Thursday, May 31, 2012

May Photo Diary

I can't believe this month is already over! I'm SO excited for summer. Here are some photos I've taken this month....
Art Journal Doodle
The St. John's Bizarre & Parade
 This doggie enjoyed sitting in the shade of my tent while we watched the parade.
I planted a veggie garden! Can't wait to harvest lettuces, onion, squash, beans, tomatoes and more!
 I also made some pots of herbs and flowers to put on my porch.
This is a photo of me in my grandma's garden. I only hope to one day have mine look so lush and beautiful!
Me getting ready to enjoy our first few days of summer weather! I'm wearing one of my new god's eye necklaces (to be added to my Etsy shop soon!) and a dress I bought at Macy's for $5.
Happy Hour at the Gold Dust Meridian on SE Hawthorne.
 Progress on my newest painting, Just Be Yourself
A fun day of treats and thrifting with my friend Alissa.
 (We shared this dessert at Pix.)
I just love this doll!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Just Be Yourself

A new print is available in my Society6 shop today!

"Just Be Yourself" is the one thing that I tell myself over and over. There are times when I can feel pressured to be or do something that isn't me and then I spiral into a phase of feeling lost and confused until I remember that all I need to do is BE MYSELF and I feel relieved and happy again. This piece is a pretty reminder to stay true to who you are no matter what!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Free Spirit Friday

Sources clockwise: woodsmaidenwarmchillsearthwards

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
Peace, Rachel



Art Prints on Society6!

Happy Friday! I wanted to let you know that I now have a few art prints available for purchase on Society6!
They are offering free shipping worldwide until Sunday!

I also plan to have prints available in my Etsy shop in limited sizes soon so be sure to check back.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Shop Update!

I had a mini photoshoot while I was in Seattle over the weekend and added my colorful Peace Sign Friendship Bracelets to my Etsy shop! 


They are made with painted wooden peace signs adorned with handmade multicolor cord and colorful plastic pony beads. Super cute and fun to wear for summer!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Free Spirit Friday!


It's been forever since I did a Free Spirit Friday post! I am heading up to Seattle for the weekend to craft with my dear friend, Alison.

♥ Link Love!
• Hey all you Jon Hamm fans, you have to watch this.
• I'm thinking about dying my hair.
• I love this!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Peace,
Rachel

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

First Aid Kit

I've been wanting some new music to listen to for summer and stumbled across the band, First Aid Kit. They are two sisters who sing their swedish folk hearts out. What really makes me girl-crush them is their amazing sister style! ♥ ♥








Thursday, May 10, 2012

This weekend...

I will be vending at the St. John's Bizarre this Saturday from 10am-7pm. Come hang out in the sunshine, listen to some live music, and stop by my booth in the open-air craft market! 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Adventures in Art

Recently I've taken up painting again and have had a lot of fun working on some new art pieces. "Let's Have An Adventure" was my first attempt and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I thought I'd share a few in-progress photos as well as the finished painting..



This next painting is titled "Wild Woman"- one of my favorites!



I hope to be add these to my Etsy shop as art prints soon! I just need to figure out how to size, price and package them up first. I'd love to hear your feedback too! So, let me know what you think :)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Graphic Designer or Artist?


I've always been a creative person. I took lots of art classes growing up and went off to college originally to study painting. Somewhere along the line I was told that painting was not a legitimate profession and that I needed to choose a more useful, money-making career. I took this advice to heart and moved to Seattle to study graphic design. Graphic design school was much more technical- mostly about learning computer software and the 'rules of graphic design'. I found it very difficult to fit my creative heart into the constraints of photoshop, color theory, and layout and ended up abandoning most of my artsy-creative making to focus on becoming a 'superstar graphic designer'

My last term of college we had to create a senior project. It was the first time our instructors allowed us to do whatever we wanted to do! At first I was stumped. After 3 years of being told exactly what kind of logo to design, what type of layout to create, it was startling to be given the chance to come up with something of my very own. I spent a lot of time reading and soul-searching to create my project and ended up reviving my creative painting ambitions and starting a path to self-discovery. 

For my senior project I redesigned the Girl Scout Cookie box with original illustrations I created with acrylic paints and hand-lettering. I remember feeling so satisfied using my hands and not my computer for this project.

I also created a handmade book illustrating my journey of self-discovery. Through this book I was able to revive my art-journaling-teenager-self and create something that expressed who I had become as a degree-holding college graduate. Upon graduation, we had to display our project and portfolio in a room with all the other graduating students for family and potential employers to view our work. Let me tell you my cookie boxes and art journal didn't impress many 'potential bosses' but I distinctly remember a first-year student looking at my work and saying, "I didn't know we were allowed to do stuff like this!" 


I'm telling you all this because for a while I felt like that first year student- like this sort of work wasn't allowed in the grownup world. Now, five years out of college, I am working as a freelance graphic designer and have found myself merging back into my creative/artsy self more and more. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful to have the knowledge and technical skill of a graphic designer- it's something I use every day, even when I'm doodling in my art journal or working on a new painting. But I have found my true voice and self was in my artsy-creative side all along- no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I may not have become a "superstar graphic designer" with a high-paying job at a fancy ad agency, but I'm much happier as both a designer and artist to have found my own voice and style.
Card illustrated for Camp Smartypants
Pattern illustrated for Cheezburger, Inc.
Designed for Child & Family Services, NY

See more of my work here.
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