Author Archives: Sheila

Wish You Were Here 12 : A.I.R Gallery’s Postcard Show

Earlier this week I donated a piece of art to help raise funds for the A.I.R Gallery. The Artists in Residents Gallery is celebrating 40 years of advocating for women in the visual arts. They are a Not-for-Profit Organization.

A.I.R. Mission Statement: In 1972, a group of women artists founded A.I.R. (Artists in Residence) Gallery, the first artists-run gallery for women in the United States. A.I.R.’s goal is to provide a professional and permanent exhibition space for women artists to present work of quality and diversity. A.I.R. is an artist directed and maintained gallery, providing a sense of community for women and serving as a model for other alternative galleries and organizations. Through lectures, symposia and a Fellowship Program for emerging women artists, A.I.R. Gallery sustains a political awareness and voice, and brings new understanding to old attitudes about women in the arts. (From the A.I.R. website)

Submission requests were for a single 4 x 6 postcard. Each will be sold for $45 and proceeds will help to fund Gallery programs. The annual show will run from June 27th – July 21, at 111 Front street in Brooklyn, New York. This is my first piece shown in a gallery, and I am honored that it might help to benefit others.

For more information on exhibits or artist opportunities visit the A.I.R. website.

A.I.R. Postcard submission 2013, Acrylic on 140 lb. cold press.

Summers Greetings. Acrylic on 140 lb. cold press.

Lost Leapers

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A very wise person once said, “It’s not easy being green.” OK, so it was a Muppet. But Muppets are people too. This week Spoonflower assigned a frog theme. Right off the bat, I decided I did not want to do green.

Now I love green. Celadon, apple, lime, sea green, teal, and of course, emerald. I prefer green apples, lime jello, limeade and green gummy life savers. I love green vegetables, including Brussels sprouts. In my dream house, there will be shades of green on the walls, in the linens and of course, in the garden. Frogs are green and lily pads are green.

I thought it would be more of a challenge to take green out of the equation.

I painted a few small swatches, to try to help me decide what color family to use. I planned to paint some intricate designs like those I have seen on real frogs. I scanned the swatches to see how the colors looked, and just for fun I tried one on the frog silhouette I had. BAM! WHOA! COOL!

So that was that. I liked it. The splotchy messy colors looked like the camouflage a frog has. I did not have an end use in mind when I worked the design. The colors make me think of New Mexico. Bright skirts and warm woolly blankets. Turquoise and chili peppers. And everyone who knows me, knows I love GREEN chili.

Voting started today, and ends on Tuesday. The prize for the weekly challenges is $100 Spoonflower dollars. This can be used to buy fabric, or to order swatches of your designs. Before any fabric can be put up for sale, a swatch must be printed. Thanks to all who take the time to vote!

Original design

Leapers product mock-ups

Sweet Dreams are Mod of this

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The Spoonflower design challenge this week was to create a Mod wallpaper. A design influenced by the modernist subculture of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. This was a limited palette of three colors with the option of using black or white as a fourth.

The first image that popped into my head when I read the challenge, was of Go-Go dancers in mini’s and white patent leather boots. Mod was often about bright, vivid, in-your-face color. Geometric patterns in black and white were popular as well. I wanted to design a large-scale print, and I wanted soft instead of garish.

This is what I came up with. I tried several color combinations, and in the end, I used just two shades of yellow, and the purple accent.

Sweet Dreams are Mod of this

Here are two dress mock-up’s.

Peter Pan collar dress

: Sleek sheath dress

Sweet Dreams are Mod of this wallpaper

Voting for the contest runs from Thursday May 23rd – Tuesday May 28th. I sure would appreciate your vote if you like my design. Click on the yellow “Vote for your favorites” button. To select the design you will need to click on it, and a green frame will appear. You have to go through all of the design pages to finalize your vote. My thanks to all who vote!

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