This is a FREE event if you catch it live. The replay will be available for members of the UPPERCASE Circle.
Please click here to register.
Read MoreI’m excited to be hosting my very first live video interview and chat, with surface pattern designer and creative coach Jeanetta Gonzales. Please register here for this FREE live event.
Los Angeles-based artist and designer Jeanetta Gonzales creates expressive and vibrant art inspired by her love of plants, flowers, colour and texture. Trained in fine art and graphic design, she creates work that is a unique combination of both traditional and digital media. Jeanetta finds joy in creating art for her own products and contributing her art through licensing it on apparel, greeting cards and home décor. Jeanetta also coaches artists, facilitating their artistic growth and confidence. She offers her tips for artists in UPPERCASE issue 41’s Surface Pattern Design Guide.
Have your surface pattern and art licensing questions ready to ask Jeanetta live.
The video chat will be recorded but only available on replay to members of the UPPERCASE Circle.
Register to get the link to the event!
Read MoreHere's an inspiring story from an UPPERCASE reader. It would have been a good fit to the content of the summer issue #34's Explore issue, but I had already finished that issue when I heard from Courtney. She writes, "I went to Granada, Spain for an Islamic Art workshop that I signed up for on a whim. It changed my life and now I am a pattern designer."
"Last September traveled to southern Spain and Morocco to celebrate my 30th birthday and take in as much Islamic pattern tile as possible. At the time I was a web designer in Silicon Valley and feeling like I was going to more meetings then designing. Before the trip I came across a workshop in Granada, Spain called the Art of Islamic Pattern, a 5-day workshop to learn to draw Islamic patterns and visit the Alhambra." The dates of the workshop lined up with her itinerary and she signed up. "I am usually not this spontaneous," she admits.
But this leap of faith turned out to be life-changing. "I reconnected and re-valued the craft of drawing and pattern making," she says. "I also connected with other artist on the trip who were mostly Arab in background either from England or the Middle East. I learned so much from them, about history—and about how much is actually not taught in school."
"The trip set me on a path to quitting my job." Inspired to start creating with her hands again, she decided to specialize in block prints and surface pattern designs through her company Courtney Beyer Design that she founded in January of this year. "I sell hand-printed cards, journals and tea towels on my Etsy shop and I am working on a pattern line."
Courtney says that one of her instructors taught the class a prayer that she now recites to herself before taking on a creative assignment or project:
There's more to Courtney's story and art over on her website.
I adore these pattern-filled portraits by Alison Kolesar. "I love pattern and I also love painting people," she says, "So I created a little personal project while I prepare for Surtex—my series of pattern ladies."
Image from Sarah Golden's Instagram
I'm pleased to share with you the title page for the Surface Pattern Design Guide, 2nd edition, illustrated by Sarah Golden. For an assignment in Lilla Rogers’ Make Art That Sells illustration course, students designed the opening title page to this guide. There were many outstanding designs to choose from! Sarah Golden’s submission was selected for her simple botanical motifs, playful composition and integrated handlettering—a great example of current styles in surface pattern.
The title page for the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide, 2nd Edition, is illustrated by Sarah Golden. Look for the Guide as part of UPPERCASE issue 32 (Jan/Feb/March 2017).
From Sarah's Instagram
Sarah Golden is an artist and fabric designer living in Sacramento, California. Block printing and gouache are her favourite mediums to work with. She creates a modern and handmade style through carving and through hand printing on paper and fabric, along with her use of colour. A love for Scandinavian design, vintage fabrics and geometrics inspire her work. Sarah’s first fabric collection for Andover Fabrics comes out in February 2017.
The Surface Pattern Design Guide is part of issue 32. Subscribe today!
Judy Kaufmann has just released this fresh collection of patterns. "This collection has a wide selection of geometric, organic, typographic forms which can be applied from paper to fabric, from wood to walls." Her fantastical representations of her patterns in use is a terrific way of promoting this new work.
Judy is another talented designer who was featured in the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide in the spring issue.
