I write this just as we are all hunkering down for a big storm. I’m surrounded by legos, unfinished puzzles and socks (exactly how many pairs a day do my kids wear, and why do they keep taking them off??). Normally I’d be scared of the impending cabin fever, normally I’d be drinking tea and staring wistfully out of the window, but no, not today.
The Shipment
Things are about to get real busy around here. Colored Organics has just dropped a big box of fresh shirts and onesies on my doorstep, which has had me all aflutter.
I don’t know about you, but I love a clean slate; an empty page in a sketch book waiting to be drawn on, a new wall asking to be painted, a fresh, creamy, cotton baby onesie full of possibilities just begging me to print on it. My brain was overwhelmed with it all…
I could print anything onto that onesie, do anything to it….ohhhh the power, the unlimited possibilities.
That brief period between contemplation and actual action is the sweetest time. I like to savor it as much as possible before I start my work, realize my limitations, and drop straight back down to earth again. Not that the actual printing isn’t exciting as well. Noooooo, screen printing is a most (instantly) gratifying activity, perfect for the extra jumpy human, the impatient artist, the big kid that I am. But I have high hopes for my next collection, and I mean to push myself to make a leap from last year’s prints. I have ideas that I hope will work out, that could mean heartbreak or happiness (yes, I realize I am talking about a bunch of shirts, why are you surprised? I’ve always been this flaky).
This year, I am going to indulge myself, and add more color, more texture, more ME to my collection (see some shirts from last summer here). I’m going for a tropical/oceanic theme (think sea coral, octopuses, elephants and bugs, orangey reds, pale mint, grass green, navy blue, lilac). Don’t get me wrong, I do love the simple, graphic, inky vibe of last year’s t-shirts and I mean to hold onto some of that. However, minimalism has never really been me, and I feel it is time for a change, so I have been experimenting with hand painting my products beforehand to get a painterly background to print on. Hopefully it will all work out, I’ll have pictures of the finished products on here before long.
I’m off to prep some screens now, and print through the snow days….and drink tea, and wash socks.
