art cards

Art Cards – Week 43 – Slowing Down

| terriaw

I am looking forward to taking a typography class next semester, so I’ve been wanting to experiment more with handwritten typography lately. I found some great inspiration this past week, which triggered ideas for my art cards.

It’s been difficult to find the time and, ironically, the energy, to slow down lately, and make some down time for myself, so I thought these cards would be fun exercises and reminders.

As you know, I try very hard to soak up the quiet moments and breath in fresh air whenever possible.

It seems simple enough to slow down and embrace the changing season, right? I’m going to try harder to do just that!

Art Cards – Week 42 – Meltdown and Chicago

| terriaw

Somedays, I think I’m strong. Other days, I’m not feeling it as much. Even the strongest people can have a meltdown, especially when life gets overwhelming. But you dig deep down, take charge, stand up for yourself, and figure out how to make things better. That was the idea behind one of my art cards for last week.

I was lucky enough to observe an event last week that filled me with hope and inspiration. I added the lyrics “may you stay forever young” from a song written by Bob Dylan, which was performed at that event. Very uplifting!

I was also fortunate to be able to join my graphic design program on Friday for a field trip to Chicago.We toured a letterpress and screen printing shop, bummed around the city, shopped at a thrift store and a couple art supply stores, and toured the Art Institute.

It was great fun spending the day with my creative buddies, so it turned out to be a pretty good week after all.

Art Cards – Week 41 – Old-Fashioned to Modern

| terriaw

When I sat down on Sunday night to figure out what I did last week, and find ways to illustrate my week, I didn’t realize the contrasts that would show up between these two cards. Once I finished them, I sat back and noticed an old-fashioned activity next to modern technology.

I can now say that I’ve worked for the launch of a new product. It was a crazy weekend and will probably continue to be crazy busy! Lots of updates, lots of people, lots of hard work.

In the meantime, I’ve taken up letter-writing again to keep in touch with one of my closet friends and keep a couple long-distance friendships going.

It was fun to illustrate the contrasts between old-fashioned letter-writing and my favorite modern technology!

Art Cards – Week 40 – Courage and Faith

| terriaw

I had butterflies last week. I was scheduled to teach my first workshop. And then I was scheduled to teach a second workshop the very next day. So I was nervous facing these two new challenges. Deep down, I knew I would be just fine. I kept telling myself, “just be yourself.”

As it turned out, things went so well that I received positive feedback from the workshop attendees, giving me the boost I needed to take on teaching more workshops.

I was incredibly moved (and saddened) by the recent death of the founder and CEO for the company I work for, so I been thinking a lot this week about a couple of his quotes he made over the years.

Sometimes I struggle picking a moment from the past week to illustrate on my art cards. I am thankful for finding the courage to be myself and the faith to press on when faced with a challenge.

Art Cards – Autumn Swap

| terriaw

I’m so proud to show off the art cards I received from Michelle for our Autumn Swap!

(You can see the cards I made for her here.)

I love the gorgeous colors, and the way she illustrated such whimsical images of Autumn. The metallic gel pens for the writing on these make the rich colors really pop.

She is such a creative, original artist, so I love having some of her artwork in my collection of art cards. The ink on this one looks like it’s running or dropping down the card. And the shading on the pumpkins makes them look so dimensional.

She continues to inspire me to try new techniques and experiment with different art mediums. Thanks, buddy!

Art Cards – Week 39 – Under Control

| terriaw

I had a couple positive things come together last week, so I was happy to find ways to illustrate these on my art cards.

I have always wanted a mentor, now more than ever since I’ve been working towards a more creative lifestyle. It’s really hard to find someone who is willing and has the time to provide direction and offer feedback on create projects, especially since I haven’t established a lot of connections in the creative field yet.

So I was happy when the person I asked last week to be my mentor has agreed!

We have been close friends our entire lives (proud to be cousins), so this renewed relationship just makes sense. I’m so excited to already be working on a couple assignments.

I am also happy and excited about a move up at work, which means I will be able to get my work schedule under control with more regularity, allowing me to actually make plans and manage my time better.

I am so hopeful – things are looking up!

Art Cards – Autumn

| terriaw

When Michelle and I decided to make a set of art cards each week and share our tips and techniques on our blogs or Flickr, we agreed to exchange cards and a care package on the first day of each new season.

Here we are, welcoming Autumn. For my Autumn cards, I used that text layered technique once again, which I love so much. I ended up making two sets of these cards, one set for her and one for me.

I also illustrated a new set of cards for the week, as we welcomed the first day of Autumn.

We’ve been embracing Autumn with an exhilarating hike, our first fire in the fireplace, a pumpkin-flavored latte, a juicy crop of honey crisp apples, beautiful fall flowers, and some illustrations to capture these moments.

Art Cards – Week 37 – Early Autumn

| terriaw

I love the beginning of each season, the idea of change, especially the subtle changes Autumn reveals. From the cooler temperatures, to the longer shadows, to the fading colors, to changing leaves, to harvesting late summer crops.

Whispers of Autumn represented by changing leaves.

Sweet September represented by the always-majestic sunflowers.

Of all four seasons, I especially love the gentle ways Autumn eases in.

Art Cards – Week 36 – Finding Balance

| terriaw

My inspiration for this week’s art cards was the idea of finding balance in life. I’ve been contemplating what’s most important to me, realizing (and accepting) that life is not a contest or a race to see how much I can get done in a day or a week.

I used a couple of my favorites to illustrate these cards – the blue-green color combination, trees, leaves and a little stream – things that make me feel calm. I purposefully kept this set of cards simple to act as simple reminders to maintain balance in life.