I am a Design Nerd, and Proud of It!

 

Hello Friends! You may have noticed that things have been a little quiet for me on the art front.  Instead of focusing on new work,  I've been spending my art time on branding and design.

I've got 2, and possibly 3 holiday shows on the horizon and I've been spiffing up all my packaging for these events. As I tell my students, a good package can sell a product and I've been trying to create some cohesion in the way I present myself and my work. 

All of my card sets are now the same standard size and have a little enclosure that shows what's inside. I'm using the same set of fonts on each package and include this little logo on the back of each card.

My card-making has become much more professional over the years. I used to purchase pre-made card backs from the craft store and mount Kinko's colored copies of my work on the front. Now, all of my cards are printed with archival inks on matte paper using my prized Epson printer.  I'm proud of how far I've come and hope to keep growing in my design skills. 

So fellow artsy ones, I have some questions for you. How much of your time do you spend on packaging and design? Did you come up with your "look" on your own, or did you have professional help? I'd love to hear from you.

Have a great week pals. Be sure to check out some of my new card sets available on etsy.

Next up on the blog agenda: Wedding design.

Class Critique

I've never been to Abilene

8" x 10" on canvas.

One of the things I miss about being in school is the community of artists I was a part of. If you had a question about your work or were looking for feedback, there was always someone in the studio to consult and bounce ideas off of.

Flickr, Twitter, and Etsy have become my new art community. I'm grateful to have found a group of creative people to learn and grow from in the cyber word.

So I'm reaching out to you about "I've never been to Abilene". I don't know how I feel about this one. I can't put my finger on it, but it needs something, or needs to be edited.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Don't worry, I have a thick skin. Say what you feel.

Ciao!

Happy Little Trees

hilltop, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

I managed to crank this out yesterday while my students were working. Its simple, but sweet. No ink for this one - it will be sold as is for just $10.00. I'll post the link here when its up on Etsy.

Happy Thursday.

Accidental Art

I had a chance to sit down and make some art this past weekend. "Accidental Art" measures just 5" x 5" and was fashioned out of magazine. All the bits and pieces were adhered to a warm gray cardstock that I then embellished with a sepia tech pen and a white gel pen.

I'm really into clouds at the moment, and I came about this particular technique in a very accidental manner. I managed to accidentally get glue on a piece of paper and then stick it somewhere that it didn't belong. When I realized my dorky-ness, I tried to remove it but was left with the white residue of the paper. I liked the look of what was left and now repeat the technique on purpose all the time.

Accidental Art is available for sale on Etsy.

I'm hoping to be more active on Etsy and on the blog in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more art.