A Pansy For Your Thoughts?

“They are all in the lily-bed, cuddled close together—
Purple, Yellow-cap, and little Baby-blue;
How they ever got there you must ask the April weather,
The morning and the evening winds, the sunshine and the dew.”

— Ellen Mackay Hutchinson Cortissoz

Pansies are one of the first flowers of spring and I’m seeing them everywhere… I’ve always thought they were such pretty flowers… Little charmers.

I didn’t know this but the pansy is my birth flower (February), which is perfect really, because the name pansy comes from the French word pensée which means thought. Pansies represent free-thought, love and remembrance, and holding good thoughts for others. Give a pansy flower to whom you hold dear to your heart.

“Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that’s for
thoughts.”

— William Shakespeare

Pansies are also completely edible and have healing properties that help treat colds, flus, coughs and sore throats. (They are also anti-aging and found in many home-made beauty products).

So the pretty pansy is the perfect flower for 2021.

A few years ago I painted pansies (Blue and Yellow, and Blue and Yellow #2) for my flower series paintings. I made a little video documenting my process from start to finish and showing the process of making fine art into wearable art.

The Pansy Market Tote bag

My latest pansy creation is my new large-size market tote bag. These bags are perfect for over-night travel, as carry-on luggage, beach bags, diaper bags, and of course, perfect for taking to market!

Get the unlined basic tote to use for shopping, or choose the lined option (with inner pockets including a zipper pocket) for travel.

Pansy Market Tote Bag

And since pansies are for giving, (and my official flower for 2021), I’m making all Pansy items in my store 10% off for the rest of the year... Just use the code: PANSY2021 at checkout.

View the Pansy Collection

“Heart’s ease or pansy, pleasure or thought, Which would the picture give us of these? Surely the heart that conceived it sought Heart’s ease.”

— Algernon Charles Swinburne

The Original Rose Dress

It was several years ago, in the summer of 2012, that I designed my first wearable art dress.

One day while creating my "essence art" (a personalized painting), I imagined wearing a print of my art and was inspired to make my painting into a dress. I wanted the dress to be the full size image… as if I had just stepped out of the painting…

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art. ”

— Oscar Wilde

I began researching different ideas and looking for resources that could help make my vision a reality. Eventually I discovered a new crowd-sourced label that enabled me to do just that (read my interview with the Canadian Press about the project). And just like that, the Rose Dress and my new wearable art line of clothing was born!

The Original Rose Dress

“Create your own style... let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.”

— Anna Wintour

I no longer work with the original company (it’s now a 3D clothing company!), but my clothing has evolved and continues to grow and improve with better materials and processes. My designs have expanded to include clothing, scarves and accessories, as well as home decor products.

And it all started with the rose and a process I call ‘essence art’.

“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.”

— author unknown

So as I continue to revisit my designs and update my wearable art and other products, I decided to re-create my quiz with the results representing the essence of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. For example, the Rose represents the essence of Summer (love and beauty).

Which one are you?… (Try it out!)

The Art of Fashion

One evening, while driving home, I looked up and saw the most amazing sky. I was transfixed. I kept driving west towards it until I could turn off and head down to the ocean. The sky was changing quickly and I wanted to capture it before the sun went down… I pulled over and then, walking down a little path to the sea, I came to a beach. The tide was so high that the water level was all the way up to the logs at the top of the beach. I lay down on a log and just watched the beautiful sky with shape-shifting clouds and the colours of the sunset reflecting on the water...

Secret View captures the magic of this dramatic evening sky and ocean. Although this painting represents British Columbia’s West Coast, it also reminds me of the northern summer sky in Norway where the sun sets at midnight and one can watch for hours the changing sky moment by moment; each moment more brilliant and breath-taking than the next, the reflecting colours dancing on the waves...

I created the Secret View Dress from this painting. This dress comes in either a flare or fitted style and can also be worn with the Secret View Kimono, as featured in last year's Harmony Arts Festival fashion show.

This year's show; The Art of Fashion is on Wednesday, August 9th at 1:00 pm and I'll be showing all new designs and creations! The show is on an outdoor stage (weather permitting) and features 25 artists with their unique clothing and accessories.

Fine Art into Wearable Art ~ video journey

I made a little video documenting the journey from painting to finished product... Fine Art into Wearable Art. It's a slow process (so I speeded it up for this two minute video!). 

You could call it "slow clothes" as each clothing design is created from original artwork. The painting is digitally reproduced onto fabric, then hand cut and sewn.

