Beautiful September

We've had our first few days of warmer weather here and I can feel spring is in the air. I must admit for the past couple of months I've been feeling a bit lacking in the creativity department. I've been really busy, but not feeling like I'm accomplishing anything. Ideas weren't flowing. A good friend suggested I not dwell on it and taking a break from everything would be the ticket. She was right. Our recent trip away gave me time to think, rest and recuperate. I prioritised sleeping, reading, dreaming and rekindling my enjoyment of creativity. I came home feeling optimistic, refreshed and focused, even though change is imminent. We still don't have a start date for our roof repairs 🙄. Every week that goes by we are getting closer to our hot summer and that's not going to be fun in a caravan. Oh well, as my grandmother would say, 'Alison, that's how memories are made!' I'm hoping that I'm just as prolific working from the van in the backyard as I was when we were in Jervis Bay.

The Keys to Mastering Surface Pattern Design

Bärbel is hosting her free course between 9th and 15th September. It's well worth it if you haven't participated before. If you love historical patterns and styles, want to improve your pattern composition and layout skills, and want to expand your pattern repertoire then this course is for you.

Sign up through the pop-up link on the website.

Teach Your Craft

Bonnie Christine is also hosting a free workshop between 8th and 11th September. If you've been thinking about teaching this might be the right place to start. Bonnie says this course will help you determine what you should teach, how to create a course, validating the idea before launching and how to bring your course to life. Sign up through the link on Bonnie's website.

Analogue Designing

The Post-It Technique - Half Drop Repeat

Here's my favourite post-it repeat to create - half-drop! Remember to keep your successful repeats in a book so you can reuse them later.

You will need four notes:

Draw a motif on one of the Post-its and trace it on the other three so they are all the same. Remember to be as accurate as you can.

2. Fold one of the notes in half horizontally.

3. Place the fold of the note where two others meet.

4 . Arrange the four notes as shown, in an offset layout.

5. Add a new motif onto one of the Post-it notes and trace it onto the other three.

6. Continue to build your design by adding one motif at a time and tracing it on to the other three notes.

7. Keep adding to your design, one motif at a time, until you're happy with the layout and flow.

8. Cut the third note in half along the fold line and place each half above and below the fourth note to make a finished repeating square.

Wallpaper Lecture

I recently attended a lecture on the history of wallpaper in Australia. It was organised by the National trust of Australia and presented by Michael Lech, curator at Museums of History NSW, at the restored Victorian 'Brough House' here in Maitland. The lecture explored more than 200 years of wallpaper design in Australia, looking at the incredible variety of patterns, colours and styles that have appeared in Australian homes over the years. I discovered the work of Florence Broadhurst, Ethel Atkinson and Catherine Martin. It was fascinating to see how much wallpaper design has changed, and how different periods have influenced the motifs, colours and styles that were popular at the time.

After the lecture, we were able to access the neighbouring 'Grossmann House' and view two rooms where wallpaper was applied in the major restoration in 2000. The wallpaper was manufactured to copy the scraps which were found under the skirting boards during the restoration. I love how they incorporated metallics in the designs as the gas lighting of the day could be quite dull. The room would have come alive in the evening light.

Besides learning about the history of wallpaper design in Australia, meeting some lovely people and being truly inspired by the reproduction wallpapers at Grossman House, my biggest take-away was discovering Museums of History NSW itself. As a lifelong history lover I cannot believe it's taken me until now to discover the resources available through this wonderful organisation. They offer access to many historic houses and public buildings, and The Caroline Simpson Library, Australia's only public collection dedicated to the history of the home, including architecture, interiors and gardens. Ooh my heart! I'm already planning my first visit.

I discovered this lecture through an Instagram ad but maybe you could do a little internet search to see what similar organisations or sources of inspiration you discover around your area.

*Some photos courtesy of the Grossmann & Brough House - National Trust of Australia NSW Facebook Page

The Great Wallpaper Experience

Hanna Wendelbo is hosting an exclusive two-day journey into the world of wallpaper in Ulricehamn's Tapetfabrik, one of Sweden’s historic wallpaper manufacturers on 3rd-4th November.

"Learn what happens between the creative idea and the finished wallpaper, and leave with practical knowledge you can apply to your own design work. Together, we will explore the fascinating journey from inspiration, pattern and colour to a finished roll of wallpaper. You will get to step behind the scenes of the factory, meet the people who make wallpaper happen and gain a deeper understanding of the craftsmanship, techniques and decisions involved in bringing a design into production. This is a unique opportunity to get close to the entire process — and to spend two inspiring days surrounded by pattern, colour, creativity and people who share your passion for design."

There are only 20 places available. Learn more on Hanna's website.

Photo Dump

I've noticed that my phone's storage is getting quite full again. I love scrolling through the images I've collected - lots of memories and lots of inspiration. Every time I go anywhere I seem to find a new plant or idea for a pattern. I'm sure you're the same. I thought I'd share some of my favourite finds with you. Enjoy!

Interpreting the Daisy

The daisy is my favourite flower. I love drawing it as have other artists for centuries. So I thought I'd share some images of how the daisy has been interpreted by others. If you haven't checked out the V&A Museum's online database yet I highly recommend you do so. There's so much to enjoy there!

Continuing My Sketchbook Practice

A few months ago I ordered a sketchbook online but when it arrived it was quite a bit smaller than I'd expected. Note to self - read the listing description!

I had no idea what I would do with it. I ended up packing it in with my other art supplies for our recent trip to Jervis Bay, not thinking I'd use it. But to my surprise it became my focus every day. Because of its small size, it's perfect for a quick creative play. And I fell in love with my daily ritual!

I will still use my A5 sized sketchbooks for more complex, detailed designs, but for sheer speed and portability this little book is perfect for designing motifs and smaller designs wherever I am. And yes, I'm stretching out with my colour palette; only because there's only so many colours in my acrylic markers that I can use again and again without getting bored. I think it's a good thing.

Creating a Timetable

After reading Brendon Burchard's 'High Performance Habits' and Michael Hyatt's 'Free to Focus' I couldn't ignore I was doing lots of fun busy work, picking and choosing what I felt like doing resulting in more uncomfortable tasks, like pitching, always falling to the bottom of my 'to-do' list. So I decided to get a little more clear on how I was spending my time. My solution was to create a rough weekly plan, giving each day a specific focus — POD design, social media, pitching, etc. — along with a list of relevant tasks and suggestions to prompt my work. I've included my plan for you to reference as you might find it helpful.

I've provided a blank weekly plan template for you to fill in. Hopefully you'll find it as helpful as I have.

Do you find yourself prioritising a more fun task over another? I'd love to know if you struggle with the same issue or if you've overcome this problem.

Photo Dump

I've noticed that my phone's storage is getting quite full again. I've got so many random photos it's a task to collate, organise and save them all for use in the future. It's something I need to do every now and then, usually when necessity strikes! I love scrolling through the images I've collected - lots of memories and lots of inspiration. Every time I go anywhere I seem to find a new plant or idea for a pattern. I'm sure you're the same. I thought I'd share some of my favourite finds. I'm toying with creating an Australian collection some time, so these images will come in handy. Enjoy!

Consistency

With my newly created weekly plan in hand I am now feeling more focused. Now to show up consistently and do the work!

Until next time,