It's not often!

Hello, hello, hello. How long has it been? - like ages and ages right? - Of course, I want to say that i've been on a gigantic adventure, been to the moon, raised ten thousand for charity... but alas no I haven't. I have however been reading a bit. Since the ending of my lovely e-course Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design.. I'm flummexed. Departed from sane thinking, what am I doing, well, I tell you. I've been finding it really difficult to get going. 

The e-course was just so fab, but there was a plethora of information, just too much to take in in one sitting, let alone the 5 months or so I was taking part. I'm actually still digesting most of it.

At the beginning I did think, ha ha, this is going to be just perfect. Once I've finished the course I will have a boat load of fantastic things to sell to you all. I'd have a mountain of patterns, and loads of exciting people breaking down my door to buy them. But No. It is not yet to be. 

I have't given up hope yet. But life has sort of got in the way. Why?

Well simply because what we think will happen never does. What we assume is the next step, can never be. It's not quite so easy to be creative with a 2 year old at your feet. (and two more at school) So here I am flummoxed..

Of course I've been making the odd pattern. Some of which have received supper feedback from my co- patterners.. and thats fantastic, we all need it. But then I've waisted so much time on things of little creative calorific value and I really wish that the Twitterness, and that blasted FB would just switch off sometimes. It does however confirm my belief that even at school I was easily distracted - I'm still the same.

Anyway - going back to my statement above.  I've read my FB, my Twitter, I've read Pillars of the Earth, The Help, (supper fantastically bloody amazing by the way), and I've read a pattern, making book thing. I took the option like many of my fellow patterners to purchase the new book from Lilla Rogers. I Just like to Make things. 

Here is my review:

Beautifully bound, lovely illustrations, great photos and lots of inspiration. It goes along the lines of 'well after you've made all these lovely things, what are you going to do with them?' 

There are some sub heads - Getting into the process of being creative, being good and how to be great at what you do. Then it moves onto some nice interviews from successful individuals, how they got there, what they do etc etc... after that there is quite a large section on different areas to get your work into. Such as Picture book, home decor, fabric and such. Whilst it may seem easy to make patterns, design stuff, Illustrate happy thoughts, what are you going to do with them afterwards? - There are some exercises to complete to get you moving along and helpful tips on getting your plans written for goals and such. 

So if your just starting out - and want to know more, get yourself a bit of direction and see whats out there, this is for you. 

Downsides, there actually is not a huge amount of information that you might not already know, or can seek out easily on the web. It's not a 'grand plan' more of a 'dip ya toes' if you are just starting out and it looks lovely and happy and the interviews do have depth. The book is sort of fatter than the information, as it's all quite well spread out and loads of blank spaces.. (not entirely sure if you're supposed to be scribbling your new ideas in the margin, or dictating your grand plan to take over the world with your new home made dolls, none, of which you've actually made yet) - but I think if you follow it - do what it says to do, then it could be beneficial.

All in all, a nice read, interesting and colourful. Brilliant if your determined to make money from the market but not quite sure whats next, or how to go about it.

Coffe table envy - 4/5

Value for money - 3/5 (amazon did it for £10 at one point)

Information overload - 3/5

Keep forever to refer to again - 5/5

So that's it - hope it's given you a bit to think about.

See you soon

In the mean time - stay well, eat loads of scrummy food, (actually don't do that save it for Easter) -  be nice and make lovely things. 

And of course if anyone has any bright ideas as to  a)how I'm going to make money from my patterns - because despite reading the book above, I'm just on a merry go round.. my fault..or b) what I should be doing next - or c) what to become my mentor for a year and tell me what to do a bit then let me know.

Trina 

x

WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS...

How its all done... 

Well, hello there peeps. So sorry I haven't been blogging lately. It's one of those jobs which you really can only do when your feeling a) inspired - or b) guilty.. 

No its not because I've been glued to Strictly or because Downton has started again... (well perhaps a little of the latter). I really have been lazy and for that I'm sorry.

I'm not going to feel bad about it, because I've recently got a new iphone, (well a cast off from himself) and I know I'm not the only one who wakes up and immediately looks at stuff and then gets distracted, then goes with all good intentions to do blog, then gets distracted again.. it really is very anoying. You see I'm not a very disciplined person, (as he will quite readily point out) but I can get down to some serious work when induced to do so.

