Man Ties

Or tie, rather.  In case you've been living under a rock, thesis time is looming. Thankfully, my pattern & licensing class has been busy doing in class only assignments, so that's one less thing I have to give me ulcers.  Here's what this week's project was: a floral tie for a investment banker in his 40's to 50's using the specific flower you were assigned.  I got dogwood.

It gives me a kind of modern Americana vibe (the red, white, & blue) but Marisa thought it looked Japanese, maybe kind of like cherry blossoms?  A little bit of both?

Things I Want To Spend Monies On

My senior thesis show is right around the bend and it seems everyone and their cat is shopping for dresses and shoes.  So... I wanted to waste time and do it, too.  I think I'll just be wearing something out of my closet, but it's fun to window shop.

Social Diary Dress & Nantucket Clam Bake Dress from Modcloth

Spotted Scallop Collar Dress & Mustard Crochet Collar Jersey Dress from Topshop

 

Humming Soon Dress from Modcloth

(Check out the amazing detailing in the back that would totally prevent me from 

wearing a normal bra!  Love the front, though.)

Georgia the Giantess

Here's one of the pieces that will be going on my postcards for my senior show.  Which I should do the back type for, since I kind of need to order them asap.  She's my favorite so far- she puts on makeup not only on her eyelids but on her chest so she can look dashing. (How come only male birds get to look pretty?  Not fair, says Georgie.)

Bonus fact: My mom was born in '54.

Sven the Sword Swallower

Look guys!  I'm done!  (Or at least, almost done, there will probably be color tweakage.)  It feels weird.  Nine to go.  Heh.

The Rodents

One of my classes will be putting up a pop-up Etsy shop called The Rodent Burrow in late April, and we're all designing banners and icons to vote on today.  Here's a quick rat-pattern I whipped up for my entry.  If you're wondering how on earth we ended up calling the shop that, it's because our school mascot is the River Rat.  Also, I totally came up with the name.  :)

Bug Bed

Here's the finished bedding design! (Original here.)  I changed the bugs into simpler silhouettes, which helped tone down the busy-factor and helped bring the audience age a tiny big older.

Sketchy People

Just a few really rough sketches I doodled for my writing assignment. 

 From l to r: Allie, Carrie, and Karen.

American Hoarders

All finished!  There are lots of Easter eggs in this one (but not nearly as many as I've managed to shove into Sylvia the Silky-Faced Wonder's tattoos!).  I love stashing little details into pieces; for instance, Gene, the fellow, is collecting model tractors and cars because that was something my grandpa did.  Can you find some of the other treats?  Look for: a tiny pitchfork, the actual American Gothic painting, some lollipop-esque Grant Wood trees, and a sled (Rosebud, as per the instructor's request).  (Click the image for a bit of a leg up in your quest.)

 (PS: Can you find the two kitties?)

Hus & Hem

I am in absolute love with these geo patterns at Hus & Hem.  How can something so simple be so spectacular?  I especially love that last green one, it reminds me of some sort of modern Zelda fabric. 

(Also, I just updated the look of my blog- what do you think?)

Georgia and Sal Sketches

Here are a couple more sketches from my senior thesis.  Next week is my vacation to Minnesota (yippee!) so this week I'm really determined to nail out a few of these guys so I don't have to think about homework once while I'm on spring break.

I Heart: Carnivals

My senior thesis is based on carnival banners, so I have a enormous collection of inspiration files stashed all over the place with related images.  Since I haven't done an "I Heart..." in a while, I thought I'd upload some of the things I've been looking at.

This great glass from Fishs Eddy, my favorite housewares website.  Their glasses are really thick and sturdy.  I'm pretty sure you'd have to really drop this fellow to break him.

Super sweet Barn Buster wines.  They're actually based off the designs seen around race houses, but I think the colors and designs could work either way.

This cute little piece by Charmaine Olivia.  I like a lot of her looser work, but I find a lot of her portraits have identical faces. Lately I've really been obsessed with geometric patterns like the one used for the ground here, which is one of the main reasons it stood out to me.

American Hoarders Sketch

My freshest seminar project is to do a piece inspired by Grant Wood's American Gothic.  These are a couple of my sketches--as much as I love kitties the hoarders piece works better.  And I'm not too worried about a lack of felines in my portfolio springing up anytime soon, anyway. 

Bugs Bugs Bugs

 I just spent all evening finishing up these designs for some guy-sheets.  It's not due for another week or so, but I need it for an interview tomorrow.  Feels good to have it done!  (Or almost done... it feels a bit busy to me, I might need to futz with some things.  I'm wondering what it would look like if the bugs were just colored silhouettes?)