekend (more to come on this soon!), this was a welcome break from the craziness that we've been working through. It was a great opportunity to take a day for myself and really enjoy separating myself from the work for a second, to do something for myself.



Besides treating myself to some "me" time -- I was treated to a really cute array of sweets and even more amazing gifts from Jennifer and the Jealous Curator!I just wanted to say thanks to those guys for the wonderful day! I'm looking forward to keeping in touch and seeing what everyone makes of the days to come!

101florals : Chrysanthemum Wallpaper

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Good morning, internet!

As I write this, I'm groggy and still trying to make sense of how early it is for me to be at work. If you're looking at the time stamp, you must be thinking: "Yeahhhh...... right..." -- but, seriously, waking up is hard to do. (especially when you're a night owl)

I waited til the last minute to make this one, but went the extra mile to make it into something I loved. I spent my day yesterday waking up late, running over to St Paul and going to meetings -- then getting a moment of solace at a coffee shop with good friends.

So, as I stared this pattern around 10pm last night I cursed myself for procrastinating. Mondays are tough and today is no exception. I've finally transitioned to listening to the 50's station on pandora, which made working late so much easier. I spent a good 5 hours or so drawing, re-drawing, and singing at the top of my lungs into the wee hours of the morning while I finished this guy.



Chrysanthemums are fun to draw. They're weird and curly and yellow (one of my favorite colors). They remind me of outdoor, spring weddings and of vintage wallpaper.

My plan, today, is to walk over to the coffee shop next door and buy myself a giant latte in celebration of late nights, getting things done and waking up early the next day!

(cross posted with 101florals blog!)

101 Florals : The End-of-spring Tulips

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You know it's spring when the tulips come up, but you know it'll be summer soon when they start to fall apart. The petals droop strangely on the stem, and they slowly peel open.

I love tulips, but I really love them when they're in that weird state.

This one was inspired by a gouache study I did earlier in the week. I wanted to get back to doing some things that were very human-looking and really expressive. I absolutely love gouache and don't use it enough. These days it's hard to get out all of your paints, set up, and sit down for more than a couple hours -- so, when I do, I savor the time.

I am sure that some of the inspiration from this one came from the Fairytales and Florals art opening I was at on Friday. Everything there was pastel and dainty and there were more than a fair share of flowers.

Also featured on 101florals blog

101 Florals : We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher.

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You asked for it! (Well, not you, but, you know... the song... nevermind).



I spent about two last night coloring, drawing, working and swearing over this one -- then I scrapped it. Pitcher plants are weird. They kind of look like snakes, a little bit like those tooting pipes (anyone know what I'm talking about?) in old Mickey Mouse Cartoons, and sort of creepy.


Here she is in her full glory!

My second attempt at this pattern went a lot better and I tried a technique I haven't used in patterns for a while. I have this really nice brush pen that I used on a rather bumpy piece of drawing paper. The effect was a little dry-brushy and looked a lot more rough than I usually draw. I like it.


AAAAnd a closeup!

I'm getting ready to head somewhere tropical next week -- St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands! It's been non stop craziness between the work we've been doing, teaching and the couple of shows that we're getting together for Light Grey Art Lab. (Which I am ultra excited about!)

I know there is never a good time to take a vacation, but you've gotta get one in where you can fit it in. Just book one and go. I know that as fall gets closer things will just get crazier. So, while I made this one from a fairly tropical plant, I'll hopefully have loads of new inspiration for my florals when I return from paradise!


The Scan of my ink drawing! Unedited!

cross-posted with 101florals blog!

101 Florals : Magnolia Jumper

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Colorway one of my magnolia ditzy pattern (calico)

Let me tell you a story...

It's very seldom I get a chance to go shopping. I mean, actually go shopping, like, in a real store. These days it's been hard to find the time to go out for a couple hours and just browse.

So. To combat that, I spend a lot of time putting all sorts of things in various digital shopping carts, amassing hundreds of dollars of things, then closing my browser window. It's some kind of fake shop-therapy, I think.

The most dangerous times are when I am actually near my purse and I'm doing these things, -- or if some stores make it easy to pay with paypal. Then it's all over.
One time in particular, I was on one of my favorite clothing sites and saw a kind of harem-pant style floral jumper, I put it in my cart, and before I could talk myself into closing the browser window, I bought it, along with a million other things I shouldn't have.

I don't know how many of you have seen me, but I'm about one foot tall, and I believe that most clothes that you see on the models are built for someone that has a torso that is longer than an inch. So I get this thing in the mail a couple days later, put it on and I look like a cheap circus clown with a saggy top and lumpy knickers.


Now, this would be the colorway of choice if I were to wear a granny night-gown or a floral shoulder-less shirt!

I will now leave you with that thought as you stare into the depths of my ditzy-floral-print. If I ever design a line of jumpers, this would be the pattern I'd want on it.


Here's the original ink drawing I used to make this limited-negative-space pattern!

Also posted on 101florals.blogspot.com