Donna Wilson was recently honoured with the task of designing a tartan for Aberdeen, Scotland, the area where she grew up. "Tartan is such an important part of our tradition and heritage, and we should never lose that," she says. "I hope to be able to make a difference to the manufacturers who will be weaving it and create something that will be a lasting symbol of Aberdeenshire.”
Donna worked with schoolchildren to select a palette that reflected the natural beauty of the region. They selected and refined the following colours:
Old Meldrum: A gold/copper inspired by the stills at the Glengarioch Distillery, and as one pupil point out-—it's also the colour of whisky!
Stonehaven: A pinky red seen in Aberdeenshire sunsets, and a colour often spotted at the infamous 'Aunt Betty’s' sweetshop in Stonehaven.
Aboyne: A frosty lichen green found in the Ladywood Forest.
Fraserburgh: A lilac/blue symbolizing the seas and skies around Fraserburgh.
Kintore: A forest green from all the woodlands around Kintore.
Harvest: A barley colour that reminded Donna of the farm where she grew up, and her favourite time of year.
Peterhead: A minty green from the seas and sea spray of Peterhead.
The tartan can be purchased by the yard or as a scarf on Donna's website.
Fanny Shorter is a printmaker and designer who grew up in country town of Winchester, UK. Fanny is inspired by the intricacies of flowers and nature, and you can see her interest flowing through her work.
“Nature’s never just attractive,” says Fanny. “There’s always something else going on. There’s a reason why a plant looks like it does. I like combing the fact that its aesthetically attractive with the fact that its interesting.”
Fanny was trained as an illustrator at Brighton University, and she uses ethically sourced materials and water-based inks on all of her creations.
Her work can be found on furnishings, stationery and accessories in her online shop.
{video via Confessions of a Design Geek}
Lotta Kühlhorn is a Swedish illustrator who, at the age of ten, already knew that she wanted to be an illustrator when she grew up.
Lotta's illustrations and patterns can be found on cookware, books, fabrics, textiles–even wall tiles!
In January, Lotta released her book called Designing Patterns for Decoration, Fashion and Graphics.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Heritage Park Festival of Quilts today. Hailed as Western Canada's largest outdoor quilt show and market, quilts were on display throughout the park. Kudos to the organizers for curating the show and displaying each quilt to its best potential (even pairing them with similarly-hued buildings). Two large tents housed more prize-winning quilts as well as vendors from near and far who had excellent selections of quilt fabrics and accessories—and some really great prices, too. It was glorious!
On my first day of grade seven, my teacher, after handing out our math text books, asked us to wrap them in craft paper to protect them from the inevitable wear and tear they would endure throughout the year. UK-based artist Yinka Shonibare has taken the textbook request to the extreme.
A new installation called The British Library has opened at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Until May 25, visitors can see 10,000 books that have been covered with wax batik fabric that Yinka designed himself. Yinka’s hope for the library was to make visible the cultural influences of colonization, and to celebrate immigrants and their contributions to British Culture.
Book artist Louise Best helped wrap some of the thousands of books in bright Dutch and African fabrics. "Those colours contributed to our happiness and well being as well as all the mugs of tea, chocolate bourbons and custard creams we consumed for 8 hours a day. It was a great job and expertly executed even if I do say so myself. I'm in my element surrounded by books, fabric, glue and scissors. And nice people,” said Louise.
To read Louise’s full blog post, click here.
After all taking the Make Art That Sells e-course in 2013, the ladies of Happy Happy Art Collective decided to form a group to support their common artistic goals and promote their work.
Happy Happy members Lauren Minco and Tammie Bennett are busy making preparations, and are on their way to SURTEX, while Denise Holmes, Emily Balsley, Jill Howarth, Pauline Grayson have been taking on exciting jobs and new clients.
art by Tammie Bennett
Lauren has some excellent advice on her blog about preparing one’s portfolio for the big event:
"If you're doing Surtex, you definitely need enough art to actually show. Unlike other markets such as editorial and publishing, you don't just have examples of your work to show clients as examples of your skill…you make art beforehand that a company looks at and says "that would make a great XYZ! We'll take it!". Sure, there are still jobs in the industry that artists are commissioned for, but much of your work is made beforehand and is then available to license as you show your portfolio.