(see I'm digressing again... stop it)

Anyway the point of todays post, that sounds like I post daily - well, no people I don't.   I thought it might be interesting to show you a bit about my creative process. 

My disclaimer at this point is that I'm sorry if I do it wrong, but I'm still learning, so all those professionals out there - please don't jump down the computer at me.. 

Well here goes.. 

The pattern at the top is one I made from scratch - and here is how it was done.. 

Take a trip out to National trust property because the kids are bouncing off the sofa and take camera.. I'm fortunate that I have a good camera (Cannon Eos 600D) which never really takes a bad picture - I mean at least in the digital age you don't have to go with your mum to town any longer to Supersnaps and wait 1 week to see them, only to find there really are no heads on folk and you have camera shakes... gosh that was annoying... imagine how much money we've waisted on crap pictures...??

Here are my pictures from the lovely Barrington Court in Somerset.. I'm quite drawn to the dead bits on flowers. - (lets not go there)

So now I've got a couple of good pictures - all I have to do now is draw them.  This bit I find the easiest because, well I've always drawn things.. (I'm not very good at drawing anything with pulse, animals, people etc) Unless they are three miles in the distance..!

As you can see - I've hand drawn the flower based on the photographs. Of course they are not exact, because I've cut the bottom off one and well the other I've adjusted to fit the paper size. But it sort of represents the photo a bit.

The next job - is to scan the picture into Photoshop - I'm not going to explain much about this - because I'm not YET a fan of Photoshop. It never really does what I think it should be doing and sometimes I really do loose the plot and just start all over again. I then saved the image as a jpeg file - after a little clean up. 

Once I'm happy with this its then imported into Illustrator. (please note from this point on I'm on a wing and prayer, because, well, basically these systems are so powerful and complex it will take me another - what - year ? - to become Adobe 'confident' - but I do my best as they say.. 

So I'm thinking about colours, do I want it to be natural or mixed, or seasonal etc... 

I'm using an app called Kuler - it's great for looking at colour combinations etc and often taken from photos from nature - which I always think look best for colours, because I don't think we can replicate them. The best bit is that you can download colour combos and then upload them into Illustrator right there, like 'voila' it's done. 

I also try to be disciplined in them - stick to what you want and keep it simple.

So after all that I'm pretty much done. Not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them yet, possibly stationary although I've yet to find a printer of wrapping paper who doesn't charge you fortune.. 

Hopefully one day I'll have an agent who can help, but in the mean time, I must keep tapping, undoing, drawing, filling, saving, and photographing. 

Good luck to all my fellow ABSPD students.. Module 2 starts soon people... eyes down.. 

Thanks for looking

p.s. I need another few likes on my Facebook page - so be a love and I'll do the same.

Trina 

xx

p.s Went onto my Facebook page and my little boy (2) had not only tweeted on my behalf but it had gone on my Facebook page and Web.. so if you see a thing about a game to feed a horse - its not me, its him.... (how rude is that?)

Well that's the end of Part one..

Hello all,

Well, where to start... my lovely Surface pattern course has now ended for a five week break between modules..... :( feeling like I've really learnt a lot every week. Sorry for not blogging earlier, but I got quite far behind at one point - and sometimes life just takes over.. anyway, here is a little idea of what I've been up to.

So Pattens, where do they come from?  what types are our there? which do you like etc... its a big learning curve, but I did really enjoy it...
Earlier on in the course, we were making up pattern books.. collecting photos, mag clips, cuttings etc and gathering them all in a pattern book.. seems a very basic exercise but its well worth it. It really gets you to notice what you are drawn to and what you find appealing... Obviously there is no point is trying to make patterns you wouldn't put on your own wall is there...

At this point I'm starting to miss the odd exercise, but one I did manage was to complete a mood board, either on paper in the traditional manor or in Photoshop. I chose the computer option - this is me in board form...
I picked up pictures from all over the internet and resized them to fit.. It was great fun and well worth the effort because you really can tell at a glance what you like and don't like.. interesting..
I think it would be beneficial to redo it in the future just to see if my tastes are changing..