I will have a few of my new clothing designs modelled in the fashion show ~ Slow Clothes, The Art of Fashion at this year's Harmony Arts Festival on August 9th.

Until then, I'll be working behind the scenes... Lots of creating going on... And travel!

(It's all about the journey after all... And you can follow my journey on Facebook and Instagram)

The work is the journey and the journey is in the work. (Any reward is just the icing on the cake!)

Hello Spring!

Spring is in the air... But Mother Nature is taking her time this year! 

To celebrate (and in anticipation!) I have 15% off everything in the Daisy Collection (including Daisy Art Prints) for a limited time (just for subscribers!). 

View the Daisy Collection

Me, My Brush and I

Tree of Life, 36" x 60" oil on canvas    Available at Art Junction Gallery, Whistler, B.C.

I love nature. I need nature.

I was thinking this as I hummed along to myself, walking through the woods and listening to the sound of the wind through the tree tops and the multitude of birds singing… In that moment, nothing else really mattered.

Art and nature have something very important in common. They both bring you into the present moment. Time stops.

It’s just me, the trees, the birds, the breeze…

Me, my brush and I.

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Featured Product

Custom designed silk scarf from the painting Tree of Life

 Receive 10% off featured designs

Visit the Boutique

Autumn Special ~ Emerging Red Leggings

I love Autumn. The nights are cooler, the days seem clearer... Change is in the air and I can feel the energy of new projects beginning to emerge...

“Red is the dynamic energy that flows through all living things... and emerges as herSelf.
Red is smart and knows what she wants. She takes decisive action to bring her dreams to reality... Red is strong, courageous and ready to step forward into her dreams. Bold and dynamic, she walks her own path...”

Leggings designed from the painting "Emerging Red" symbolize the energy of Autumn

In the Life Cycle of Creativity, the painting Emerging Red symbolizes the energy of Autumn.

Autumn is about stepping out, creating, energy and action.

As you emerge with a new sense of self in the world, you are clear on who you are and what you want to create. It's time to reap what you have sown as you harvest your dreams and make them real.

After Summer’s inhale into Being, Autumn exhales into Doing. This is a time for action and creating your visions into physical form.

ESSENCE WORD: CREATE

COLOURS: VIBRANT RED, ELECTRIC BLUE, BRILLIANT GREEN

ELEMENT: FIRE

Take the creativity quiz and find out which season you are... Take the Quiz!

 

Autumn Celebration Special 

The Emerging Red leggings are on sale for a limited time!

Visit the Boutique and receive 10% off (Valid until Sept. 30th, 2015)

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Slow Clothes and Videotape

Slow Clothes ~ The Art of Fashion was held at the Ferry Building Gallery last week during the Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver. The Gallery was standing room only and despite the rain, the show was a great success!

Here's a short video clip from the show...

The Tapestry Dress

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry. ”

— Richard P. Feynman

The Harmony Arts Festival is coming up and each week I'm featuring a new clothing design for the show. Each design represents one of the four seasons and this week's feature is the Tapestry Dress designed from the painting Tapestry. Tapestry represents the essence of winter. Winter is a time to draw inward, nurture, heal and transform. It is the end of the life cycle, a time to return home… Connecting to Mother Earth and preparing for the next cycle of birth and creation. This dress is a colourful tapestry of the forest floor; a vibrant sleeveless dress designed from the painting Tapestry.

Visit the Boutique

Have you taken the quiz?

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
~ Which one are You?

I made a quiz that describes each season in nature's 'Life Cycle of Creativity'. You can take the quiz to find out which season you are in... 

Harmony Arts Festival 2015 - Slow Clothes Fashion Show

Upcoming Event

Slow Clothes: The Art of Fashion at the Harmony Arts Festival
Presented by Wearable Art Vancouver August 5th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm

I've been preparing for the Harmony Arts Festival and the Slow Clothes Fashion Show!

This week's feature is the Emerging Red Leggings. These vibrant and dynamic art leggings represent the essence of Autumn and are designed from the painting Emerging Red.

Emerging Red Leggings

Essence Word: Create
Element: Fire
Colours: Vibrant Red, Electric Blue, Brilliant Green

The Emerging Red Leggings symbolize the essence of Autumn (stepping out, energy and action to harvest our dreams). These fun and vibrant art leggings can be worn for yoga and active-wear (or as a bold statement piece to accompany a dressier style). They are designed from the painting "Emerging Red" with each leg, front and back, showing a unique aspect of the painting.

Visit the Boutique