Because of this, some people have hundreds and hundreds of pieces (sometimes even more!) depending how long they've been in the game. There are a lot of opinions about how many pieces or collections of art a newbie should have. I have enough work, but not as much as some of my peers do. However, I know that each piece is solid and nothing is filler. So even if an art director comes up and only has time to see a few pages out of my portfolio, I know they are gonna see my best work.”
A few members of Happy Happy were featured in UPPERCASE’s Surface Pattern Design Guide. You can see pattern submissions by Emily, Pauline, Jill and Tammie in the free download of the Guide by clicking here.
Victoria Weiss is the founder of Butterpop Studio, an illustration, graphic design and web design shop based in New York. "I graduated from Parsons with a Communication Design degree, although my last 15 years has been mostly in animation, licensing, graphic and web design. I’ve lived in Hong Kong for some years as well and now freelancing from my house in Virginia Beach,” says Victoria.
"I grew up in NYC and I spent many days in newsstands and bookshops just going through magazines in the mid nineties. Things have changed so much. Its hard to find ones with great content and treated with great care. UPPERCASE is beautiful."
Victoria’s on her way to SURTEX this year for the first time, and will be at booth 726.
"My portfolio is set up in a way for art directors to be able to use many icons to develop patterns for their collections. I’m aiming for wall art, stationery, gift, home decor and fabric companies this year. Also craft markets like scrapbooking.”
Be sure to check out Victoria’s website and stop by her booth at SURTEX!
Nicole Tamarin works in watercolour and is drawn to classic themes and imagery, anything from florals to children’s to the everyday. She loves details and little extras, and tries to deliver a consistent level of polish to all of her work. She launched her business at SURTEX in 2012 and is excited to return for her third show this spring.
If you would like to know more about surface pattern design, you can download the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide here.
photo by Nicole Crowder
Andrea Pippins is an artist and designer with a passion for making others smile with her work. Using techniques like stamping and drawing, Andrea reinterprets her inspirations from many global cultures into designs that reflect her keen interest in rich hues, textural materials and mixed patterns. In her work, Andrea embraces colour, texture and scale with a fearless hand, offering a unique perspective in the hopes of inspiring others to enjoy the beauty of bold surface designs.
How and when did you come across UPPERCASE? What do you enjoy about it?
Wow, I can't remember, but I've been a fan for a very long time. I've always been drawn to the stories about other artists and their creative process. UPPERCASE does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the artists and their spaces, and the overall design of the magazine is breathtaking.
You have been busy making new collages and drawings. One of those drawings is your piece called “I’ve Been Thinking.” Where did your inspiration come from for this artwork?
For a long time I've been enamored with the photography of Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita. Their black and white photos are so rich with pattern and texture that it feels colourful, graphic and bold. I usually rely heavily on colour, so in this new piece I wanted to explore the idea of limiting my palette to black and white but still making an image that was very pattern-ful and rich. Like their photographs, they always feature a figure (or two). I did the same but brought in all of the "colour" into the figure.
You have said that you reinterpret inspirations from many global cultures into your designs. What cultures influenced your Surface Pattern Design Guide submissions?
I've been looking at a lot of global prints like and textiles from West Africa, India, the Middle East and ancient designs from Central America. I love the geometric shapes, the use of lines, and the simplicity in the colour palettes I've been observing in those works, and I wanted to create quirky interpretations of what I saw.
Why did you decide to submit your designs into the Surface Pattern Design Guide? What do you hope will come of being published in the guide?
To me, UPPERCASE set a lovely art and design standard and offers a different perspective of what artists and designers are doing today as makers. I felt that my designs would fit into that context nicely, and would also be a great way to share my work with new audiences.
You work for a wide range of clients which proves that you are an incredibly versatile graphic designer. What’s your process for working with such a broad range of clients with different wishes for their final design projects?
No matter the client, the process is always the same: fully understand their needs and use design thinking strategies to develop designs that effectively communicate what that client or brand represents. Their needs dictate and inform the process and what is produced. For me the strategies have to be fairly flexible to work with different clients and projects.
What projects are you currently working on?