So the next thing I find myself induced by colour - I've always noticed colours, but now I really do look at them. Part of the course is to engage with colours more, so how do they make you feel. Personally I hate lilac with a vengence, I think it came from that time when everyone painted their bedroom Lilac and purple with a moave border. Pink I love, Red, I love, Lilac I hate..

What do you do when you hate something.. hit is hard and try to work with it.. so I find a purple flower and get painting... now I'm back in my comfort zone...

Here's a bit more purple just so you know I was trying..

So - now the course is moving into Pattern creation.. This is where I started to fall behind with the excersises. Fortunately the classroom remains open for some time, so in the next five weeks break between modules I should have plenty of time to catch up. 

One of the briefs was to make Mock ups of rooms with 'your' wallpaper design or cushions. This is my next task when I've mastered Photoshop.  I did however manage to complete a presentation of my designs. This shows how it might be changed slightly to compliment a range or just simplified to show how the design was created.

So I now have lots and lots of things to catch up on. I'm reassured by the other students that I'm not the only one catching up during the break. 

Well here are few pictures I've been playing with  - and the placement print I made with them. Unfortunately when your using your own paintings it does take up quite a lot of computer power.. but I'll worry about that later.. 

So thats it.. Module one of The Art and Business of Surface pattern design completed..

Thanks for following and please like my Facebook page above, because that would be fabulous.

See you soon 

xx

Surface pattern designing

Well hello again peeps.. 

Sorry for not blogging for a week or so, but I have been genuinely busy busy busy...

Firstly I've been racing through my Surface pattern course - its fab..

Each morning you receive a new 'lesson' on the virtual classroom, sometimes with links, comments, things to look at later. Interviews, tips, and workshop pdf files. Then I've got to be creative amongst all that work and come up with something I like .. not an easy feat when your putting your work out there for all to see... A bit like showing everyone your pants, you just don't know how its going to go... 

Last week was all about drawing and mark making.. so having a go at finding new ways to make marks on things. 

Confused? 

Well, it could be using paint and your finger and drawing random stuff, or different pens or paints and just blobbing away or rolling a rag with ink on or even using the sewing machine to sew patterns or shapes, never heard of it before?, well neither had I but its actually quite liberating just throwing yourself into things and seeing what comes out the other end... 

Anyway a few examples are my leaves below which I gathered and just painted onto and stuck down and drew round, land splurged over and stuff.. The idea being that I can use this later for a background to a design or even a card, picture etc..

Hopefully that gives you some idea where I'm coming from...

Amongst all of this we were drawing things we might want to use... so here are my Poppies from pictures in the garden

(sorry its on its side, but I am still learning)

Well if I wasn't too distracted watching kids and doing crappy jobs like housework,  that  keeps me on my toes, this week has been all about colour. It has taught me loads about what I'm drawn to in colour. I like red, and not because its always 'on sale' but it shows urgency and perhaps that fact that I have no patience at all... 

(note to self, slow down, take some time over what I'm trying to achieve and think about it.)

Anyway we've been searching and taking photos of things and coming up with the colour charts for them... I took mine from a website I love called Flowerona which I love. It's about all things flowery and girly and colourful.. Here is mine..

I used a website called Kuler which then allows you to make a file which you can upload right away into Illustrator... cool or what? It shows the colours off the picture which might spark an idea or inspire me later..

Below of a couple of the efforts of this weeks work. I like them, but they are just not quite right somehow... I defiantly need to introduce more colour, more background, and perhaps move away from flowers for a bit to get a bit of variety and see where I'm coming from.

The course is also about finding your own style, why that's your style and how your going to keep going with that or move over time... I really can feel myself changing my tastes along the way.. 

Below is part of the result of the Poppies drawing above... 

This is Clematis I drew from outside the backdoor... 

 More poppies

Colour combinations

(note to self, have far too much pink stuff in this house, perhaps 3 girls against 2 boys doesn't help..)

On another note, had a lovely day out in Bath the other day.. I love Bath, (I'm going to live there one day) and took the oportunity to take some pics of patterns and colours there... I mean I took flippen loads, but here is a few for you.. 

