C'mon Baby...

Do the logo-motion!  I've been fiddling with a new PeriwinklePaisley logo because very soon I'm going to launch a Periwinkle Paisley website.  Exciting, no?  I think this is the one.  I just can't decide between the graphic colored one or the lineart one.  Which do you like?

Paisley of the Week! Vera Bradley Simply Violet

Turns out I was waaaaay off on the color of this VB bag.  I went today to the Hallmark near me to do a little drooling and it turns out that the name 'Simply Violet' is exactly what it means.  I guess the monitor on my laptop adds a lot of blue because I saw it as periwinkle. Purple is still very nice but it's not -- y'know, periwinkle.

In my dream life Vera Bradley calls me up and begs me to go and draw paisleys for them.  Even if they offered me a dollar a day I'd say yes.  The problem with Vera Bradley is that in picking a favorite, it's well near impossible.  It's like eating one potato chip -- something I've never been able to do until I saw this year's spring line.  This is A. periwinkle and B. paisley.  'Nuff said!

If you, or an artist you know, has a perfect paisley for Paisley of the Week! please leave a comment about it on my FB page, send me a tweet or leave a comment here.  If it's someone else's paisley, please get their permission first :)

Textile Ramblings

I have periods of fascination with Spoonflower and then I don't go for a while. Being a textile designer is something I've been focusing on a lot lately so Spoonflower has seen a lot of me lately! Spoonflower makes it easy for the common person to design and print their own fabric. My biggest obstacle is deciding which of my designs I'm going to have printed. As of yet I haven't made that step. At $18 a yard, it's kind of spendy. (The 3 designs above are my top 3 contenders.) On the other hand you could brag that your design costs at least as much as a Waverly.

The most exciting feature of Spoonflower is that it has the technology to show you what your design is going to look like repeated. Often this means returning to the drawing board because there will be holes in your design that you haven't anticipated. Or you haven't gotten it to line up exactly so that the repeat isn't broken or wonky. I've discovered using the grid setting in Photoshop makes that a bit easier. My Mom just sent me a link to a very cool blog The Textile Blog which is like a weekly textiles class. Textiles was one of my favorite courses in college.

If you have a moment to comment, let me know which of these designs you like most!

Grownups like to color too!

A passerby named Tiffany pointed out, after this post, that she'd like a coloring book like the one I jokingly mentioned. I got to thinking--maybe she's not the only one. I love to color with my daughter, but Strawberry Shortcake and Elmo sort of bore me. I've got a file about a quarter of an inch thick of things that are 'in progress.' Why not make a genuine grownup coloring book? I know it's not an original idea. There have been other non-kiddie coloring books BUT none of those contain my original work. To test out consumer interest in this idea, I am running a contest. Leave a comment here on my blog. Be sure to leave a link for me to get back to you if you win. And, if you have an extra second, tell me how you heard of my giveaway--facebook, deviantart, twitter etc. I will randomly choose a winner on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. EST (and have it posted by 10:30). That lucky person will get the whole 10 page file FREE! Good luck!

P.S. The coloring book WON'T have watermarks!

Coming Soon, Library Art Show

All of this week I'll be preparing for my show at the local library. Finally, it's my turn. A year ago I hauled all of my stuff over there, due to a typo on the info sheet I found out my show date was in May of 2009, not May of 2008. I was really annoyed and embarrassed. But in retrospect it's probably a good thing. I have many more drawings to choose from and I think I've improved. So begins my countdown.

checked off

Sending your procrastination confession out into cyberspace can be a great motivator to start checking tasks off of your list. Here is Miss K. on her new ladybug bean bag. Note the small ladybug in her hand.

Here are the two Goodwill shirts on which I used Celtic Mommy's freezer-paper stencil tutorial. They came out really nice, almost like a real silkscreen! I cannot decide whether or not to keep them or sell them. Here is my once favorite yellow t-shirt. I spilled coffee dead center in the middle so it's getting a little paint too. I'll post when it's done. Now, back to finishing off that list!

Tools of My Trade

I just acquired 2 new colors, Magenta and Avocado. The best thing about a new Prisma marker is how much ink comes out. You barely have to touch the point to the paper and it's colored. This is one of my paisleys in progress. I don't have a name for this one. I'm leaning toward "pink and brown paisley." But I'm willing to take suggestions about a name for it.

They make me happy just to look at them, all those colors. My children covet my markers. They are always asking to use them. I am always saying 'no.' Katie and Collin both have said that they'll buy their own when they are old enough.

My top 10 favorites in the Prismacolor line are: Slate Blue, True Green, Apple Green, Rhodamine, Deco Yellow, Lilac, Mulberry, Scarlet Lake, Deco Blue and Ballet Pink. In that order.

I am working on designing a give-away bookmark but haven't found the perfect idea for it yet. I'm sure it should incorporate both Periwinkle and Paisley though :)

About This Blog

Jennifer Addotta is a doodler at heart. As a child, the margins of her notebooks and schoolwork were often filled with inky abstract shapes. Filling entire pages with curving abstract line art was (and still is) a favorite way to spend her time. Her traditional drawings, created with ink and Prismacolor Markers, are both vivid and vivacious. Her digital work is a further exploration of line and color.

Born near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Jennifer grew up encouraged in her artistic abilities. From an early age, Jennifer  was exposed to sewing and fabric by her mother who passed on her knowledge as an accomplished seamstress and quilter. Young Jennifer was not that enthusiastic about sewing, but eventually came to appreciate having been given those same skills

Jennifer attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1987 set on a major of fine arts. In her junior year, she switched her major to fashion merchandising, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in this field. Her favorite class out of that curriculum was textiles.

After taking time off to raise a family, Jennifer discovered Adobe Photoshop and knew right away that this was another medium with which she had to become involved. Self taught in this program, Jennifer returned to her roots in fiber arts by designing fabric and repeating designs. She alternates between digital and traditional art.

Currently she resides in York, PA where she draws and designs.

Library Art Show

It was a success! I sold FIVE drawings! That was a more than pleasant surprise. It is so gratifying to have people appreciate your work and then pay you for it on top of that. I'm thankful that http://www.yorklibraries.org/Our_Libraries/SYC/Art.htm benefits too. A portion of everything sold went to the library. Maybe they'll wave my overdue fees.... Thanks to all of my friends who came out and supported me! All of the images from the event , and everything from my gallery is available as a print at http://www.periwinklepaisley.etsy.com/ and some of the originals are available as well.