I have my hands in so many things right now. I just wrapped up my collage series, which I had a self-imposed goal of using all the paper I had in that size and color. I have 51 completed altogether but I'm itching to do more because this personal assignment really forced me to stretch my creative muscle. Because the current ones are roughly 5"x7" I'd like to push myself and do some large-scaled versions. I'm also working on new ideas that would include some animation. Those are personal projects, but as a designer I'm working a few big assignments that will take me through the summer.
I was impressed by your 4 page resume of work that you have accomplished over your career. Given your wealth of experience, and a fabulous portfolio, where do you see yourself in the future? Will you continue to be a multi-disciplined designer, or do you desire to immerse yourself in a bigger long-term project?
Thank you. Currently, I'd like to focus on developing more of my personal projects in addition to working on special collaborations, while also continuing to teach design. Being an artist and educator are the two main areas of my creative path that I want to develop. I would really like to make sure that everything I do aligns with those two important parts of me. So whether it's a creating a collection of shoes, a design collaboration with a cultural institution, or a speaking engagement with teens interested in design, as long as it fits in "artist" and/or "educator" I'm open to working on the assignment.
Paper & Cloth is a design studio in the UK with a strong focus on illustrational talent. "There has been the odd flamingo running crazy in the studio,” they write about their promo piece. "We are loving all the gorgeous painterly, inky trends we are seeing… Check out the dapper zebra. Inky and yet somewhat debonair don't you think?"
Emily Isabella is a designer and illustrator whose work can be seen on products at Target, Birch Fabric, and Tigerprint, just to name a few. Birch Fabric has just announced Emily’s newest fabric collection called Everyday Party. “The Everyday Party collection was designed around the philosophy of creating tiny celebrations from life’s ordinary moments,” says Emily.
Take a look at Everyday Party, and see what sewing projects it will inspire!
Joanne Hus is a digital illustrator whose clients range from Time Inc., Gillette, the Chase Manhattan Bank, Scholastic, and Papyrus.
Joanne’s interview with Lilla Rogers, artist rep and educator extraordinaire is part of the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide in issue #21. You can read the entire article in the free download of the Guide by clicking here.
Nottene is a multi-disciplinary design studio with a focus on textiles and illustration. In case you were wondering, Nottene, pronounced "huh-ten-nuh", means nuts in Norwegian. The studio is led by Kimberly Ellen Hall. With a Master’s in textiles from Central Saint Martins, Kimberly has worked from here to there in publishing, fashion and art. She has designed for Coach, Hussein Chalayan, the Village Voice, Peter Jensen, the Denver Art Museum and others.
Nottene has designed a lookbook in preparation for SURTEX. Keep your eyes peeled for Nottene at booth 454!
If you would like to know more about surface pattern design, you can download the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide here.
Kat Kalindi Cameron is a freelance creative and pattern designer from Australia. She will be travelling all the way from the Gold Coast, to New York to attend SURTEX for the first time. Kat’s path to SURTEX has been long not only in miles, but also in time. "I first heard about this trade show years ago when I worked in fashion. Then I had kids. Now I still have those kids, but they are old enough to handle Gran looking after them for longer now."
"While this may seem like no big feat for some, for me, it has been a challenge I have been wanting to take for on 7 years — and only this year, I have managed to take the leap and orchestrate work, family, life around my dreams and invest in MY future,” says Kat.
Kat has been posting about her trip preparations on her blog. "I am heading over with my art collective friends there are 8 of us from all over the world who have joined together to make this trip happen. It’s a very expensive trip, coming from Australia to NY. Lots of logistics to consider: flights, accommodation, travel, shipping of booth banners, costs involved in the show! OH MY! BUT it’s an investment in my future and my art."
Be sure to take a look at Kat’s website, and if you’re heading to SURTEX, pop by booth 726 to see her and the work of the Forest Foundry Collective (many of whom are featured in the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide).
Cover by Christy Batta
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UPPERCASE is a quarterly print magazine inspired by craft, design and illustration. A playful exploration of creativity, an affinity for vintage ephemera, and a love of handmade are some elements common in each issue. The magazine boasts high-quality paper and printing, a unique design aesthetic and incredible attention to detail.
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