So right now I'm struggling a bit with Illustrator - I mean there are loads of free tutorials on the internet, but really they do assume quite a lot and its bloody annoying going through them all to see which is relevant etc.. so today I joined an on-line site called Linda.com. It's a monthly payment which gives you access to all the tutorials you will ever need.. problem is some of them are 50 hours long...


On that note I'll leave you with a few pics of whats happening in my very neglected garden right now and hopefully be back soon... not within 50 hours of course.

Bye. Bye.
x

Gathering Inspiration

Well Hello

I've started my scrummy yummy course this week about Surface Pattern design..
Its been pretty low key I think so far, although I suspect this is to lead us in gently - because from what I can see some of the other students are preeeeettyyy damn good and they are going to need quite a bit to keep them stimulated.!!

It's really nice though to see other peoples work and 'be nosy' - our national hobby.
I've seen some great stuff and I'm really enjoying it. I think it is going to be really great.

So basically to give you some idea - this week we have been working on getting things together, gathering inspiration, recording it, and getting creative. I must say its all very informative and encouraging.

One of the tasks was to go out and photograph shapes. I chose circles and squares - and later we could use these photos to make drawings and let the creativity flow..

I should point out at this stage, that in comparison to some of the work, which is accurate, detailed and follows the brief, mine looks like I'm about 1 hr away from cutting my ear off. (is that true I don't know) Maybe that will be the case if the kids don't go back to school soon... pleeeaasse..

There are students on the course from everywhere - from Uk, Hong Kong to Australia. Also not everyone on the course is as novice as me, a few are already 'practicing' designers and have their e-shop and are up and running. I think this is good, because it sets the pace a bit and keeps it competitive in a nice way..

Here are some of my drawing efforts this week..

And finally .... after scanning into Photoshop and then Illustrator  - get yourself a pattern...
I haven't coloured it in yet, that comes later - but just need to practice, practice, practice...

Well - will post again soon

bye for now. x

If you want to check out the course here is the Link

Getting ready...

Well, hello fellows..
I'm just so excited about this course I'm starting on Monday. It's going to be fabulishous...
It's call The Art and Business of Surface Pattern design ran by some very talented people in the pattern and design business called Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls ..
I'm sure it will be pretty intense at times, but hopefully my passion for colour and patterns will help me through..

Even more exciting for them is the launch of a new magazine Moyo - all about Surface pattern design, you can read it here. If anyone is ever going to get into patterns and more importantly, do something with them - you need to read this first..
I think its great that both of these ladies are doing something exciting and inspiring for us all..

Tyntesfield

The other day I visited a beautiful National Trust property, (I need to get my monies worth this year) called Tyntesfield for inspiration. 

Here a couple of pics from the trip. They have made several improvements this year and the shop / cafe is much better. The house is open, but has been kept (as I like) as it was left to them. 

I didn't go in this time because the queue was quite long and there is a limit to how long you can leave 4 kids (only 3 of mine) - outside in charge of the pushchair.

(and as its still not legal to leave them locked in the car - I couldn't do that either)

Anyway after the odd tantrum, and i'm sure its not just my children who throw themselves into the gravel because they have to share.. I did take some very nice pics.

There was also a couple of florists there who were letting you make your own little posy to take home from the wild flowers... also a very nice touch.

Wild flowers in the kitchen garden...

Bye for now
xx

I'm a happy lady

Hello again honeys.

Here I am on the 'confuser' again - although some of the grey mist is clearing with Illustrator and I do feel more confident. I can now get my own drawings in and honestly get in the pattern groove... the one above I just made, still can't work out how the colour the background... (Gfaw!!! I hear, well I'm sorry but its really not clear to me) I can do it, but I've got extra boxes, very frustrating...
Will keep picking at it, besides I've got loads of photos and mags to go through and gather gather gather that inspiration..

Hopefully I can pick up the pace with my drawings and get down to some fine art work soon... Somerset Art Works is coming up - so I shall be doing the rounds soon.. might just add in a few extra blogs for you to see...
For the most part the standard is pretty high - so might be a few nice things to see (and buy)

More importantly - I've only got a few days to wait until the start of my course ABSPD .... so I'm better get my ass in gear and start getting ready.

Below are a couple more paintings I'm rolling out, which is crap because I need to be rolling out patterns, not paintings...
Bye for now

xx